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
Marc Slayton / Backlash
So we’re finally meeting members of Project Thunderbook, and the first is Marc Slayton. Originally in the old WildStorm Universe, Marc Slayton was both Kherubim and was Gen-Active, meaning he was double super-powered. He had shock white hair, psi-whips that came out of his hand, and he could turn his body into a mist. He was a member of Team One, Team 7, StormWatch and the leader of WildCORE, so he’s used to being on a team. Hell, in even in his “solo” series he acquired several partners quickly enough anyway, so you know, he’s not usually the loner type. The Slayton we find in “the Wild Storm” has a few things in common with the former version. The white hair is present, but because this version is actually old There’s even a reference to him getting his powers before going grey. He’s most definitely human this time, but he’s still gen/active which gives him his whips, but they come from the bottom of his wrists where it meets his hand rather than the top of his hands. We have a reference to him formally being a real people person who has now hidden himself away on a remote farm. This version of Marc is totally mad. He thinks that he should be allowed to eat the other gen/active results for Project Thunderbook and seems to be murdering people to send their souls to outer space based on a voice/being in his mind named “Carer.”
Levin’s Diner / a Diner in the Middle of Nowhere
John Lynch gets a bite to eat at a Levin’s diner, a diner in the middle of a desert. This recalls the diner in the middle of nowhere were Jakita Wagner first recruits Elijah Snow to be a member of Planetary in the old WSU. Not sure if this is just a storytelling tick of Ellis, or he’s trying to draw a parallel here to what Lynch is up to, or what may be buried out here in this desert. One thing is for sure, there doesn’t seem to be a dog adding flavor to any of the coffee in this book.
Gen/Active / Gen-Active
In the old WSU being Gen-Active meant that you had either been exposed to the Gen-Factor or had a parent that was and you were born with the Gen-Factor. Basically, you were super-powered. The Gen-Factor is pretty convoluted, but it lead to several Gen-Actives running around the old WSU. In “the Wild Storm” gen/active seems to refer to the alien biology that can plug into human biology so that humans can become something more than human. This genetic merging is what gave Marc Slayton his powers… and also a wicked imaginary friend.
Door
A DOOR! SHEN MAKES A GODDAMN DOOR! Ok, sure, it’s not gold and shimmery, but it’s Shen, using her magic to make a door that leads from a record store entrance straight to Jenny’s flat. Also, based on the colors we’re seeing here and Shen’s past magic ability, it is probably tied into the Bleed.
Khera / Kherubim Looks
We’ve been over this a bit before when Angie noted that the insides of the Khera that she’s met do not have the same bone structure as normal humans. In the old WSU Kherubim look just like Earth humans and could even breed with them. We see in this issue that Khera are shape-shifting humanoids who take up Earthling features to blend in easier. Oddly enough this was something a select few Daemonites could do in the old WSU continuity.
Jacob Marlowe and John Colt’s Relationship / Jacob and Spartan’s Relationship
In the old WSU Jacob and John Colt/Spartan’s relationship was close, extremely close. So close that once the original Jacob passed away, Spartan took the last name Marlowe and continued on as his son. Also, the original WSU John Colt was killed and the Spartan robot was built in his honor with Colt’s memories. Also, that version of Colt survived being killed came back and was super evil and then was killed by his robotic doppelganger. So yeah, this version of Colt in “the Wild Storm” pestering Jacob is pretty much all new. No previous version of the character acted like this towards Jacob. Spartan was always “do or die” by what Jacob said, only with Grifter being angry enough with Jacob to quit the team and at times Zannah begrudgingly following him (except when they were political rivals on Khera).
New and What We Don’t Know
How I.O. Will Respond to Mitch’s Death?
Miles doesn’t want to go the diplomatic way and set up a meeting with Henry. Mainly because this really does look like a punishment killing. He’s tasking three CATs and has authorized a kill order for Ground Division workers. While he’s saying this he also states that he wants a plan on how to carry all this out with the resources he’s made available. It’s up to Jackie to decide how they will be carried out.
Who is the Cryptic Guy at the Diner?
