Super Amigos: Hawkman!

First things first.

I invite you to click on that picture for a full sized blast.

Now, I sat down here with the intentions of finding an image of bagged Super Amigos Hawkman figure on the internet. Perhaps a fine representation. Then I thought, "it would be criminal not to show the world (uh huh) the one I've got sitting in front of me." I also figured this may very well mark the first time bagged Hawkman Super Amigos action figure makes an image appearance on the internet. If this is the case, what a special day indeed.

Represent!

While this is the day I generally post non-Atom related things, this also marks the first solo appearance (I think) of Hawkman (sort of) on the T3. I had toyed with the idea of incorporating the gobs of Hawkman stuff I have on here, and then I toyed with spinning off into separate bloggery. This had led to various people (Hawkman fans?) emailing and informing me that I must share my Hawkman stuff, whether it be here or in separate bloggery. If I were to post Hawkman things here once a week, I would eventually run out of steam with Atom stuff (I cringe to think of it) and still be left with an abundance of things Hawkman, for there is a great deal.

Point is, I still don't know what I'm doing, and anyone who started reading this has already gone off to another site by now.

Back to that figure: What a beauty. As you can see, the figure and packaging is in mint condition.
I remember when I first laid eyes on it. I knew it had to be mine.
I remember wondering why anyone, after the creation of this, would ever make another action figure. Like, ever again. Once someone has reached perfection on something, isn't it time for everyone else to just politely applaud, cut their losses, and attempt something else?

Now, the winged wonder here doesn't have a mace. As far as I know, the package hasn't been opened, aside from Carter's foot bursting out through the bottom, so it may have not come with this particular figure.
Although as far as I know, someone not involved with the creation of this treasure stuck it in a crinkly plastic bag, and stapled it to this fine piece of artwork. In fact, I hope that's what happened, because the paint here looks as though some child got into his mom's makeup case and went to town.
And because the artwork is obscured by the slight bend in the card, I'll provide a marginally better one here. At no extra cost!

No way, Jose! ::wink::

I welcome any Super Amigos expert (or anyone who just knows more than myself... it's not hard) to come on down and fill in the blanks, either on here or through email. Help explain the difference between my (soon to be shown... somewhere) carded Amigo, and crinkly bagged, paint sneezed on amigo.

Update: It's not really an update, actually. I found myself staring at this thing, and it occurred to me I think my favorite part of the whole deal is that his wings aren't attached. They're just folded behind him in the "package."

I have to believe the founders of this gem wanted kids to feel as though they were part of the creative process. The building process. So as a child, after selecting and bringing home your Hawkman bootleg, you, and only you, were the one responsible for providing Hawkman the ability of flight.

Wow... thanks bagged Super Amigos people!

The Atom and Hawkman trading card

This card came in a sheet of other cards and you were instructed to cut along the dotted lines, then proceed to collect them all. This one is part of the "Great Teams" category of the set, and the Joe Kubert art is taken from The Atom and Hawkman #45, which incidentally, was the last issue of an epic Atom and Hawkman run.
And because the cover of the comic isn't enough, whomever is responsible for these things has taken to including ballistic designs on the outer edges. Reminiscent of a trapper keeper. Way to go.

The back of the card reads:
"Fellow Justice Leaguers Atom and Hawkman - the Titan and the Fury - found they worked well together, their individual powers and abilities frequently melding into a finely tuned crimefighting machine."

So true.

Put out in 1989, the Titan and the Fury were on a sheet with some strange company, including Geo-Force, Black Manta, Man*Bat, Justice League Europe, Black Hand, The Phantom Stranger, and Halo.

There's more of these sweet babies to come, so no worries. You're excited.

The Atom subscription offer!

I found this whilst joyously reading through an early Atom comic.

Not only could you be the first in your neighborhood to read each issue of The Atom... but you could save money too.
Ten issues for a buck. It's mental. Why it's like finding twenty cents. Sheer madness...

I'm just an absolute sucker for old ads. They charm the socks directly off my feet (unfortunately for them).
The art used for this particular ad though... it would look to me as though some guy is grabbing for The Atom, and he's waving their hand away.

