Saturday, January 26, 2019

Crisis Weekly #14

PAGE ONE

Panel 1
Black panel.

Panel 2
Mostly black panel.  We can see a door is opening, and beyond that we see, in the distance, Eduardo Dorado strapped to a chair.  He is still wearing the clothes we last saw him in, although they look worse for wear (and other things).  He is gagged.

Panel 3
Black panel.

Panel 4
A small light has been introduced, and now we see a large figure looming behind Eduardo.

Panel 5
Black panel.

TITLE: “Paint it Black”

Panel 6
The figure emerges into the faint light, and we can see the distinctive mask of the Caballero.

Panel 7
Black panel.

WRITER: Tony Laplume

Panel 8
Close-up of the Caballero’s face.

CABALLERO: There’s a natural order to this world, Dorado, that you try to resist, and I find that…

Panel 9
Pulling in closer, as if the Caballero is drawing himself still closer to Eduardo.

CABALLERO: Irritating.


PAGE TWO

Panel 1
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): I knew all along, of course.

Panel 2
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): That you were a “superhero.”

CABALLERO (o.p.): That you were working to sabotage my office from within.

Panel 3
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): I knew from the moment I took you onboard my campaign.

Panel 4
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): Your whole history was known to me.

CABALLERO (o.p.): You might even call me your biggest fan.

CABALLERO (o.p.): And perhaps your only, if we’re being honest here, and I think we can both agree that now is the time for honesty, Dorado.

Panel 5
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): You’re a bit obscure, aren’t you?

Panel 6
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): Ask most Mexicans about “El Dorado” and they’ll conjure images of vain quests for gold.

CABALLERO (o.p.): A people’s sad history.

Panel 7
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): So I hope you don’t mind when I ask…

CABALLERO (o.p.): What were you thinking when you gave yourself that name?

Panel 8
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): And I wonder, too, if you are asking yourself, now…

Panel 9
Close-up of Eduardo.

CABALLERO (o.p.): Have I been on a vain quest, too?
 

PAGE THREE

Panel 1
Bats.

Panel 2
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): I hope you don’t mind a visit from my friends.

Panel 3
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): They bring me comfort, for reasons I sometimes find difficult to express.

CABALLERO (o.p.): But for you I can try, Dorado.

Panel 4
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): I think it’s down to an incident I had when I was a boy.

Panel 5
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): You see, my father had a large estate when I was growing up, and I would go exploring.

Panel 6
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): One day I fell into a hole in the ground.

Panel 7
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): And I fell, and I fell, and I fell.

Panel 8
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): And eventually I landed, of course.  I had fallen into a cave.

Panel 9
Bats.

CABALLERO (o.p.): And there were, of course, bats in that cave.
 

PAGE FOUR

Panel 1
Close-up of the Caballero.

Panel 2
Close-up of the Caballero.

CABALLERO: And from the moment onward, I considered them my friends.

Panel 3
Close-up of the Caballero.

CABALLERO: The end.

Panel 4
Close-up of the Caballero.

Panel 5
Close-up of the Caballero.

CABALLERO: I know, riveting wasn’t it?  I always was quite the storyteller.

Panel 6
Close-up of the Caballero.

Panel 7
Close-up of the Caballero.

CABALLERO: But as much as I love theatrics, we’re not here to talk about bats.

Panel 8
Close-up of the Caballero.

Panel 9
Close-up of the Caballero.

CABALLERO: Let’s talk about how your vain quest has failed, Dorado.
  

PAGE FIVE

Panel 1
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: You knew what I was before you ever agreed to be my running mate. 

CABALLERO: Of course you did.

Panel 2
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: You knew my ambitions, what I had done previously.

CABALLERO: What I hoped to do in the future.

Panel 3
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: None of it particularly…life affirming, shall we say?

Panel 4
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: I have no doubt that from your point of view, I am a very bad man.

Panel 5
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: And that if I had managed to maneuver myself into a position of power, I could accomplish very bad things indeed.

Panel 6
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: Why bother with such a complicated plan, though?

CABALLERO: I’m sure you’ve been asking yourself this for years.