He seems to know things… Is there really a basement? I swear that in the last issue when Lynch said “Road trip” he was talking to someone in his basement, but I could be wrong. This could just be a madman talking shit, but maybe there’s some kind or prophesy here. Who am I kidding, this is a narrative story, he wouldn’t be there saying things like “Heaven’s Box” if it meant nothing. Waiting to see how this all plays out…
Dead Khera on Earth?
Based on what Lynch has said to Slayton, it seems like the members of Project Thunderbook were merged with that of alien DNA found from dead extraterrestrials. After we see Colt reveal his “birthday suit” and compare it to how Slayton sees Carer we know that the dead aliens that I.O. used to create gen/active humans were of Khera. The question is, how did they die, and were they affiliated with Jacob’s team or not.
The Beginnings of Project Thunderbook
We find out through Lynch and Slayton’s dialogue about the origin of Project Thunderbook. How they found the dead aliens with the gen/active material. How they asked for volunteers. And even how Marc was ready and willing to be a part of this project. We’re not sure how the others got involved but I’m sure we’ll find out.
Carer, Slayton’s “Imaginary” Friend
So yeah, Slayton is crazy and is seeing and hearing something in his head. He calls it Carer, which I think is just him parsing the word “Khera” wrong, Mainly because he doesn’t know or understand the word “Khera.” I’m not sure how much of what Slayton understands/hears is really what Carer needs him to do. Slayton reveals to Lynch that he is killing, but he says that he doesn’t consider any of the victims people. Could Slayton be killing other Khera and possible Daemon and then sending their souls into space because he’s misunderstanding Carer telling him to send the stranded Khera back to their home planet? How much of what Slayton hears in his head is really what the gen/active genes are wanting him to do vs. how he’s processing it through Carer.
Mars
We see Skywatch sending a ship to Mars. Henry seems to think it is barbaric that it’s going to take as long as a week to get there, Lauren is thankful that Jump Rooms are not so standard. We’ve had it said before that there are underground Skywatch facilities on Mars that they have to keep hidden from Earth. And I just put together that, duh, Jenny was on had to help Skywatch out way back in ’55 when they first went to Mars. You know, hence the lighter as a memento for that major accomplishment. Who knows what she did, or how she was involved with Skywatch in 1955, but she was there, on Mars, and Skywatch is going back there.
How will Skywatch Go to War with I.O.?
Henry tasks Lauren with coming up with two plans for attacking I.O. One that shuts down some of their locations, and the same plan but it also leaves a lot of bodies. Lauren comes back later and tells Henry that she has his information, but she’s got a better idea. Her idea involves a list of actions that will take out I.O. and ensure that there won’t be a way of I.O. to ever gain back the control over Earth it once had. What will Henry choose?
Colt’s Alien Form
So once a year Colt sheds his clothes, then shape-shifts back to his original Khera form. And he usually taunts Jacob with this? That pretty hilarious. What are the chances that this phone video falls into the wrong hands? I’d say pretty damn high!
Khera Clades
We’ve learned before that there are five different clades of Khera. In this issue, we get a good look at the lowest clade, the ones with 8 syllable names with a “U” sound in the middle with Colt. We also see the one that Slayton is talking to, which seems to be a match in look, but a different color. I don’t know if that’s enough to be a different clade, or that he was merged with another low clade Khera. Several issues ago we got a look at Jacob’s memories and we saw a humanoid alien much like these, but it differed from the Khera we see here. It only had 2 eyes, a tail and a Cthulhu/Dr. Zoidberg like tentacle mouth. Could this be Jacob’s clade? Have we now seen 2 different ones in their native look? Is the Daemon part of a Khera clade or a rival alien race? So far the two Khera clades we may’ve seen look a lot more similar to each other than they do the Daemon, so that’s still up in the air.
Answers
Jacob’s Spur
In issue 1 we see Jacob attack Michael Cray with his spur, from his wrist. I wasn’t sure at first if this was biological or if it was some sort of mechanical device that Jacob had implanted. But looking at Slayton’s whips, and where they come from, I’m pretty damn sure that they are biological.
How Pris Knows Things
Seems like the Daemon is influencing her dreams, and we know from the last issue that Pris sees things in her dreams about people like the Mayor. So the Daemon must have some kind of psychic powers in addition to some level of teleportation.
