Supergirl #14: Bad WTF. I think this series is getting good and I loved most of this issue, especially the last page, but I really hope there’s a good plan behind what happened during the fight.
Outsiders #45: PENGUINS!!! I’m liking this arc a lot.
Action Comics Annual #10: Loved the Mon-El story and the origin of the Phantom Zone villians.
If I were to rename Superman II Snakes on a Plane style I’d totally go with I’m Evil. Kneel.
My choices: either Jarvis (he’s been getting some action! He’s frisky!) or…Moon Knight. He’s crazy! He’s got the combat chops! If he didn’t have his own series, he’d be perfect…dammit.
This seems to be part of of Dini fulfilling his promise that the supposedly standalone stories would tie together. Atkins showed up in The Beautiful People (Dini’s first issue), the Riddler as detective-hero continues from E. Nigma, Consulting Detective (his second). I wouldn’t be surprised if Penguin tied into this one - he may be gone legit, but he’s still as crooked as he can manage without openly breaking the law. Can’t work out a way that Joker, Phosphorus or Ivy would fit into this storyline, but we’ve already got Ventriloquist tied in (albeit loosely) via Pengey, so they could get tied in by the time things fully take shape.
Originally an espionage-ish group of operatives, the Secret Six name was re-appropriated during the Villains United miniseries that lead up to Infinite Crisis. Six villains were essentially blackmailed into forming a crack squad to counter the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
Subsequent to that miniseries, the surviving members have sort of stuck together.
Catman, Deadshot, Scandal, Knockout, and Ragdoll are the five core members as of the end of the Secret Six miniseries.
Scandal is a daughter of Vandal Savage, and newly introduced in the VU mini. Knockout is a former Female Fury. It IS a new Ragdoll (the third, I think), but as I recall, the original did survive his near-death at Starman’s hands.
He didn’t, however, survive an encounter with Johnny Sorrow when the Injustice Society (at that point, he, Icicle, Tigress, Wizard, Thinker, Gentleman Ghost and Grundy) stole The Cosmic Key. (Which, since this happened before Villains United, suggests the son he actually liked is also carrying on the name.)
It’s rather explicitly before VU - at least before the final showdown between the Six and the Society, as none of the Injustice Society members are in the Society during the arc. Or were previously, even.
Issue 6. Calculator tells Wizard ‘You and your team, including Sorrow, will be welcomed into the organization.’, which Wizard clarifies as being Luthor’s Society. IE, none of the Injustice Society could have been at the House of Secrets, if it happened after VU.
I find your faith in the DC editorial department to make sure those books match up… disturbing.
The JSA:C arc certainly takes place after the organization forms in VU #1. I’m trying to remember who of the Injustice Society actually shows up in VU … and I’m only coming up with Grundy, working from memory. And Grundy’s just dumb enough to belong to both.
And then, of course, there’s the Ragdoll question…