WSU vs. The Wild Storm 10

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 with 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 out earlier this week.

 

New vs. Old

Weatherman
I think this is the first time that Bendix has been referred to as “Weatherman” in the comics. Still more of a position than a code name, but that was a nice touch.

the Mayor / Jack Hawksmoor
I‘ll admit, I honestly didn’t see this one coming! We’re introduced to a character named the Mayor. He’s barefoot and standing outside a bodega, willing to talk about cities to anyone around. Much like the original Jack Hawksmoor he has ridged feet and wears a suit. Unlike the original Hawksmoor, he has long hair and can get through cities faster. In the old WSU when Hawksmoor didn’t have a Door to call on, he would curl up in a ball, the street would form a ball around him, and swallow him. A few hours later a new ball in a new city would rise out of the street and Hawksmoor would burst out. Diving into a street like it’s a pool seems much easier!

New & What We Don’t Know

What Angie Was Going to Say to Cole
Cole wants to ask Angie if she can attach bombs to her little flying robot, and if they can use them to hack I.O. Before Cole asks her this, Angie says she has a question for Cole too, but after he mentions Kenesha is involved she clams up. Angie just doesn’t trust aliens.

Reptilians
Twice in this issue, we have references to Reptilian aliens. Shen correctly knows this as the Daemon. When Bendix brings this up it frustrates Lauren. Bendix states that knowledge of alien life is a core part of SkyWatch. Lauren still isn’t buying it. It seems Shen and Bendix are the only non-aliens to believe in the Daemon. Seems as if Jenny is coming around on it, and Lauren still thinks it is the imagination of Bendix’s drug-addled brain.

Answers

Event Shielding
We’ve had event shielding mentioned a few times, but we now finally have a better idea of what is going on.

Cray’s New Job
Henry Bendix gets a report from Christine Trelane about Michael Cray. He says that Trelane has Cray do jobs similar to what the SkyWatch Ground Division usually does, and that is taking care of superpowered beings. We saw Lucy do this in the first issue of the series, well, we caught her in the aftermath of that.

Cray’s Tumor
Bendix reveals that by looking over Trelane’s reports that he knows that Cray doesn’t have a tumor. He thinks it is something put there by reptilian aliens.

Ivana’s Leaky I.O. Group
Henry bitches to Lauren that he can’t get more info out of Jackie King’s I.O. group. It seems as if everyone knows what is going in Ivana Baiul’s group. We’ve seen her talk very candidly over the phone with people about the goings on of I.O., so this is hardly surprising.

Jenny’s Age
Alright, in this new universe we need to stop seeing Jenny Mei Sparks as a “Jenny” or a Century Baby. She’s 120ish and stated in past issues a Techne, and her “lineage” or “line” includes a woman named Joan. But yeah, she says shes 120yrs old, give or take a few years. We also see that Jenny Mei Sparks isn’t too different to the old Jenny Sparks as they both disappeared into drunkenness for a time and lost track of the world.

Where Jenny Comes From
Swift reveals to Jenny that she comes from a machine developed by an alien. And her purpose is to protect the Earth.

Pris Didn’t Know Things, But She Does Now!
Pris sees the Mayor dive into the street and it freaks her out, but not for the obvious reasons. We’ve suspected that Pris knows some of the secret stuff that has been going on around her, based on her music videos. We have now found out that Pris didn’t think any of that was “for real for real.” It was just interesting conspiracy theory stuff that she was into, but she didn’t think there were really aliens. But now… now she believes, and now, finding out that what all she’s learned is true, she’s knows there’s a war coming!

DCU Connections

DJ Beast Boy
There is mention of a DJ named DJ Beast Boy. It is unknown if it is this universe’s version of Garfield Logan as a DJ or if it is a DJ that named himself after the character from the “Doom Patrol” TV show we saw advertised on the Galaxy Network in issue 3. Either is plausible for such a passing comment.

One Last Thing
The story is starting to come together. Jenny was created by the Daemon to save the Earth. The Khera are stranded on Earth during a mission that they have not been forthright about. We’ve seen Lucy and the Daemon together, and they’re not exactly on good terms. Did the Daemon set up the Techne machine to create beings to save the Earth from Khera invasion? Is Jenny predisposed to fight against our fledgling WildCATs team? Is this going to be the line drawn in the sand that will move Angie from Jacob’s team to one with Shen and Jenny, her dislike of aliens? When will the Mayor meet up with those women? Will Jackie King and Christine Trelane meet up, fall in love and go to work for Shen & Jenny, pooling their secret knowledge into this makeshift Authority? Will Lucy and Pris ever meet up with and join Jacob’s team? I’m kind of super excited!

More issue comparisons of the old WildStorm Universe to “The Wild Storm.”