Getting the Authority Together
We have Shen and Jenny Mei going after and picking up the Mayor. This… this makes me happy! They really only need to meet up with Angie and we have our new version of the Authority! Ok, fine, yeah, we don’t have a Midnighter or Apollo yet, but once Angie joins we’ll have an Engineer, a Jenny, a King of the Cities and a Doctor of the World, I think that’ll be enough to officially be a new version of the Authority.
DCU Connections
Quinn Harleen Productions
The “Challengers of the Unknown” is a Quinn Harleen Production which is a DCU reference to Harley Quinn / Harleen Quinzel and to real-world television producer Quinn Martin and his Quinn Martin Productions.
Challengers of the Unknown
Another DCU property that has been re-purposed for the name of a television show in the world of “the Wild Storm” much like “Doom Patrol” and “Crime Doctor” before it. Based on the fact that we’re seeing the show on a tube television, and the original QM Productions was active from the ’60s through the early ’80s we can safely guess this is an older show and is being played from a VHS tape and not currently on the air.
One Last Thing
Cute “Sleeper” reference! More in the line of products being named after DCU properties in this book like the Dr. Midnight cigarettes and such in issue 3.
More issue comparisons of the old WildStorm Universe to “The Wild Storm.”
In issue 6, we find out about Dr. John Constantine Ph.D., who seems to be a bald version of John Constantine. We’ve kind of seen this before in the old WSU, wherein Planetary we are introduced to Jack Carter. He starts out as a regular Constantine analog, but after revealing that he faked his own death comes back and is, well, bald. Versions of John Constantine in the old WildStorm Universe and in the new The Wild Storm books are bald, it’s a constant between the two. Good to know.
The original DCU version of Aquaman was… Ok, it’s complicated. He was originally the son of a mermaid and a lighthouse keeper, then he was the king of the ocean and always had been. Either way, he still talked to the fishies in the deep blue sea and was really good around water. This new version is just plain evil and he and his family fancy themselves the lost royal family of Atlantis. Either he has spliced himself with aquatic DNA, or his family before him messed with him in utero to be born with the powers of aquatic beings. Either way, he’s got crazy strength powers and can still talk to fish. Not true royalty, but revered and feared by the locals because he is too powerful and nuts to cross. And by nuts, I mean that he claims to be beyond science.
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 a few weeks ago.
So we finally get to meet the new version of John Lynch. First of we find him looking a lot less like Clint Eastwood, and a lot more like Sam Elliott. Same kind of bad-ass cowboy vibe, I dig. As mentioned by Bendix in the last issue, this version of Lynch also has a white eye. It’s a little different this time around, instead of his “white eye” (more of a grey usually) being just a blank, it is a normal looking eye with a white iris around the pupil. This new version also has facial scarring along the eye, this time it’s one long scar that is much longer than the 2 (or 3) that he had in the old continuity.
It’s really come into focus, but these two have almost the exact kind of relationship in “the Wild Storm” that they did in the old WSU. Perhaps a bit more friendly. Kenesha being just as playful with Cole about the insults, while in the old WSU we’d get more of Savant being exasperated by Grifter and him offering up a quip back. My favorite example being Savant wondering what Zannah ever saw in Grifter and he retorts “She liked the way I made quiche.” I have to admit, I like the feistier version of the character in Kanesha, and Savant is one of my favorite old WildStorm characters.
We meet Lynch at his hideaway home, way out where it snows. It’s a long way from La Jolla. We see Lynch’s kitchen with a wolf on the counter. Then we see Lynch entering the kitchen from outside. Did Lynch kill that wolf and then leave his house and come back later? Or does he have a housemate that also went hunting, but unlike Lynch, came back with something to show? Also not sure if Lynch is saying “Road trip” to himself or someone else that may be in that house, it makes sense either way.
We now know how the Machine Telepathy was going to work. Brains in jars, hooked up to computers… shutter.
So we all thought that Bendix was going to be raining down hellfire upon I.O. installations after the last page of issue 6. Come issue 7 and we see none of that, now several issues on we see him kind of address that final page of issue 6. See, he was pissed about I.O. but in his own words he calmed down. I think that’s why we never saw those space jets hit their mark on his behalf. That or it’s a long flight from Skywatch to Earth and it seems only about a day or two has passed.
