#Night Force

[ginge1962]

Night Force #1 - August 1982, cover by Gene Colan + Dick Giordano.

[gijoe-forever]

[nerdybitch]

I don't care what you tell me, this is fucking John Constantine-

[balu8]

Night Force #14: The Final Conflict

by Marv Wolfman; Gene Colan; Bob Smith; Michele Wolfman and Todd Klein

DC

[newearth2]

Today in JSA History: First Appearance of Eddie Bloomberg also known as Kid Devil and Red Devil

Eddie Bloomberg, also known as Kid Devil and later Red Devil, first appeared in The Fury of Firestorm #24, released on June 6, 1984. However, he didn’t become Kid Devil until Blue Devil #14, published on July 3, 1985. He was created by Alan Kupperberg, Dan Mishkin, and Gary Cohn.

Eddie began as a gopher at his Aunt Marla’s film company. Marla Bloom was a close friend of Blue Devil (Daniel Cassidy) and the producer of the film that gave Dan his heroic name. Eddie idolized Blue Devil and, one night, snuck into Dan’s workshop to create his own super-suit, incorporating Blue Devil’s tech. Thus, Kid Devil was born, and much to Dan’s dismay, as he had no interest in having a sidekick.

After the Blue Devil series ended, Aunt Marla died as an unintended consequence of Blue Devil’s deal with the demon Neron during the Underworld Unleashed event. Eddie then faded into the background for a while, making a notable appearance in Young Justice #49-51 with a new costume.

Following Infinite Crisis, Eddie received a magical candle from Zachary Zatara. When lit, it transported him to Neron, who offered Eddie a deal: in exchange for his soul, he would be transformed into a true demon with enhanced powers and a new look. However, there was a catch: Eddie would only lose his soul if, by his 20th birthday, he no longer trusted Blue Devil. Before Eddie returned to Earth, Neron revealed that Blue Devil was responsible for Marla’s death.

Shaken but empowered, Eddie joined the Teen Titans, confronted Blue Devil about the truth. He loses trust in his former idol and he changed his superhero name to Red Devil.

After Flashpoint, Eddie resurfaced in Raven: Daughter of Darkness as a member of Night Force. In Heroes in Crisis, he was seemingly killed by a mysterious force that caused the Flash to lose control of his powers. However, it was later revealed in The Flash that the real Eddie had been replaced by a clone, thanks to the time-traveling Gold Beetle.

While Eddie has never officially worked with the Justice Society of America, his connection to Blue Devil firmly places him in the realm of legacy characters. He’s also had strong ties to the Teen Titans and the magical side of the DC Universe. Personally, I’d love to see him pop up in a Young Justice Society story.

[somewherefornow]

JACK GOLD & VANESSA VAN HELSING in NIGHT FORCE (1982)

[wanderingmind867]

(Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2): A bunch of Barons. Two Nazis, and one weird warlock who never leaves his house. I don't know why Baron Winters and Night Force never took off. Gene Colan was an amazing artist, and this team concept sounds brilliant. I think they could've done some great things.

[imgibbon]

a random sampling of the Metal Men and Nightwing (and Power Girl) of the Tangent Comics through the decades

The Nineties- Metal Men #1, Nightwing #1, Nightwing: Night Force #1, Power Girl #1

The Metal Men are the movers and shakers of the Tangent Universe, at least, they were in the first couple waves of the comics. Comprising a team of six who were operation in the late 60s during WW3, they comprised six members (seems to be a running theme in this world). Their final mission went a bit wrong, and the team broke up. Three of them operate out in the open, with Sam Schwartz becoming President of the United States, John "Hawkman" Holliday acting as his Chief of Staff, and Rey "Lobo" Quinones working spec ops. On the other side of the equation tho...

...was Nightwing, the shadow government, created to manage the world's metahumans from behind the scenes. Marcus "Deadman" Moore lead them, aided by Francis "Black Lightning" Powell and Carl "Gravedigger" Waiters. Gravedigger would also head up a team of unruly agents who believed themselves to be subverting the organization, but were instead unwittingly doing the jobs not even the 'normal' Nightwing operatives wanted to do. They were Wildcat (who transforms into a beast upon hearing the word "Shazzam!"); Hex, with his familiar Nightshade and dark arts; Black Orchid, a witch who used tantric energies to power sadistic spells; and The Creeper, who could trap and use peoples' souls to his own end.

