Challengers of the Unknown V2 1
"The Challengers Must Die!"
Continues

With their home, it seems, goes their legacy. The flipping pages of the Challs' proud past unravel into bits.

Three Challengers crawl from rubble: Ace, Rocky, and Red. Ace yells, "There's nothing there! The mountain is gone!" Red quips, "Someone's got a helluva lot of explaining to do!"

(This is actually the second Challenger Mountain to blow up. See COTU 50 or the HQ Tour.)

Disasters are the Challengers' meat. Within a few minutes they swoop into the ruined town in an aircar. Ace barks, "Spread out! Look for those in immediate danger! You both know the routine!" Maybe they should have dug out Prof and June first? They'll be fine. Move!

Ace wishes he felt braver. He can't stop thinking about walking skeletons. He's drawn to a church, Our Lady of the Challengers. It may collapse any moment, but a girl is trapped on a high beam. Ace slings a grapple, scales up, and rescues the child. He can't help wondering, "Why did He choose me?" And Prof and June?..

Red scales a ruined hotel, negotiating shattered windows, to reach three men. Ingrates who yell, "Took you long enough!" Red thinks, "Maybe that pinhead Rocky is right, putting my butt on the line..." And Prof, and June?..

Rocky, without even a shirt, leads townspeople through fire - until they're trapped. "Think, you lug! These people are dependin'..." There! He fastens a satchel charge to a water main. It blows. A geyser extinguishes the flames. But Rocky worries about Prof and June. And could really use a beer...

The media of the world descends. Moffet is interviewed by KHAL's eager-beaver reporter. Moffet thinks the Challs did a super job, laboring all night to save lives. "These guys are heroes! You and I are just average schmoes - they wear the supersuits!" Meanwhile, he hits on the female reporter.

Challengerville is dead. Early estimates are 1,100 dead or missing. Millions of dollars in damage. An environment that may be uninhabitable for years.

The ugly truth surfaces. "Early reports place the source of the explosion INSIDE Challenger Mountain! If the Challengers are responsible for this holocaust -" (At this point, nobody knows about the bomb.)

The three surviving Challs look stunned as microphones aim at them. They're lead away in chains. Herded into a an armor car, guarded by soldiers, and locked in. While citizens yell. "Bums! Heroes! Who's gonna pay?.."

The reporter drones on. Authorities are pressing charges. An unconfirmed report is that Prof Haley and June Robbins are dead, buried in the rubble.

The unnamed nutbar watches TV in a dark room. "Free."

And high up, in the crater that was Challenger Mountain, "something powerful, something evil... something unknown met the Challenger's challenge - crushed them - and now is coming here!"

Next issue: Things get worse in Issue 2.

This ad ran on the inside front cover of Legion of Super-Heroes. Why do the Challs get attention only when they're cravulating?

Comments

So the Challengers of the Unknown, our heroes, crash and burn. One can argue it was simply their turn. In the aftermath of The Dark Knight Returns, every hero in the DCU was raked over the coals.

Still, fans were upset.

Considering there are many accomplished writers who LOVED the Challs and wanted to write them - Mark Evanier, Karl Kesel, and Alan Moore had requested, why should Jeph Loeb get to wreck them?

Loeb explains in his editorials. He was a big Hollywood writer who made DC swoon. He wanted to writer Superman and Batman. Instead he was given a list of available properties, including the Challs, unpublished for 10 years. Despite that Loeb had NEVER read a SINGLE issue, he took on the project. Oh, my.

Loeb talks about background. Shouldn't the Challs be in their 50s by now? How do they make a living? Would a 50-year-old still call himself "Ace?" Etc.

He assembled the story as if making a movie, and cast the characters to give them individual faces. Sylvester Stallone is Rocky. Ed Harris is Red. (No, should be Ace.) Robert DeNiro is Ace. (Hunh?) Jessica Lange is June. And Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is Prof. (Oh, boy.)

Which explains why, though Tim Sale is a terrific artist (And he is, really. Almost up to Kirby standards with his wild but cohesive layouts.) the Challs don't look like themselves.

Check out this sketch for a picture of how the series MIGHT have looked in kinder times.

Still, you gotta admit one good point: There's an awful lot of story packed into one issue.

Read more about the series on the Challengers of the Unknown Must Die Trade Paperback page.

If you missed the original ad for the series, it's here.

Read a review of the series at www.popcultureshock.com.