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 last week.
At the end of this issue, we find out that this version of Cole and Lucy have a past. Much like the old WSU where Cole and Zannah were a couple for several years, but broke up and continued to work together. In both cases it seems that Cole was trained in battle by Lucy/Zannah, but “the Wild Storm” version of the couple seemed to have gone their separate ways quite a while ago. In both cases, it seems that Cole still harbors a crush on the lady, and in both cases, the lady does what she wants despite that. The old Zannah would sometimes just kiss Cole out of nowhere and wonder why he’d get upset because he knows it isn’t going to work out. Lucy just full on tells Cole that he belongs to her! Woah!
When we see Jenny and Shen wake up in Jenny’s room, we see them under a bedspread with the Wonder Woman logo on it. I have to assume that the version Wonder Woman in “the Wild Storm” is also a fictional character which is very much the same as the one in our world and aptly marketed as such. Just a guess though.
We see Lucy check her phone and it reads “Ambush Bug : Target Device is Listening for You.” We can guess that this is an app that you can use to set up a listening channel on another device. It seems that Mitch’s phone is Lucy’s target considering that we see this right after Mitch is on his phone. Later on, when back in contact with his phone Mitch and Jackie mentions Cole and how they think he’s an operative for Skywatch. That’s the exact info that Lucy passes to Cole later, so yeah, it’s an app that bugs other electronic that can listen. Oh, yeah, and in the DCU Ambush Bug was a character that used small electronics that he could teleport between to get a jump on whoever he was fighting. He started out as a kind of mischievous villain but then got more comical, less villain-y and even broke the fourth wall, Deadpool style.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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, and frankly, looking at the view numbers, you readers do too! Admittedly, I have no idea where Hill, Harris, and Ellis are going with this new series, and honestly, I couldn’t be more on board with what this team is bringing. I just thought I’d have some fun, point out some of the references/differences from the old WSU to the new book “Michael Cray” that came out last week.
In this issue, we see that Michael Cray keeps a trophy shelf of sorts. It looks like it is mainly from folks that he has battled before. The old WSU version of Cray wasn’t too big on collecting prizes from fights fought, but he did once. Quite famously too! A little something that he picked up in the wilds of Nicaragua that became important in the “WildStorm Rising” crossover.
Ok, gone is the bright red suit, replaced with something more akin to a scuba diving get up. Not only that, but this version of Barry takes drugs along with using the tech of his suit to achieve super speeds. Also, this version of Barry seems to have a split personality and is legit crazy from those drugs he’s taking.
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 out earlier this week.
When Angela, Jacob, and Adri first enter Jacob’s lab, we see a huge green robot hanging in the room. While it looks like an android that is meant to be piloted by a human, it does recall the two huge green cyborgs from the original WSU, H.A.R.M. and Met-L. Who knows if this robot is related to either as it could even be a reference to Maul seeing how it is big and green. Also, it is emblazoned with the number 52, as DC seems to have a real boner for that numeral.
Paul Kirk (as well as many clones of him) is the crimefighter known as Manhunter in the DCU. Except the Golden Age Paul Kirk who was mostly a tough guy private investigator, whom the movie character that Mitch likes seems to be more based on. Once again we’re seeing media based on C-list DC Characters, much like the Doom Patrol was in issue three.
We find out that one of John Lynch’s big projects at I.O. was called Project Thunderbook. It seems as if Ellis is never one to let a good name be forgotten, you see “Thunderbook” was also the name of a special from WildStorm Studios back in the day filled with short stories. Put this on the list of WildStorm things that I didn’t think I’d see referenced in “the Wild Storm!”
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, and frankly, looking at the view numbers, you readers do too! Admittedly, I have no idea where Hill, Harris and Ellis are going with this new series, and honestly, I couldn’t be more on board for what this team is bringing. I just thought I’d have some fun, point out some of the references/differences from the old WSU to the new book “Michael Cray” that came out earlier this week.
Back in the old WSU Hector was a member of the DV8 team and he had the power to turn emotions into muscle mass. Basically, toss hate his way, he’ll grow big and kick your ass. This version of Hector is coming across as much more of a master thinker, to lay traps for an enemy, or at least guide them into one. Basically, a good tactician. This version of Hector seems not to be a clone, as far as we can tell. The new Hector does seem to keep a similar hairstyle to the old one, too.