Panel 7
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: Many “villains” accomplish their goals through far more conventional means.

Panel 8
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: Surely the risks would be greater?  Surely I would suffer the wrath of the world, if caught?

Panel 9
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side.

CABALLERO: The truth is, being the leader of a sovereign nation gives one the greatest immunity in the world, and that is a wonderful thing.
 

PAGE SIX

Panel 1
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: Surely the risks increase, in the final analysis, the humiliation greater, in the end.

Panel 2
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: There will, in fact, be considerable compensation for such risks.

Panel 3
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: For all the despots easy to identify, there will be those who will be forever remembered favorably.

Panel 4
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: Absurd, I know, but the people need their heroes.

Panel 5
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: And they need them visible, Dorado.

Panel 6
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: There are no more visible individuals than world leaders, Dorado, not even celebrities.  Not even actors.  Not even “superheroes.”

Panel 7
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: Just one of those sad truths we try so hard to avoid thinking about.

Panel 8
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: And there are times in which this is even truer than others.

CABALLERO: Times in which the population doesn’t believe in “superheroes” at all.

CABALLERO: Times in which all the good guys are vilified.

Panel 9
Close-up of Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches apart.

CABALLERO: Times like these, Dorado.
 

PAGE SEVEN

Panel 1
Close-up of the Caballero’s fist.

Panel 2
Black panel.  (Implied that the fist is being swung.)

Panel 3
Close-up of the Caballero’s fist.

Panel 4
Black panel.  (Implied that the fist is being swung.)

Panel 5
Close-up of the Caballero’s fist.

Panel 6
Black panel.  (Implied that the fist is being swung.)

Panel 7
Close-up of the Caballero’s fist.

Panel 8
Black panel.  (Implied that the fist is being swung.)

Panel 9
Close-up of the Caballero’s fist.  It has blood on it.
 

PAGE EIGHT

Panel 1
The Caballero, using a white towel to wipe the blood from his hand.

Panel 2
The Caballero is tossing the towel aside.

Panel 3
The Caballero is smiling.

Panel 4
The Caballero is now pulling up a chair.

Panel 5
The Caballero is now seating himself.

Panel 6
The Caballero begins to speak again.

CABALLERO: And what is my endgame in all of this?

Panel 7
The Caballero continues to talk.

CABALLERO: Even if I am one of those unfortunate ones who doesn’t get to walk away, why risk so much?

Panel 8
The Caballero pauses to smile again.

Panel 9
The Caballero concludes.

CABALLERO: Why, perhaps simply, I am a madman who wants to see the world burn.

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Crisis Weekly #13

PAGE ONE

Panel 1
Inside a bank with panicking people and thieves with Man-Bat masks holding shotguns.  The lead one is wearing a more stylized mask, resembling the Caballero’s.  That’s the only hint that this is probably orchestrated by our evil Mexican president.  But this is happening in America. 

LEAD THIEF: Okay, everybody down on the ground! 

LEAD THIEF: Nobody panics and everybody gets to walk away.  Some of us with a little more money than others!

Panel 2

Different angle as the bank’s patrons are getting down.  We see our doughy friend Marty Kirby crouching near a security guard (on his badge we can see “GCPD,” which is our only indication that this is happening in Gotham), as Marty pulls out his Sandman mask.  Marty is whispering to the guard.

MARTY KIRBY: Don’t worry, I got this.

Panel 3
Marty, having now transformed himself into Sandman, is standing up.  The guard is not at all convinced this is a positive development.

MARTY: Stand down, you goons!

SECURITY GUARD: What’re you doing???

MARTY: Don’t worry!  I have everything under control!

SECURITY GUARD: But you’re making yourself a target!  And me!

MARTY: No, I’m creating a diversion…

Panel 4
Marty is pointing toward something we can’t see.

MARTY: For that!

TITLE: “American Idiot”
WRITER: Tony Laplume
 

PAGE TWO

Panel 1
Now stands revealed at the entrance of the bank, glowing with all his power, floating in the air, the Boxer!  At long last in the spotlight!  You’ll find a description of him on the last page of Crisis Weekly #1.