Waving their hand away?

Rear back and clock them! Get people to read this thing! Nobody wants to read about the little doll man who scampers around and waves people away when they go for him.

"Unghhh! Get awaaaaay!"

Maybe I read too much into it.

Sword of the Atom - Book Two: A Choice of Dooms

Script: Jan Strnad - Art: Gil Kane

When we left off, our hero and his rebellious new friend, Taren, were dumped in a chamber quickly filling with rats. It was there that I cleverly unleashed the phrase, "aww rats." But before I can make anymore rat jokes, the chamber begins to fill with gas, and someone ushers The Atom and friend out.
But who?
Why it's the King's little monkish advisor/right hand man, Deraegis!
But why?
Ah yes, of course. So that the two of them can get dumped into an arena and fight to the death.
Taren and The Atom square off in what the crowd hopes will be a gladiatorial battle for the ages. Except someone has made sure it couldn't possibly be...

Having been blinded, then blindfolded (way to pour it on) it's obvious Taren needs some new friends.

Not surprisingly, The Atom absolutely refuses to fight a blind man, reserving all beatings for those who can see... or at least have some device that sees for them.
Surprisingly, the crowd wants no part of this, and shouts things like "boo," and "unfair!"
See, part of the charm of SOTA is the caring gladiator/death match audience.

The crowd calls for the Kings head, not knowing he had nothing to do with it. But who...

Deraegis! He is the one responsible for he is eeeviiil!

Princess Laethwen and her band of merry men show up to take the hero's (now that he's been blinded he's a hero, k) away from the rioting crowds and the mad monkish advisors. Besides, Laethwen and Taren... they're an item.

Ray drubs some guards, grabs Taren, and hops on a battle frog (which incidentally I could never understand why I wasn't getting a playset of. Still don't...)
Whilst riding frog, Ray gets lost in thought, and begins to have war flashbacks of himself and Jean. He begins to question life, such as which one is safer? The Amazon jungle with tyrants, mad monks, giant snakes, lizards, rats, and where every step you take could be your last?

Or with Jean?

Upon stopping, Laethwen tells him their story. How they were sent to Earth decades ago to set up a penal colony. But without continued support from their home, each generation fell apart more and more. And here they are.


Meanwhile, the mad monk advisor continues to tell the King one thing, do another, and tell the people of the city that it was the King's idea. What a little bitch.
Our 3 meet up with Taren's gang, complete with very suspicious idiot Voss, who is awfully concerned about this costumed fellow.
The Atom and Voss throw down, and while it's short lived, it ends in a great little action sequence where The Atom leaps, is in mid-air when both combatants notice that Voss landed next to a poison arrow. One that can be simply held up in the air for anyone gliding through the air to easily impale themselves on.
Nice.

The book ends with a seriously worried Jean, laying in bed... phoning the guy she was making out with in the car. See, she needs someone to talk to. Not to worry, he's coming over!

Gotta love that girl.

Sword of the Atom - Book One: Stormy Passage

Conceived by Gil Kane (art) and Jan Strnad (script)

Oh Ray. Dear, dear Ray...

You're driving Jean crazy, you are.

A pacing Ray Palmer wonders where his wife is. After all, she said she would be back.
Was that headlights?
Ray runs out into the rain to investigate headlights only to find Jean lip locked with some dude.
She's got a dude.

Everybody loves Raymond.

This of course doesn't go over that well, but Jean immediately goes on the offensive and blames it all on Ray.

Between research and running around as that Atom character, husbandry duties are being shirked here. Who could blame Jean for anything she does from this point on, eh?

Ray needs a vacation.
He decides to hire a small plane with a two man crew to take him over the Amazon jungle in search of a piece of white dwarf star material he believes landed there. He plans to locate such a small thing in such a vast area using a scintillation detector.
Getting a reading, Dr. Palmer wishes to fly closer, but... ah yes, the two men are involved in cocaine smuggling and Ray Ray has just gotten too close.
An on-plane brawl ensues - booo
Someone shrinks - yay!
A shot is fired - booo
The shrinker easily knocks out bad guy - yay!
The first shot finds a home in the pilot, and the plane is going down with The Atom hanging on the cargo door.