Leon was also a member of the DV8 team in the old WSU and had the power to remove heat, super-cooling areas. Almost like ice powers, but not quite. This new version of Leon seems to be another military tactician type like the new Hector is, but Leon on specializes in predicting how an enemy will be attacking. Honestly, he’s the one we get very little hints about. Other than the look and powers, this new Leon could very well be like the old Leon for all we know, that is to say, pretty loyal and level-headed who garners the respect of his co-workers easily.
Victoria was better known as Flint in the old WSU and was a member of StormWatch and StormWatch : Team Achilles. Her power was that she was strong and could not be hurt. The only thing that harmed her was acidy spit from a Xenomorph, and that only even left a scar. This new version seems to be a good shot a bit more sarcastic and is bold enough to follow Cray.
Who is she? Should we know her? I’m not placing her at all. She’s totally a character to keep an eye on. Hell, Christine even tells Cray the same thing! Coincidently enough, Dr. Shahi features a prominant scar on her cheek, much like the old WSU version of Flint did.
We meet a young woman who introduces herself as Queen’s sister, and then admits that they are not actually biologically related. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be Thea or not. Based on the last issue I’d thought Thea was a maid type, if this is Thea, then she is someone who is like a sister to Oliver that he can trust to do his dirty work. Meaning this version of Thea is possibly more of a cross between Thea Queen from “Arrow” and Mia Deardon from the DCU than simply just a version of one of them.
This is more of a half-answer at best. We’ve seen Michael’s powers go off a few times. In both of the instances that involved a living being (Jacob and that poor mouse), it seemed both surprising to him and caused an explosion. When he uses it on Oliver it doesn’t seem as surprising to him and Oliver’s arm doesn’t explode, it just catches on fire and disappears, much like that cup did back in “the Wild Storm.” Is Michael gaining some kind of mastery over his powers? Is he coming to expect what sets them off? Can he control if it is a big explosion or just a tiny disintegration? So yeah, a bit of an answer, but a lot more questions!
He’s a bad cop. I’m sure we’ll be finding out more about him in the next issue. Barry Allen is the Flash in the DCU, a speedster, who, yes, works for the police department. I may be wrong but he seems like a regular cop type here and not a forensic investigator.
When Christine is talking to Oliver’s sister at the end of the issue Christine compares the girl to a seed. Christine states that she’s planting the girl to see what grows. More than just a pretty metaphor, it is a reference to the old WSU version of Christine, where her power was activating superpowers in beings known as “seedlings.” Christine and seeds, no matter the universe those two things go hand in hand.
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 out earlier this week.
Shen is back, she has… uh… not real wings now. In the old WildStorm continuity, she had wings and could grow talons, basic bird powers. These wings don’t seem to be real, but a manifestation of the hallucination she uses to introduce the Bleed to, so she can fix them. She’s also the Doctor again like she was at the very end of the old WSU. Also, she’s in Amsterdam meeting Jenny for the first time, much like where our most famous Jenny & Doctor (Ms. Sparks and Jeroen) met for the first time in the old WSU.
One of the past Doctors mentions what Jenny is and refers to the type of person she is as “Them” and how they are around to protect the world as a planetary defense mechanism. They also talk of the rarity of this group and how they’re always an indicator of trouble ahead. In the old WSU we had a group known as “the Century Babies” who were all born on Jan 1st, 1900 (except one born on Jan 1st, 1901) and were to protect humanity. Same concept, but unnamed in the “the Wild Storm.” Jenny Sparks was the first Century Baby we knew on the old WSU, and the next most known would be Elijah Snow (there was a handful more, each with a different function.)
There’s no way this is the new version of the Metropolitan from “the Monarchy” is it? I mean, they’re both pretty hipsterish for their times, yeah?
