Past Glories — Future Tears
Infinity Inc #7
Cover Date: October 1984
Released:19st July 1984
I don’t normally comment on covers, even if they’re very pretty I’m more bothered by the story inside, but I’ve really got to mention this issue’s cover and not for the best of reasons. Maybe it’s my 21st-century brain but the signs of violence, and Power Girl’s position, are too accurate for a comic that includes a talking ape. It’s also hard not to assume things being that only Power Girl, and Huntress last issue, have been shown taking such a visceral beating. To be honest, I think it’s just an artefact of Bronze Age ideas about accuracy, but it’s not something I’m comfortable not mentioning.
We open with a rather smug Ultra-Humanite giving us a couple page roundup of the plot so far before we get to the story proper. And boy what a first half of an issue as Power Girl and magic water influenced Superman battle it out. Fight scenes are difficult to describe because they’re so visual a thing, besides I doubt most people want to read a blow by blow account of such things. It might make this seem a little slight when it’s quite a packed little issue.
After being missing, or low key, for several issues Kara is in full effect here. She’s feisty and full of determination to stop Clark at almost any cost, she’s also seen to go out of her way to help save civilians as the two wreak havoc across Metropolis. She takes quite a beating, though nowhere near as bad as shown on the cover (and seems to recover quickly between panels), whilst trying to either talk Superman down or find out why he’s doing all this (she doesn’t know the rest of the JSA are alive, or that they were all dosed by the Water of Ruthlessness). Eventually, though she has to admit defeat and flies off to leave Clark to what he wishes with Metropolis.
Meanwhile, Lyta is checking on her home to find clues as to where her mom (Wonder Woman) and dad (Steve Trevor) are at their rather swanky house. Through a series of deductions, they conclude that Wonder Woman has gone to the Metropolis Museum of Art in New York, to steal a statue that is said to grant immortality. By some massive coincidence, as Silver Scarab and Northwind are there as well, it just happens that archaeologist Carter Hall (Hawkman) is also going after the statue. And indeed we see Wonder Woman and Hawkman breaking into the said museum, before, surprising no one, Hawkman betrays Wonder Woman binding her with some Nth-Metal coated handcuffs.
At this point, the three teen heroes show up and we have a fight between them and the two currently villainous JSAer’s, which ends with Wonder Woman toppling the statue only to catch Steve in the wreckage. It seems that rather than want to statue for herself, Amazons who leave Paradise island lose their immortality, but gift it’s powers to Steve who is ageing much quicker than Diana.
this is a comic of two halves, the Kryptonians throw down and the museum fight, both of which are excellently told. We know why everyone is fighting as well as getting good character beats, it’s not just a mindless punchy, punch fight just for the sake of a fight. I get a sense that this is how the comic is going to tell its story going forward (I may have peeked a little as well), small groups taking an issue to tell their part of the story. And I’ll admit I’m looking forward to how this is all going to end!