BOXER: What a strange planet.

BOXER: What exactly were you expecting to accomplish? 

Panel 2
Boxer is plowing into the thieves.

BOXER: This institution is filled with paper.  Were you planning to write a book?  If so, they would have had strange bindings.  And have you not yet embraced memory implants for the purposes of entertainment?  I don’t recall having encountered a more barbarous civilization in all my travels.

Panel 3
Boxer holds the lead thief in the air.

BOXER: Humans.

BOXER: No wonder the Green Lanterns have held such a heavy presence here in recent years.  No doubt recruiting more and more of you will help the Guardians understand your primitive ways.  Not that it will help them compete with the superiority of the Box Elders.  Nothing can help that, I’m afraid.

Panel 4
Boxer has removed the lead thief’s mask (we see that he indeed has Mexican features), but he’s actually reacting to something else, a smoke bomb that’s been hurled in his direction and has gone off.

BOXER: What fresh madness…?

Panel 5
Marty is stepping out of the smoke.

MARTY: It’s me, the Sandman! 

MARTY: I’ve come to expose you, “Boxer.”

Panel 6
Marty has now pulled out a lighter and has flicked it open.

MARTY: Were you really stupid enough to reveal your secret identity, just because you’re an alien here?  And call yourself “Barsoom”?  Were you trying to make it obvious???

Panel 7
Marty is waving the lighter in an arc, with flames shooting outward.  Boxer is recoiling.

MARTY: “Barsoom” was Burroughs’ name for Mars, idiot!
 

PAGE THREE

Panel 1 (splash)
Guy Gardner has arrived, and he’s blazing yellow, in a yellow variation of the look he had in Red Lanterns, with a hand being projected from his ring knocking the lighter out of Marty’s hand.

GUY GARDNER: Step aside, slick.

GUY GARDNER: Daddy’s home.
 

PAGE FOUR

Panel 1
Boxer, who hasn’t changed his look at all, blasts at Guy with a pure white light beam.  Guy is setting up a shield.

BOXER: Guy Gardner, the joke of every corps in which he has served.  Discovered a new way to humiliate yourself?

GUY GARDNER: Actually, if you were paying attention, I’ve had a yellow ring before.  Didn’t really appreciate it at the time.  Now seems about right to instill a little fear.

Panel 2
Boxer and Guy are charging at each other.

GUY GARDNER: You have no idea what you’re gettin’ yourself into, pal.

Panel 3
Boxer throws a punch at Guy, connecting right in the face.  Longtime Guy fans will appreciate the image.

Panel 4
Guy hasn’t gone down.  He’s smiling.

GUY GARDNER: New rules, buddy.
 

PAGE FIVE

Panel 1
Guy has encased Boxer in a yellow box and is dragging him out and away from the bank.  We can see Marty staring up at them, having been left completely behind.

MARTY: You’re welcome!

GUY GARDNER: Let’s take this outside, huh?

Panel 2
Boxer is punching his way out of the yellow box.

BOXER: You have this all wrong.  You and your idiot friend back there.

BOXER: If there was any doubt at all about me before, it’s about to be expunged completely.  Everyone knows you’re a bad guy now. 

Panel 3
Guy has made a giant yellow boxing glove and is swinging it at Boxer.  The difference between Guy’s and Hal Jordan’s more famous one is that it’s got spikes at the knuckles.  The first line of dialogue is spoken to himself.

GUY GARDNER: Hate to give Jordan credit…

GUY GARDNER: Yeah, no.  There’s yer problem right there.

Panel 4
Swinging the giant yellow boxing glove downward now.

GUY GARDNER: You seem to think I give a damn about my bad reputation.
 

PAGE SIX

Panel 1
Guy is now producing yellow flame from his ring.

GUY GARDNER: I never cared what anyone else thought.

Panel 2
Guy’s yellow flame has expanded and Boxer is changing shape, revealing his White Martian identity.

GUY GARDNER: There’s not a whole lot that you can do to someone like me, to make me back down. 

GUY GARDNER: Guys like me, we always have an ace up our sleeve.

