WSU vs. The Wild Storm 17

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 and Davis-Hunt are going with this new series, and honestly, I couldn’t be more on board with what they and their 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 a week ago. 

 

New vs. Old

Stephen Rainmaker / Stephen Callahan (and kind of John Two-Raven)
So this is a sticky one, we meet Stephen Rainmaker, a Project Thunderbook experimentee who is pretty much the new version of Stephen Callahan from the old WSU continuity. Right off, you may notice that Stephen Callahan is not a Native American like Stephen Rainmaker. Both men used to work with Lynch, each of them is the father of a daughter with storm-related powers and they share a first name. In fact, this version of Stephen seems to pull a lot more from John Two-Raven, the uncle who raised Sarah Rainmaker in the old WSU, than from Callahan. Also, this version of Stephen only seems to have one kid rather than the three that Stephen Callahan had in the old WSU continuity.

Sarah Rainmaker
Stephen mentions having a daughter, with her mother being the hottest woman he’s ever seen. That woman seems to have had the baby in secret from Stephen and then eventually sends the young girl to Stephen in a limo with a check. Stephen claims that his daughter has similar powers to him, and based on her name we can assume this is for sure The Wild Storm version of Sarah Rainmaker. The biggest difference being that the original Sarah’s mom was Native American instead of her father. Also note that The Wild Storm version of Sarah would be from the Akokisa indigenous tribe living in eastern Texas, rather than being Apache living in south-eastern Arizona like she was in the old continuity.

Ragnar Helspont / Helspont
When John and Stephan are talking, Stephan brings up the lead scientist working for Project Thunderbook named Ragnar Helspont. This is an obvious reference to Helspont, one of the villains of the original WSU WildCATs. Little more is known about this man, including the fact that he may or may not be a Daemon like he was the last time around. We haven’t seen Daemon’s pose as humans in any way in The Wild Storm like we did in the old WSU, so there is a lot more to be seen here! According to Stephen, Ragnar did seem to know a lot about the Khera implants though… hmmmmm…

Mystery Duo / Apollo & Midnighter
In Slayton’s trek across America to murder any other superpowered beings he comes across, he finds an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for Slayton, the dwellers of the house are not pushovers and they send him running. I have a pretty good idea of who they are. I mean come on, this is Apollo and Midnighter, yeah? There’s no doubt… except for the shading… but I mean look at them… I want to say definitively that it is Apollo and Midnighter, but it’d just be like Ellis toss a curve ball to screw with all of us! I mean I guess it could be Majestic and Loner… Nah, that’s Apollo and Midnighter!

New and What We Don’t Know

Jodi Morinaka and/or Aries?
Lynch mentions that he does not know if Slayton has a kid or not. I guess there’s still a chance for us to see a version Jodi in The Wild Storm… or even Aries, I guess.

What Lucy did to Piss Off Jacob
Well, it looks like we have proof that Lucy doesn’t work with the Halo WildCAT team in The Wild Storm over a disagreement she had with Jacob. Based on Kanesha’s response of “She didn’t betray you, she just disagreed with your goals” we can see it was a matter of opinion and not some major thing, or else why would Lucy be defended at all.

What are the Daemon’s True Goals?
We get a little more insight into what the Daemon wants. The Daemon wants to have humanity find it’s own way, and not have Jacob and the Khera interfere with Earth’s progress. To what end we are not sure. Even if the Daemons were known as the good guys, maybe what they are truly after is an easier world to control and the Khera showing up ruined that.

Answers

Making Peace With the Khera Implant
It seems like Stephen has made peace with his implant by not pushing it. He’s not getting the feedback loop that Alex was talking about anymore. He’s living in harmony with the Khera in his head and it works. I think, in a way, Gloria has done the same thing. It is possible not to be a murderous fruitcake like Slayton it seems.

Cole is in Hiding
Last issue I wasn’t sure if Cole would leave the team and go back underground, but for now, it seems like he is going to lay low and confine himself to the house and Jacob’s work lab.

DCU Connections

Martian Manhunter
A reference to the TV show Martian Manhunter, this time with Stephen quoting it rather than us seeing Jenny walk through the background of the show.

the Daily Planet
Once again we see an issue of “the Daily Planet.”

One Last Thing
The Daemon is laying it on a little thick with the return of the Authority when it comes to visit Angie, isn’t it?

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