Jacob explains in his story (more below) that he’s from an alien race that lives concurrently with differently evolved beings from the same ancestral source. He mentions that there are five of these species that traveled space as representatives of their planet. From what is said by Angela, that it explains why he is a different size and structure than John and Kenesha, we can guess that the three of them comprise at least 2 of the 5 species, if not 3. Angela knows what they look like on the inside individually, we the reader currently don’t, Kenesha and John might not be so similar under their skin. We also don’t know if Lucy is a part of one of the known species or not. So she’s either one of the 2 that we’re sure of, or she’s a possible 3rd or 4th. This leaves me of 2 minds. The first is this, if we are counting Jacob, Kanesha, John, and Lucy each as different species of the same clade collective then what would be the 5th? Is it the Daemon that we saw? Could this tie into the alien that we saw in the last issue that wasn’t quite what we know as Daemon and walked like our known Kera, Jacob? Is that their common ancestral species? We could still see the Daemon as one of the clade species, count Jacob as another, and then see Kanesha, John, and Lucy as all members of a single species leaving us with 2 more to find out about. Perhaps a new version of the Titanthropes from the old WSU?
When Shen is checking out Jenny’s consciousness she gets to a mechanical heart with two Daemons standing outside of it. Seriously? WTF? Are Daemons responsible for Jennys?
Jacob lets Angela in on his story. How he is from a species that lives side by side other linear subspecies from the same ancestral species. Also how representatives from 5 of these got on a spaceship to check out Earth. He warned of the Gaian Bottleneck which is that life rarely evolves fast enough to survive, and the reason why he and his pals ventured to Earth was the fact that they were still relatively new in the Universe and had evolved pretty quickly already. It seems that he and the other aliens he came with got stranded on Earth and so made it a point to help humanity side step the Gaian Bottleneck by helping them evolve as speedily as possible, hence why he set up Halo. It’s a big story, but we find out later there’s much more to it that he’s just not telling Angela for now.
Looks like our old buddy Cole was for sure a member of I.O. and was even in a CAT while with them. He was supposed dead by I.O. until recently. In the old WSU Cole was indeed a member of a special ops team employed by I/O called “Team 7.” No word currently if Michael Cray and Cole know each other from their I.O. days in “the Wild Storm” like they did in the old WSU.
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 Hill are going with this new series, and honestly, I couldn’t be more on board for what this team is bringing. I just thought I’d have some fun, point out some of the references/differences from the old WSU to the new book “Michael Cray” that came out earlier this week.
Ok, we’ve been over this in the first “the Wild Storm” entry. This new version of Cray is different. His power is blowing things up by touch, vs. old Cray who just wouldn’t die. They both worked for I/O, both quit I/O and went to work at Executive Protection Services.
We’ve seen the new Cray’s dad before in a flashback in “the Wild Storm” and he seemed a bit different from the WSU’s Mr. Cray. We now catch up with him in real time and find pretty much the same thing. Not only is he still alive with an adult son, he seems to have a contentious relationship with him, unlike the WSU version of the character. Also, the new version of Mr. Cray has a girlfriend and no longer seems to be with Michael’s mother. (I’ll admit, this conjecture based on the fact that she looks younger than Mr. Cray and Michael refers to her as “she” and not mom, but I could be wrong.)
Yup, both the characters have a similar background. Rich heirs, stranded on an island, left to survive by their wits and archery skills alone. The biggest difference that informs the rest of their differences here, is that this Oliver more selfish than the mainline DCU version. This version has no need for social issues and even prefers to screw over the less fortunate in order for him to make more money. Oh, and he also hunts humans in a recreation of the island he was stranded on.
While we don’t meet Diggle in “Michael Cray” we overhear Oliver talking to him by way of a hands-free phone device. He still serves the same purpose, being Oliver’s trusted sideman. Only here he’s more like a personal assistant than a co-conspirator in crime fighting.
We also have Oliver talking to Diggle, supposedly about a maid named Thea. She doesn’t seem to be based on a comics character, but on Oliver’s younger sister from the television show “Arrow.”
Ok, we don’t know if the reference is to Bruce Wayne, but Michael’s dad mentions another kid, this time “back East” that had a horrible experience, but then ended up rich. This kid had his parents shot in front of him. It seems like a reference to Bruce, the second one in the Wild Storm line. The first one refers to an alleyway where a man turned into a bat in ’39. So yeah, maybe it isn’t Bruce, or the two stories are unconnected, as you know, anything can happen in this new reality!
weathering wildstorm 