GUY GARDNER: We just reinvent ourselves.

Panel 3
Guy’s flames are receding, but Boxer is now fully exposed as a White Martian.

GUY GARDNER: But I guess you know a little something about that.
 

PAGE SEVEN

Panel 1
Martian Manhunter has appeared to assist Guy in bringing “Boxer,” now sporting yellow cuffs, in.

GUY GARDNER: Nice of you to drop in, J’onn.

GUY GARDNER: Now ‘at all the hard work is done.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER: You know very well that I couldn’t expose myself to…what needed to be done here, Guy Gardner.

Panel 2
Guy and Martian Manhunter are flying off with “Boxer.”

BOXER: It doesn’t matter, you know.

BOXER: All the victories you’ve had recently.

Panel 3
Close-up of Boxer.

BOXER: You’ve still no idea what you’re up against.

BOXER: Or what comes next.

Panel 4
Guy and Martian Manhunter share a look.

Panel 5
Close-up of Guy.

GUY GARDNER: Oh, we’re puttin’ together a team.


PAGE EIGHT

Panel 1
In a darkened room, Guy is placing the yellow ring on a desk.

Panel 2
Guy stares at the ring.

Panel 3
Guy continues to stare at the ring.

GUY GARDNER: The things I’ll agree to…

Panel 4
From the shadows we can see three figures appearing.

GUY GARDNER: The mess we’re in, I just can’t wait to see how we’re gonna get out of it.

Panel 5
The first figure we can distinguish is Martian Manhunter.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER: It will get worse before it gets better.

Panel 6
Now we can see all the figures clearly.  Standing with Guy and Martian Manhunter are of course President Reilly and Bloodwynd.

LORRAINE REILLY: There’s work yet to accomplish.

LORRAINE REILLY: Friends that require rescuing.

LORRAINE REILLY: Monsters yet to be revealed.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Crisis Weeky #12

PAGE ONE

Panel 1
Lorraine Reilly is talking.  This is a close-up, so that we only see her face.  Variations of this will populate the next four panels.

LORRAINE REILLY: Ladies and gentlemen of these United States, and all those watching around the world, I stand before you at a moment of profound crisis.

Panel 2
Variation on Lorraine talking.

LORRAINE REILLY: This is a crisis of our own deliberate making.

Panel 3
Variation on Lorraine talking.

LORRAINE REILLY: When I was elected to the office of the vice presidency, I never imagined any of this would happen, much less ascending to the presidency itself.  The matter of my former existence as a superhero known as Firehawk was simply not relevant at that time.  No one talked about it.  I earned my political stripes the same way as everyone else.

Panel 4
Variation on Lorraine talking.

LORRAINE REILLY: Yet now, the only word anyone has on their lips when they speak of me is “Firehawk.”  Superhero.  And suddenly that is a bad thing.

Panel 5
Variation on Lorraine talking.

LORRAINE REILLY: I am not here to talk about myself, or superheroes, but the state of the nation as a whole.  As I have said, we at are in the midst of crisis, and I find that I am in a unique position to talk about it, for exactly the reason everyone talks about…

Panel 6
Black panel with text.

TITLE: “Independence Day”

Panel 7
Black panel with text.

WRITER: Tony Laplume

Panel 8
Lorraine has transformed into Firehawk, but otherwise the focus is the same.

LORRAINE REILLY: …but not as they are going about it now, not in a way that tears us apart, but in the same spirit in which I at one time proudly flew in the heavens as the superhero called Firehawk.

Panel 9
Silent panel.  Firehawk is looking with steely resolve (with a hint of disgust) at something we can’t see.
 

PAGE TWO

Panel 1
Wide shot around Firehawk, in which we see she has been standing inside the chambers of the House of Representatives, in the midst of the State of the Union address.  We see Karma floating above the assembled congressmen.

CAPTION: Chambers of the House of Representatives, US Capitol

KARMA: Allow me to summarize for you!

KARMA: The state of the union is rotten!

Panel 2
Karma is speaking to the assembled congressmen now.

KARMA: Your president has lied to you!  Misled you!  Woven false narratives around you!

