Justuice League: Generation Lost #2 Annotations
by Andrew Dowdell
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"Part Two: Max'ed Out"
Script: Judd Winick
Breakdowns: Keith Giffen
Penciller: Joe Bennett
Inker: Jack Jadson
Editor: Michael Siglain
Synopsis
Captain Atom, Booster Gold, Skeets, Fire and Ice are the only heroes who remember Maxwell Lord, and they're having a hard time having anyone else take them seriously about the threat that he poses. Slowly, each of them realizes that Lord has altered everyone's memories to look upon them unfavorably, causing them to come into conflict with their allies; the former JLIers are on their own against Lord. Skeets traces a monitoring signal to El Paso Texas, the home of Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle, who is under attack by a swarm of OMACs...
Notes
Page 1: Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Ice and Fire last appeared in Justice League: Generation Lost #1.
That shot of Wonder Woman holding her sword above her head is reminiscent of her pose on the cover of Wonder Woman (second series) #181.
Page 2: Skeets last appeared in Justice League: Generation Lost #1.
Wonder Woman snapped Maxwell Lord's neck in Wonder Woman (second series) #219.
Page 4: "What'd he think? I bet myself up?" He might, but then he'd be wrong. Maxwell Lord kicked the living stuffing out of Booster in Justice League: Generation Lost #1.
"Maybe we should have just let you lie here for another two hours and bleed to death?" Cold, Ice, really cold.
"I was in the Middle East, absorbing a nuclear explosion impact and the fallout. Again, in Justice League: Generation Lost #1.
Page 5: "I'm sorry Booster, but they were obviously not in possession of their J.L.I. signals." Well, considering that the J.L.I. has been defunct for years, why would they be?
Page 6: This Batman is, of course, Dick Grayson, since Bruce Wayne is still dead, lost in time, whatever he's doing.
However, Grayson/Batman hasn't been using the Batcave as his base of operations; he and Damian Wayne, the new Robin, utilize the Bat-bunker, located underneath the Wayne Tower in Gotham City. Perhaps Booster, who met quite frequently with Bruce Wayne in the Batcave, wanted to meet the new Dark Knight there.
Among the trophies seen in the background are the Giant Penny from "The Penny Plunderers" in World's Finest Comics #30 and the Giant T-Rex from "Dinosaur Island" in Batman #35.
Not sure why Booster all of the sudden has a star on his back; he must be trying out a new costume design.
Depicted on the Batcave's monitor screen are two shots of OMACs, the J.L.I., Maxwell Lord, and a member of the Dominator race.
"I'm not confused! Max Lord! He spear-headed reforming the Justice League!" Well, technically he didn't, even in established continuity. The League had already reformed by the time Lord got his hands on them; he just manipulated events so that the team could attain United Nations sanctioning, that's all.
"Max hijacked the OMAC project!" While Bruce Wayne designed the Brother I satellite, Lord took control of it to use it as a weapon for Checkmate.
Behind Batman and Booster we can see several old Batman costumes.
Page 7: In the extreme foreground is the Tumbler, the "Batmobile" from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
"He came to all of us for help...and Max Lord murdered him." Ted Kord discovered that Maxwell Lord was up to no good and tried to recruit others heroes to his cause, to no avail. Kord confronted Lord, and was shot in the head. This all happened in Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1.
Page 8: I can't tell if Fire and Wonder Woman are in either the Hall of Justice or the Watchtower...or someplace completely different.
"A man who's now returned from the grave?" Yeah, like that never happens in the DC Universe...
Page 9: "You've been dismissed." Since the events of Infinite Crisis, Fire has been working with Checkmate, most recently as the Black King's Knight.
Page 10: Guy Gardner and Ice used to date, a long, long time ago. They broke up right around the time Superman joined the J.L.I. and Guy got his yellow power ring. Then Ice died, and Guy became Warrior, but Guy soon became a Green Lantern again, and Ice returned from the dead, and they reunited, but they're still not dating, because he's on Oa and she's on Earth and long-distance relationships are hard, you know?
"Guy, if you're talking about Blackest Night, it wasn't my fault." Since technically Ice "died," she fell under the influence of Nekron and his Black Lantern power rings in Blackest Night #5. She was freed from his power by a White Lantern power ring in Blackest Night #8.
Page 11: Making cameos here are the Flash (Barry Allen), Shazam (Freddy Freeman), Power Girl (Kara Zor-El/Karen Starr), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Oracle (Barbara Gordon), Plastic Man (Patrick "Ell" O'Brian), Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce), Zatanna (Zatanna Zatara) and Mister Terrific (Michasel Holt).
"I think I'd know if he was resurrected with Shayera, me and the others." Actually, it should be "Shiera," not "Shayera."
Page 12: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is located about five miles south-southeast of Tucson, Arizona.
Magog, real name David Reid. First appeared (historical) in Kingdom Come #1 and (current incarnation) in Justice Society of America (second series) #12. Possesses superhuman strength, durability and plasma energy channeled through his staff.
Page 13: Maxwell Lord last appeared in Justice League: Generation Lost #1.
"Hey airborne!' As Nathaniel Adam, Captain Atom used to be a member of the United States Air Force, hence the nickname from Magog, a Marine.
Page 18: "I can only assume that the implication is that Booster's life needs no discrediting." Booster Gold has always been seen as an opportunist who is more concerned with making money and seeking fame than being a hero. Ever since the events of 52, in which he had a hand in saving the Multiverse, Booster has been "the greatest hero the world has never known," because he puts up a front of being incompetent while protecting the time stream from threats. Only a select group of individuals, including Bruce Wayne, know about Booster's true activities.
Yeah, I'm not digging the blue star on Booster's back...
Page 19: "Ted didn't kill himself." This one line shows how much Booster has matured over the years. Once upon a time, Booster would have been pissed off if his own reputation was mildly sullied, but that doesn't matter now. What bothers him is the idea that the memory of his best friend has been ruined, and that is the motivating factor for him.
Page 20: "No, I didn't sign up for this." Even though Ice has been back for a while, she really hasn't been seen all that much. Hopefully, this series will explore her a bit more, and establish her character going forward, especially since she seems a whole lot harsher and more self-involved ever since her resurrection.
Page 22: Blue Beetle III, real name Jaime Reyes. First appeared in Infinite Crisis #3. Bonded to an alien scarab that creates a high-tech suit of armor with various offensive and defensive capabilities.
OMACs, also known as Omni-Mind And Community. First appeared in The OMAC Project #1. Cyborgs with protective armor and access to archives about Earth's metahumans and their weaknesses.
Why is a J.L.I. signal belonging to Ted Kord coming from the Reyes home? Hmmm, very interesting, he said, stroking his beard and cackling madly...
Check out more Blackest Night annotations at my blog, Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice....
Andrew Dowdell lives in the wonderfully-named Sleepy Hollow, NY, with his wife Allison and miniature schnauzer Casey. Though he works as a bartender, he hopes someday to leave behind the world of customer service to writer for a living. In college, Andrew wrote, directed and produced several theatrical productions, and is currently working to hone his skills as a comic book scriptwriter. In the meantime, he spends his time trying to keep tabs on the convoluted structure and continuity of the DC Universe. His sanity should vanish any minute now. Please feel free to e-mail your questions, comments, thoughts and job offers to andrewdowdell@ymail.com. Emphasis on the "job offers" part...
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