Aug. '90
"Maximum Force"
The birth of a new super-hero as only Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Mike McKone, B.D. Patterson, Bob Lappan, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley and Andy Helfer (as Harry Von Zell) can bring it to you!
Aug. '90
"The Extremist Vector Part Three: On the Brink!"
by Giffen, Jones, Sears, Elliott, Lappan, D'Angelo, Dooley, Helfer
Mike McKone returns to the pages of JLA to bring us an extended dream sequence in which Max dons a ridiculous costume and assumes the moniker "Maximum Force." Thus garbed, he uses his powers of persuasion to wipe out crime in a decidedly lethal manner. (Note the tube in his nose to keep his nosebleeds--which he experiences whenever he uses his power--from soiling his suit.)
In those pages not dedicated to the dream, Max does use his power to lure Wanda (seen above), a "fiction editor over at Partisan House," from a party back to his apartment, where he promptly, drunkenly passes out. The whole issue's pretty forgettable, and I'm still no fan of McKone's work from this period. On a bright note, the letters page brings us this great nugget, regarding issue 37, from David J. Harrington of Fort Edward, NY: "Booster Gold cannot quit! This is worse than when they changed the taste of Coke." And speaking of the letters page, this issue's cover credits go like this: "Adam Hughes, pencils/inks; Bob Le Rose, colors."
Meanwhile, in JLE, the Extremists launch every missile in the world's nuclear arsenal, and Dr. Diehard uses his "magnetic powers" to hold them in space, ready to rain destruction at a moment's notice. Faced with such a predicament, the nations of the world more or less acquiesce to the Extremists' demands and order all superheroes to back off and not engage the enemy. Amazingly, everyone in the world listens to this order--everyone, that is, except the JLE.
The fight goes pretty well, except that when Metamorpho imprisons Diehard in copper, the villain loses his control over the nukes and the Earth very nearly meets its end. Suitably embarrassed, the Leaguers more or less try and talk things out with the Extremists, but the last page finds them transported via Dreamslayer's spell back to the Extremists' already destroyed homeworld. Oh yeah, and along the way, we also get a cameo from George Bush (senior, that is):
No cover credits in "Europinion" this issue, but we do get this terrific explanation of Silver Sorceress' bunny hat, courtesy of Kevin Dooley and in response to a query posed by Grant Thornley: "Her 'ears' are necessary to ... pick up the ... magic vibrations to make her powers work." Additionally, in response to Julio Diaz of Tampa, FL, Dooley finally details Crimson Fox's powers: "The Crimson Fox has fox-like senses, reflexes, and speed. Her fingernails can extend to become strong, sharp 'claws.' She can also emit powerful pheromones to ... well, just you never mind."
The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36
All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.
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