KARMA: She will say anything she thinks she has to just so she can continue to control the message!

KARMA: Is that what your democracy is about, Americans?

Panel 3
Firehawk has risen into the air toward Karma.

LORRAINE REILLY: Democracy in this country began with angry men who yearned for change.  They stopped at nothing to achieve their goals.  They threw a tea party in Boston harbor.  They threw away the trash.

LORRAINE REILLY: Let me attempt to replicate that here today.
 

PAGE THREE

Panel 1
Both Firehawk and Karma are unleashing concussive blasts at each other, and the blasts are meeting in the middle.

Panel 2
They’re holding at considerable strain the concussive blasts.  We see some of the congressmen begin transforming into Man-Bats, with great alarm arising from those around them.

Panel 3
Firehawk breaks off her blast directed at Karma to redirect at the emerging Man-Bats.

Panel 4
As a result, she’s hit with a renewed blast from Karma.
 

PAGE FOUR

Panel 1
We find Firehawk in the upper balcony of the chambers, amidst some of the ordinary people and guests who are always present at these addresses.  Among them we can actually see superheroes, some of whom are in costume and some of whom aren’t.  We see Jason Rusch, who at one time was a part of the Firestorm matrix with Lorraine.  There’s also Blue Beetle, the armored Jaime Reyes version; Fire, ablaze in her green flame; Sasha Bordeaux, with her metallic eye, who was once part of the government agency Checkmate but is once again a civilian; and Guy Gardner.

GUY GARDNER: White Martians.

LORRAINE REILLY: Exactly.  Her, too.

Panel 2
Now it’s Firehawk’s turn to address the congressmen around them.

LORRAINE REILLY: Behold Karma!

Panel 3
Firehawk and Fire share a look.

Panel 4
They both unleash flame at Karma.

Panel 5
Karma, along with the Man-Bats, are transforming into their White Martian forms.  There is increased alarm and outrage sweeping through the chambers.
 

PAGE FIVE

Panel 1
Karma, having reconstituted her superhero guise, shrieks in rage.

Panel 2
She’s now building up an ominous-looking charge, worse than the blasts she’s been using to this point.

Panel 3
The charge is growing bigger.  You can see congressmen backing away from it, some of them outright running away.

Panel 4
She has now lobbed the charge, not at Firehawk but the fleeing congressmen.  And yet Firehawk is moving to intercept it.
 

PAGE SIX

Panel 1
Great pain registers on Firehawk’s face as she’s hit with the charge, which explodes into a blinding light.

Panel 2
Firehawk is now absorbing the light, renewed determination on her face.  Karma looks on in astonishment.  This was her biggest gun.

Panel 3
A smoldering Firehawk has turned her attention back to Karma, fury filling her eyes.
 

PAGE SEVEN

Panel 1
Firehawk has once again risen into the air, triumphant.  Behind her are Fire and Blue Beetle, as well as Martian Manhunter, who must have been disguised earlier, but now out in the open.

LORRAINE REILLY: Now, Karma.

Panel 2
Tighter focus on Firehawk again.

LORRAINE REILLY: We can continue this charade, or end it.
 

PAGE EIGHT      

Panel 1
Jack Ryder’s show!  He’s standing just outside the Capitol.

JACK RYDER: …went on to continue harping on her version of our “angry men” founders, claiming that if there was any tradition in America, it was constant discontent.

Panel 2
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: Clearly just another deflection.  Everyone I’ve spoken with about the speech agrees that it changes nothing, nor the rather impressive confrontation with the ambassador of hope, Karma, who turned out to be a White Martian all along.

Panel 3
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: But what did that really prove?  What was the point of the president’s theatrics?  Swooping in to save the day again?  Please!

Panel 4
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: Everyone saw the chambers packed with her superhero friends!  Even Guy Gardner was there!  Yet another misbegotten recipient of President Reilly’s rash pardons.

Panel 5
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: It seems the more she gets wrong the more she’s prepared to snub her nose at the public’s rejection of her!

Panel 6
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: To what end? 

