WSU vs. The Wild Storm 5

I know, the main point of this blog is to talk about the continuity of WildStorm Universe as it was from ’92 – ’11… but I really like doing this compare and contrast thing! Admittedly, I have no idea where Ellis is going with this new series, and honestly, I couldn’t be more on board for what he and his team are bringing. I just thought I’d have some fun, point out some of the references/differences from the old WSU to the new book “the Wild Storm” that came earlier this week.

 

New vs. Old

Daemon / Daemonite
Well, looky here! We have a full on alien looking thing! So, this is a total redesign of what we are used to.  It’s Daemon and not Daemonite now. To be honest, he seems pretty docile, and maybe more of a trickster character than outright evil. More of a Hightower type than a Helspont type. The way this Daemon just seems to appear and then slink back into the shadows is also at odds with how we saw these aliens presented in the WSU. Do they have any kind of powers? This Daemon is seeming to do fine without a host body right now, too.

Cray’s Father
This version of Cray Sr. doesn’t seem to be ex-military. Nor does he seem to think that Cray should be joining the Navy at all. Small change, but an important one.

Gaby
I think this is Gaby. Is this Gaby? In the original WSU Cray had an ex-wife. Her name was Gabrielle, she went by Gaby. This person is obviously someone who was once in a relationship with this version of Cray. Could it be “the Wild Storm’s” version of Gaby?

The Bleed
It is still the name for the area outside of space-time. It is unknown if it still represents the area between universes as it did in the former WSU. Looks different. Every time we’ve seen it it is pinkish in hue and features large planetoids/white blood cells. It used to look pretty different each time we saw it before, but now there’s a unified look. I dig it. Formally it was a dark red with a digital effect over it. Later on, it became quite fantastical looking under other artists, but the classic and original was the deep red version.

Cray Quitting I.O.
Still due to his hatred of Craven. Still due to going on missions, ones he’s starting to doubt helped anything in the long run. Not so different overall, but it plays a bit different.

New and What We Don’t Know

Executive Protection Services
Christine Trelane states that she works for this service and that it will help Cray disappear from I.O. and help him with his health. Also, in repayment, they’ll be having him do jobs. Jobs much like Craven had him do, kill the supposed bad guys. Is this the official name of what I’ve been calling the Division? Or is it just another business ran by the Skywatch ground crew?

Answers

Lucy’s Age
From her discussion with the Daemon, we know that Lucy is long lived. Not only that but they’ve been at odds with each other for a while.

Adrianna’s Powers and Background
We’ve met her before, but now we know more about her, so here it goes. Still Russian, but now had been working for SkyWatch and not a cosmonaut. She was again on a mission with a doomed partner who had a glorious mustache. Here she didn’t encounter an orb, but had fallen into the Bleed and was “saved” by a creature that lived in the Bleed from death. This is how she gained her transport powers, it’s also how she accesses them. She uses the Bleed. Neat. It must be noted, this version of Adrianna is much more talkative and outgoing that the one in the original WSU. Also, this time, Jacob found Adrianna, not the other way around.

One Last Thing

Pris’s Music Video Stills
Pris knows something or is it that she knows everything!? Here we see her in a suit like Adrianna’s in a setting that is reminiscent of The Bleed. Then we see her in Cray’s outfit in front of a wall with I.O.s logo painted on it. After that we see her dressed as our new Jenny in front of a bank of televisions with repeated footage of herself running from screen to screen. We also see in the second panel that Pris has an alien arm. This reminds me of her were-form from the old WSU, but here we don’t know if she has the same powers, or if this is just makeup on her arm for her music video. Could be either. This Pris knows a lot. That, or she is a magnet for coincidence!