Booster Gold

Wait — what did you say your name was?

Batwing

Batwing.

Booster Gold

Um… you might want to run a trademark check on that. There’s this guy in Gotham who –

Batwing

He knows. And he approves.

Previously: The press event to launch the Justice League International to the world was cut short by a massive terrorist explosion. Rocket Red was killed while Vixen, Ice, and Fire were hospitalised. Batman is investigating while Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, Godvia, and the August General In Iron ferry their friends to hospital. Chairwoman Bao stuns Booster by telling him that the UN are shutting down the JLI over security fears. He leaves the hospital to get some air and is attacked by Lightweaver, one of the terrorists behind the bombing.

David Zavimbe, aka Batwing, is visiting his old friend Vixen in hospital when he hears an explosion outside. David suits up and discovers that Booster Gold is being attacked my a massive solid Samurai hologram created by Lightweaver. He saves Booster who then returns the favour at the expense of completely draining his own suit’s reserves. Luckily, that was enough to drive Lightweaver away for now.

Across town, the NYPD are moving Roland Norcutt, a suspect linked with an earlier attempt to bomb the UN. He lectures the police about how he’s breaking down society’s authority structures starting with the UN, the biggest authority of them all. Suddenly the police officers and the vehicle around them starts ageing rapidly. It crashes into lamp post, freeing Norcutt who assumes his villainous form as Breakdown. He is joined by Lightweaver and a third terrorist called Intersek who reports that their wildcard is now in place. Batman arrives at the hospital and reports that Norcutt has escaped.

Guy is at Ice’s bedside until Godvia calls him away. An angry scene is brewing in the hospital corridors as the Hospital Administrator and then Chairwoman Bao undercuts the heroes for their ability to attract trouble. She even goes as far as to threaten to rubbish their reputations should they try to remain together as a team. Guy’s charm scares the administrator off, but the August General convinces him and Godvia that its best if they remove themselves from the hospital for the others’ safety. They are in the street outside when a blue, giant cannons into them. It announces “I… am.. OMAC” and the JLI attack assuming that he’s part of the terrorist group. However, OMACs savagery and strength easily knocks the heroes unconscious.

• Batwing and Vixen knew each other five years ago when Mari was working in a Tinashan AIDs clinic.
• Fire does not appear in this issue.

International Exchange

In the International Exchange #8, Russ Burlingame talked to Dan Jurgens about the villains’ motivation and his own opinion on the Occupy movement.

We’ve got three cool new villains–and we keep going back to the well of the same heroes. there are certainly reasons for that, but can you explain a little bit about new villains versus new heroes?
Breakdown, Lightweaver, Intersek and Cross Cut– whoops! Did I give something away there?– are new villains who have simply had enough of a world and political system that no longer looks out for the “little guy”.

[...]

It’s interesting that the “standing up for the little guy” thing also plays a role in Grant’s Superman. Do you think it’s just pervasive right now in everyone’s minds? I mean, doing the math you guys were writing a lot of this stuff right around the time that Occupy was in the news in a big way.

My take on the “Occupy” movement is that it’s an unfocused and selfish one. There was a time in this country when people protested on behalf of equal rights for minorities and women or to bring the boys home from Vietnam.

That’s a lot different than protesting because you used $100,000 worth of loans to major in basket weaving and can’t find work. Or you simply want the rich to pay more taxes.
However, there is justifiable and undeniable anger out there. That’s what I’m trying to play off.

Sales

My Thoughts

Surveying the Internets

Poet Mase (IGN):

Justice League International is officially adrift. I don’t care about any of the characters or their situations. I don’t want to give up on this title because I think that a creative team that’s really on fire for the property can take it somewhere interesting. However, I can’t see any reason to recommend this book.

Andy Hunsaker (Crave Online):

There’s a lot of smacking and zapping and crumbling in this issue, and the Aaron Lopresti art has a very classic feel to it, while really bringing the unsettling imagery when necessary. [...] Justice League International #8 isn’t bad at all. It’s just kind of… off.

A Comic Book Blog:

Batwing brings a fresh perspective to the book and with that comes a new direction that seems intriguing. A change up in the roster is what this book needs as it is about time Jurgens decided to leave behind the characters that aren’t working.

Nicole D’Andria (Player Affinity):

Ironically, this issue feels really long. But as soon as you finish and look back you come to the striking realization that nothing really happened in it. The only exceptions are another villain being established and an introduction of another character who is not even involved with the plot and comes out of nowhere, and I’m not talking about Batwing, but it would be easy to confuse the two.

World of Black Heroes:

Holy Guest Stars Batman!- Batwing and Omac, one from a cancelled book, the other from a steadily declining one…hmmmm, a new home for said characters or hopefully a boost in sales? Maybe both!

The Verdicts

Page 1. This is Batwing, the African jet-suited Batman from the Batman Incorporated programme. He gained his own series as part of the New 52 relaunch. His name is incorrectly given as Zavimbi, the correct spelling is Zavimbe (the -i ending was used while undercover in Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes). This appearance logically happens after Batwing #1-8 which sees his investigation into the assassination of a string of African superheroes. That concludes in Gotham City in Batwing #8 which logically places him in the USA for this appearance. Vixen was hurt in the UN bombing in Justice League International (vol. 3) #6 (April 2012).

Page 5. Booster says “have to let the suit regenerate”. So his suit can repair and heal itself, a nice explanation for how a seemingly unique artefact from the future can get tore up and then repaired all the time.

Page 7. This is the man who was stopped by Godvia and the August General in Justice League International (vol. 3) #6 (April 2012) and who was behind the bombing of the Hall of Justice in Justice League International (vol. 3) #1 (Nov 2011).

Page 10. Intersek mentions a “wildcard” which would make it appear that she’s responsible for bringing OMAC to New York.

Page 12. The name of the hospital is given as Eastside Hospital.

Page 13. The image that the Hospital Administrator is holding up is a copy of a panel from Page 5, presumably publicised and spread by Intersek.

Page 16. This, as he says, is OMAC. He’s a research biologist for Cadmus Industries called Kevin Kho who was picked by the Brother Eye satellite to be its agent. Brother Eye infected him with a nanite virus that turned Kevin into his monster. His adventures played out in O.M.A.C. #1-8 as Kevin came to grips with Brother Eye’s takeover of his life and the attempts of Maxwell Lord’s Checkmate to capture him. That series ended with Brother Eye returning Kevin’s freewill at the expense of leaving him stuck in his OMAC form.