Panel 7
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: I’m not alone in spotting the Martian Manhunter among her cronies?  Who’s to say we could ever have taken him at his word at being a “good” Martian?  We’ve now known the truth of the nature of the Martians for years.

Panel 8
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: And they have been among us.  And they are here still.  And we have the superheroes to thank for it.

Panel 9
Jack’s show continues.

JACK RYDER: But what if the so-called superheroes have been the villains all along?

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Crisis Weekly #11

PAGE ONE

Panel 1
In some ways we’re picking back up from Crisis Weekly #5 in that we are once again following Eduardo Dorado into the office of the Mexican president at Los Pinos.  Over his shoulder we can see that the Caballero has once again been watching old video footage, this time from Crisis Weekly itself, Jack Ryder’s show from way back in Crisis Weekly #1, in which Guy Gardner is refusing an interview (Page Three, Panel 8; whether or not Jack’s dialogue from that panel is also piped in can be decided by someone else).  Unlike the first panel of the series, the Caballero is watching on a tablet rather than his phone.  Eduardo is holding a thick file in his hand.

CAPTION: Los Pinos

EDUARDO DORADO: Mister President…

Panel 2
Eduardo is holding the file in front of him now.  The Caballero has turned to acknowledge him.

EDUARDO DORADO: I now have all the intel I need.  All your crimes are documented.

EDUARDO DORADO: I am here to formally request your resignation from the office of the president, Caballero.

Panel 3
Caballero has turned back to his tablet.

CABALLERO: I have already signaled for my guards, Dorado.

Panel 4
Eduardo is reacting in surprise as he is now surrounded by the aforementioned guards, some of whom are already changing into Man-Bats.

CABALLERO: You were always one step behind.  Useful.

TITLE: “In the Blood”
WRITER: Tony Laplume
 

PAGE TWO

Panel 1
Eduardo is whipping off his sport coat to reveal his magic cape underneath.

EDUARDO DORADO: So be it.

Panels 2-8
This is an intricate series of panels more or less in the style of Scott McDaniel wherein multiple appearances of the same characters are occurring simultaneously to indicate the rapidity of the action.  Eduardo, in full El Dorado mode, is disappearing and reappearing to battle dozens of Man-Bats, so that most instances of his figure are in the act of materializing in front of a Man-Bat, while some can be of his full body to indicate that he spends some time fighting them, too.  To be clear, there is not a single appearance of Eduardo in each of the six panels, but that he seems to be everywhere, as many appearances as can be fitted in.

Panel 9
The one thing Eduardo did not count on was the Caballero engaging in this fight, and this turns out to be an apparently fatal mistake, as he materializes directly in front of him, and the Caballero is waiting with a pistol, which he has pointed directly at Eduardo’s head.

CABALLERO: You lose, Dorado.
 

PAGE THREE

Panel 1 (splash)
The Caballero has fired his pistol at Eduardo, shooting him in the head, point blank range…
 

PAGE FOUR

Panel 1
Also in Crisis Weekly #5 we had seen Eduardo at the Mexican border helping immigrants.  Well, we’re back there, too, witnessing another mass of them crossing the wasteland.  This is an aerial shot from a distance.

CAPTION: The Mexican Border

CAPTION: After the Creeper fiasco (that’s what everyone else kept calling it, not me), I took a break from the Crisis Compact.

Panel 2
We’re pulling in a little.  From here we can begin to distinguish the migrants a little.  One of them stands out.  He’s a teenager, dressed better than the others, although he’s made a poor attempt to blend in.

CAPTION: Liger made one too many drunken passes at me, maybe. 

Panel 3
Pulling in closer, so that we’re clearly looking at the teenager directly.

CAPTION: I know them mean well, but still.

CAPTION: There are better uses of my time.  They were only getting in the way.  They helped me become a “superhero.”  Now maybe I can become a better one.

Panel 4
Bats have begun to swarm, and we see Man-Bats in the sky in the distance.  The teenager looks around in alarm.

CAPTION: This, by the way, is the son of the Mexican president, the Caballero.  His name is Ezrah.  Don’t judge him by the sins of his father.
 