The Atom lands in some refreshing Amazonian water, takes a nap, and wakes to find that he can't work his size controls and would appear to be stuck at a height of six inches.
To further a slap in the face, a particularly nasty jungle snake had decided The Atom would make a nice snack. Without the ability to control his size or shift his weight to give him that atomic knockout punch, he's just a lil guy against giant jungle animals.

It's then that tiny poisonous arrows glide through the air, slaying the beast, and saving The Atom from having to do some fancy footwork.
But who shot these arrows?

Why it's a race of six inch jungle aliens!
With nobody knowing what the other is and not speaking the same language, this lilliputian race ties The Atom up (no fight put up by him of course) and brings him back to their jungle kingdom.

It's here that our hero finds the joint to be under the control of a mini-tyrant, along with some unhappy people. The Atom sides with another six inch alien prisoner upon his beating and jumps into action choosing to throw down with the guards. Holding up very well, sheer numbers over take him, and the two are dumped in a subsurface chamber.Aw rats.

All New Atom #19

Written by Keith Champagne/Penciled by Jerry Ordway

Ladronn's cover here features some great cave work and some very cool creatures, but The Atom looks gangly AND lumpy... and nothing like what he will appear as throughout the entire story line. He also equips himself in the story with a sweet red flare for spelunking, which adds to the gorgeous lighting.Not that flat book light he's wielding there. Hey, it would have
helped...

We've got a guest team putting this one together, so break out the Champagne! (groan somewhere else)

After a team of spelunkers led by one of Ivy Town's own professor's goes missing, someone has got to go down there after them.This is why superheroes are good to have around. Particularly ones that can shrink and stuff.

All the Atom does down there is stumble upon an Ivy Town set back a few hundred years and steeped in ghastly horrors. An abundance of cannibalism, random executions, and extreme ugliness rule the roost here. Just another day in Ivy Town...
A man's gotta eat!


Choi gets bonked on the head by a C.H.U.D., and awakens to find himself firmly secured next to his newest best friend, Panda. Shortly thereafter, a man who calls himself Phineas Cadmish waltzes up, informs the two of what a gentleman he is, then starts handing out the slaps!


With Phineas dragging Panda off for what will almost assuredly be "no good," Ryan is in a bit of a pickle. Fortunately, what he's got going for him is that ol Atom charm! A seriously "misunderstood" underground Ivy Town school girl finds herself lost in Ryan's eyes, and therefore becomes his ticket out of wood prison.

I've already said (and shown) enough.

This is a nice little guest spot. It's cool that you can get into a 5 or 6 book long storyline with this character, and then dive into a quick wrapper upper like this one.
Champagne has spun a nifty little horror story here, and his Ryan is different, but still likable. His sense of humor is not quite as quirky, yet whenever he's laying them down, they're full of an almost depressed sarcasm. The storyline of this one, and all that happened before this issue is almost certainly responsible for Ryan's behavior, but it was definitely interesting to read him like that.

Jerry Ordway brings his gorgeous style to this comic for an all too brief stint. His work here is beautiful, and seriously appreciated. The man whips together a very atmospheric under ground Ivy Town, and I adore the lighting in his all too brief cave sequences. I would like to see what he could do with the real Ivy Town.

Next issue, Simone and Norton return for their final hurrah, where after they will be replaced by Rick Remender and Pat Olliffe for #22.

The Atom: Who's Who Entry

Ray Palmer, that's who.

Compliments of continuous T3 provider Rob Kelly this here is The Atom's Who's Who page.
The art was done by a man named Gil Kane and I freakin love it! I wish for my walls to be papered in such beauty. Of course I'd be alone...
Check out that Sword of the Atom Ray jumping out at you (Sword of the Atom, coming up, I swear). Look at it again. Aaaah!

The entry here goes into the small relationship troubles Ray and Jean had. Of course if it were to be updated it might mention that she went full hilt and causes epic horrors regardless of what planet she's on, or perhaps just in space.

They just get better and better, and I will not withhold them! Anybody who's who anybody will keep checking back to see more.