Across the pond, "Meridian" operated out of Eurasia, serving as the old world analog to Nightshade. It had many operatives and leaders, including the ancient immortal Vampire warlock Joseph Stalin (no, really), but its two top agents being Jade and Obsidian, who would often work with either the Metal Men or Nightshade as befitted their needs.

All three of these forces, the Metal Men, Nightshade, and Meridian, came together, both co-operatively and at odds, when China perfected its super soldier program and engineered Power Girl. Everyone wanted to be the ones to "rescue", and therefor take control of, the new metahuman, but she had other ideas, promptly displaying her seemingly limitless power and taking off to figure out what she wanted to do with her life on her own terms.

The Aughts- Superman's Reign

Ten years later, during the reign of The Superman, all these players were in a very different game. The Metal Men were no more, The Superman having dismantled all the world governments during his bid for power, and Nightshade was largely disbanded. Hex had joined the resistance and eventually became a member of the Outsiders, the successor team to the Secret Six, while Jade & Obsidian worked as enforcers for The Superman, ever the ones to work for what they deemed to be the winning side.

Power Girl, on the other hand, had become Harvey's new wife, the only one who could match both his near limitless powerset and detachment from humanity, they found in each other kindred spirits... and made everyone else's lives worse for it, even if they thought they were doing it for the greater good. Also, in my opinion, she got a much better costume. She was defeated alongside Harvey, and hasn't really been seen since.

The Teens & The Twenties- nothin'...

Not just Power Girl, none of these folks have really made an appearance in the ensuing years. Given the state of things in Green Lantern Dark, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the Nightwing or Meridian folks pop up, but for now, we'll just have to wait and see...

[coolcomicbookcovers]

[smashedpages]

On this day in 1982, Night Force #1 by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan brought a chilling new addition to DC's supernatural titles, as Baron Winters unleashed his agents against the forces of darkness.

[tomoleary]

Eduardo Barreto - Night Force #4 Cover Original Art (DC, 1997) Source

[comicpolls]

[gijoe-forever]

[inkskinned]

it's extremely critical that you see the photo of the perp walk for luigi mangione as being propaganda. i've seen so many people wave it off and instead fawn over his looks. and trust me, i know it ended up being kind of pathetic and weird - but please don't brush it off as a "modelling opportunity" for him. it's a fucking terrifying message the police are sending.

i want to make a few comparisons here, in case you're not from the US or familiar with why the perp walk thing is something to pay attention to. just to set the groundwork for why this is a purposeful, unusual, and cruel act by the nyc police - for why this is not a common occurrence and for why that matters.

the prosecution alleges the show of force is due to the charge of "terrorism." for comparison, in june 2015, tsarnaev was found guilty for the boston marathon bombing, which killed 3 people and injured hundreds. his actions are considered to be an act of domestic terrorism. i have spent the last hour looking through google for pictures of similar to mangione's perp walk - and so far, i have found zero. i also just do not personally remember a moment like that, despite living in boston at the time.

they allege that luigi is a stone-cold killer who carried out a longterm plan, making him particularly dangerous. again for comparison: in nyc, recently cory martin was found guilty of the killing of brandy odom. the murder was planned and premeditated to steal insurance money. and yet no staged perp walk. why didn't her life matter enough for a "show of force"?

but mangione gets paraded by a veritable army of police officers as if he is a rabid animal. for a single citizen who allegedly killed one other single citizen, the "largest perp walk ever" occurs.

so what is the "strong message" that the mayor and the police were trying to send here? the mayor speaks as if mangione is already convicted of terrorism. there is a very thin number of people who feel threatened by the CEO's death. none of us felt like mangione needs to be under massive armed guard.

the message is that you shouldn't resist. they are trying to "make an example" of him - that if you behave badly and kill a single rich person, you'll be treated as if you killed hundreds of people. you will be treated worse than a man who was found guilty of terrorism. you will be considered guilty without trial. the message is that the rich are a protected class, and you cannot touch them without massive punishment. they are trying to prevent a revolution by showing dominance and force against you.

the message is that the police are a puppet of the wealthy and that the law is not equally applied across class disparity. it is "some are more equal than others." it is "one life is more precious than another."

the show of force wasn't for luigi. it was for us. it was a warning. they are trying to remind us who is really in control.

[balu8]

Night Force #2: The Summoning, Chapter Two

by Marv Wolfman; Gene Colan; Bob Smith; Adrienne Roy and John Costanza

DC

[madxruler]

NIGHTFORCE (2021)