PAGE FIVE

Panel 1
Bulletproof has dived in front of Ezrah, shielding him from bats and the advancing Man-Bats.  Clearly it was our old friend Rachel Rogerson providing caption commentary last page.

BULLETPROOF: Look out!

Panel 2
The bats have really started to blanket Bulletproof and Ezrah, so that we can barely see them.

Panel 3
The bats have dissipated, but now Bulletproof and Ezrah have Man-Bats to contend with!  After Crisis Weekly, you’ll never want to see Man-Bats again!  Bulletproof is doing her best to shield Ezrah.

BULLETPROOF: Stay close.

Panel 4
Bulletproof has begun battling the Man-Bats.

BULLETPROOF: I’m sort of new to this, Ezrah, but I should be able to protect you.

Panel 5
Ezrah has entered the fight!  He lets loose a martial arts kick at one of the Man-Bats.  Bulletproof looks at him in surprise.

Panel 6
Ezrah and Bulletproof continue to fight Man-Bats.

EZRAH: Thanks, but I can take care of myself in a scrap, too.


PAGE SIX

Panel 1
Bulletproof and Ezrah are now surrounded by US border patrol agents.  There is one Man-Bat still around, but it is entirely passive.  There is also a mass of migrants just behind them, with other agents among them.

EZRAH: The one perk of being the son of a psychopath like the Caballero is the immunity it brings, when that psychopath got himself elected Mexican president.

Panel 2
The border agents are now serving as an escort for Ezrah’s group.  They have dubious expressions on their face.

EZRAH: Immunity for me, and for my close personal friends.

EZRAH: Right, fellas?

Panel 3
Close-up of Ezrah and Bulletproof as the group continues onward.

RACHEL ROGERSON: Wow.  I have no idea what’s going on right now.

Panel 4
Ezrah and Bulletproof continue to talk.

EZRAH: Earlier today, Mexico’s best chance at redemption just failed.  My father thwarted El Dorado’s efforts to arrest him.  I had no choice but to escape.
 

PAGE SEVEN

Panel 1
Bulletproof is gesturing toward the Man-Bat hovering above them.

RACHEL ROGERSON: Yeah, but what about him?

Panel 2
The Man-Bat has touched down to the ground next to Ezrah.

EZRAH: Manny?

EZRAH: You don’t have to worry about him.  Not a White Martian!  Not a Caballero thug!

EZRAH: Manny’s my friend.

Panel 3
Now it’s Bulletproof’s turn to sport a dubious expression.

BULLETPROOF: Friend?

EZRAH: My father experimented on a lot of subjects before he perfected his Man-Bat formula.  Most of them died.  The ones that didn’t couldn’t revert back to human form, and most of them were severely brain damaged.

Panel 4
Manny is smiling.

EZRAH: Anyway, he’s my friend.  I couldn’t save all of them.  He helped me accomplish anything at all.  End of story.
 

PAGE EIGHT

Panel 1
The border agents look on in dismay as the bulk of the migrants disperse as the group reaches civilization in America.  Ezrah looks entirely pleased with himself.

EZRAH: Much gratitude, my friends!

Panel 2
Bulletproof is staring at Ezrah.

Panel 3
Bulletproof and Ezrah walk through town talking.

RACHEL ROGERSON: I went to Mexico to rescue you, you know.

EZRAH: And thanks for that, too!

RACHEL ROGERSON: You’re welcome.

Panel 4
They continue to walk.

EZRAH: Might’ve rescued El Dorado, you know.  Would’ve been better for everyone.

Panel 5
They continue to walk.

RACHEL ROGERSON: I don’t know about that.

Panel 6
They continue to walk.

RACHEL ROGERSON: My name’s Rachel, by the way.

EZRAH: I know.  You’re sort of famous, “Bulletproof.”

RACHEL ROGERSON: You’re really obnoxious, Ezrah.

EZRAH: I know.

RACHEL ROGERSON: Dorado isn’t dead.  He meant to be captured.

EZRAH: I know that, too.

RACHEL ROGERSON: I hate you.

EZRAH: I know that, too!