Once Upon A Geek – Blue Devil #3 (August 1984)

7 responses to “Once Upon A Geek – Blue Devil #3 (August 1984)”

1. Another fun episode. It’s great to revisit the early days of this character.

   Diabolu Frank: excellent use of the Buck Rogers theme song in your promo. Much appreciated.

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2. What a wonderful surprise I go start my work and Frank and shag show up . It’s like this July when when to my local comic and got a marvel issue of battle star Galactica for seven bucks and a bunch of marvel modern for a Dollar each which did happen. Are local comic con is Roswell New Mexico called
   Galactic come and the shirt my bro got has logo that looks looks like the battle star Galactica logo .i know where we’re supposed to talk about blue Devil, but I figured since it’s shags show he’d be ok talking about a comic con . I hope he’s not mad .

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3. Meant to say modern marvel Star Wars comics sorry . I know it’s all about blue devil .

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4. While I’ve been enjoying the Blue Devil coverage overall, I found this episode particularly amusing. Why, you ask? Well in this we have Shag chastising Frank about not being sure which was his first issue. As part of my listening, I’m going through the back episodes of Fanholes and I just got to a Thunderbolts episode where guest star Shag says “Oh, I told you this was my first issue, but I was wrong and it was actually the NEXT issue that was my first.” 😀

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5. How does Dan deal with his excreta when trapped in the suit? Perhaps, he designed the suit along the same lines as a Fremen stillsuit, which is able to process sweat, feces and urine produced by the body.

   I also enjoyed your discussion about Blue Devil’s regenerative abilities, and the question of how much of Dan is left in Blue Devil after he regenerated from his own skull. It reminded me of the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, where the ship of Theseus, the slayer of the minotaur, is preserved by the people of Athens. After hundreds of years of maintenance, if each piece of the ship has been gradually replaced over time, is it still the same ship?

   I never realized the Blue Devil was such a philosophical series. I guess that’s another reason for me to check it out.

   Thanks for another excellent episode.

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6. I’m halfway through and really enjoying this. Oddly, the Diabolu Frank LMD is just as enjoyable as the original “Offhandedly Crush Your Joy” version. It’s like how Cool Ranch Doritos turned out to be just as good in their own way. Right now, I can’t remember most of my specific points, so I’ll rewind and relisten. A few that I do remember:

   I agree with Frank on pre-Crisis Metallo. I thought he was more menacing and visually appealing as a villain than his post-Crisis counterpart. I suspect he didn’t have more appearances because 1) the Superman creators were trying to limit how often they went to the Kryptonite well (per Shag’s comment) and 2) it was tough to figure out new ways for Superman to stop him. If I were Superman, my default Metallo procedure would have been to call Green Lantern and then go patrol Coast City or fight Hector Hammond on his behalf. And I’d give him carte blanche to tag me in for Sinestro or Goldface.

   I also agree that S.T.A.R. Labs missed a trick by not having a ready-made story cleared through security and public affairs. The Phantom Zone villains excuse was good improvisation, but planning ahead and practicing would have helped the lovely Dr. Klyburn’s delivery.

   I think lots of franchises find their footing on the third installment. See Goldfinger, for example.

   Finally, I appreciated the point you both made about Blue Devil’s reaction to the situation. He really is just a good Samaritan doing what he can. He can just do a lot more than he used to. He reminds me of the Human Fly in that way. They both approach things in a logical, “regular person” way, like taking care of the hostages first.

   Keep up the great work (and great material). I think I might have actually covered everything, but I’ll post more if I remember.

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7. If I may, there’s another angle about Danny in the suit that isn’t explored enough. According to some comic called Who’s Who or something, Blue Devil is 6 feet 8 inches tall, but Dan Cassidy is 6 feet 2 inches. His body shouldn’t really fit inside the suit, since it has human normal proportions to its joints, breaking his arms and legs whenever they bend. Dan’s hands and feet wouldn’t reach to where BD’s extremities are. Imagine walking around all the time with your toes pointed down inside an artificial leg. I think we can fudge the knees and elbows, but does it really work for his wrists and ankles, let alone fingers and toes? Even one inch of difference is significant.

   I only read one pre-Crisis Metallo appearance. He was the warmup villain in the comic which introduced the Master Jailer. So really, how big of a threat could he be when he’s the warmup act for that? But honestly, his Kryptonite heart should have made him a bigger deal for Superman, and I appreciated that hook. And of course, I read lots of post-Crisis Metallo, and he’s definitely a utility villain rather than feeling like a Superman foe. So I have a weird perspective. Pre-Crisis, a character with unrealized potential. Post-Crisis, not much potential but fits into any story.

   Oh Shagg, you scoff at my math? Tsk-tsk. We’ll just have to see.

   Well done, devilish ones.

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