February 17, 2011

Total Eclipso of Story!

So I finally got a copy of Eclipso, Hero and Villain in ONE MAN! It's an old DC comic from the 1960's about a man who when exposed to an eclipse (or any time light gets blocked by anything) he becomes Eclipso, the embodiment of evil! This character has become the butt of many of Tim and my jokes. Upon researching him I learned that later on in his comic book career he gained the power to transform other super powered people into eclipsed versions of themselves...which means villains. In his early life though, he becomes a villain and fights Bruce Gordon, his human alter ego. But come on, Bruce Gordon? Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon...seriously DC, new names!

Alright, so just from the premise, this is a ridiculous comic book. I mean really...how often do you have an eclipse so that he can even become Eclipso? And burst of light transforms him back...so trap yourself in a box and have someone shine a flashlight on you at the point you turn. Problem solved...but this world has more eclipses and random things that are "like an eclipse" that Bruce turns into Eclipso ever issue. And here's the kicker, you feel like you're missing information. Eclipso appears because of an unplanned eclipse, but luckily the last time he was here he hid his costume near by...cause he knew where Bruce would be week before? How? Can he see the future?

Now let's sum up the story of just one issue for you, and maybe you'll see why this is a joke of a comic! First few pages Bruce and his girlfriend are taking a vacation, and somehow she now knows that he is also Eclipso and they say they'll explain that next issue. A little odd, but moving on. They learn that his girlfriends father created a plant growth serum and it is spreading around an island so they are kidnapped to fix it. Bruce goes to crop dust the plants and fix the problem but gets attached by a giant robot then is attacked by his captor and learns that he is the Nazi villain who unleashed the plant growth. Then an eclipse happens and Bruce becomes Eclipso (but don't worry, his costume was hidden in Bruce's suitcase) and is saved by the Nazi, and is shown the master plan. That plan involved growing birds into giant monsters he can control. Eclipso doesn't like this so he steals he black diamand (which everyone seems to have) and attacks him, but a flash of light turns him back into Bruce so he's captured. The Nazi apparently knew Eclipso and Bruce were one and the same. The Nazi tries to run away and leave the captured Bruce, but because his makeup was running he gets mistaken for Eclipso, gets shot dead and Bruce gets freed.....ALL OF THIS IN 13 PAGES!

And this villain has come back to battle the justice league in a new short series...Old school comics are fun aren't they?

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