 |
|
April 1991 |
Five months later. Federal Courthouse, Denver Colorado. The three surviving Challengers listen as lawyers open the case. Their defense lawyer claims the explosion and deaths of June and Prof were a tragic mistake, so they're innocent. He also notes that people are used to the "idealized version" of the Challs, but they're "just ordinary men doing an exordinary job." The prosecutor (a member of the President's Committee on Superhuman Activities) argues the Challs ran an unregulated near-nuclear facility that blew up and killed hundreds. She wants to "take all that income - from their "TV shows, their bedsheets, their comic books, their video games, their lunch boxes - and make them pay!" Witnesses from Challengerville (formerly Hadley) are brought forward. Most gained from having the Challengers around: cab drivers, manager of the Royal Challengers Hotel, tour guide, and so on. Another witness is the editor of the Tattletale newspaper, owned by Tri-Corp Media, which sensationalizes Challenger stories. |
During a break in the Men's Room, the lawyer spells out the defense. They'll make Prof the fall guy for blowing up the mountain. "They can't hang a man who's already dead!" Tomorrow the Challs should shave, wear suits, and use their real names. Grown men near fifty don't use nicknames like Ace and Rocky. In the Women's Room, the prosecutor ponders the case, but gets a demon flash that "The Challengers must die!"  |
The reporter's lounge is jammed - the disaster and trial are national news on all-day TV. Most reporters duff it with personal business, but Clark Kent types diligently. Harold Moffet of the Tattletale brags how he'll testify and get his own TV show. And speculates that Clark's getting engaged to Lois Lane "wasn't such a hot idea". His hand gets inexplicably singed (by heat vision). In a room at the Denver Holiday Inn, Ace meditates. As Prof was drawn to science, Ace is drawn to "the exploration of the soul. Why did we three survive out of the original four? Why did we original four survive up to that time?" Ace has been fasting, dabbling in the occult, hoping for a sign... Then he levitates. "Fascinating."  Note the hourglass symbol painted on the wall and Ace's chest. (Let's hope it's paint.) |
In a tavern, Rocky rambles. "All these years, I dunno. We had fun... I mean, we were no Justice League. One time, I swear, June was 50 feet big! But June's dead. We weren't supposed to die. That wasn't the deal. And all the stuff our lawyer's got us doin'. I just don't know." Sad 60's music plays on the jukebox, "September of My Years." Rocky sketches an hourglass on the bar. At the Denver Gun Club Firing Range, at midnight, Red blasts a paper target. His T-shirt has an hourglass. Red reflects, "All I ever wanted was to get back out there, feel the juice... Didn't care if there were a jillion super-joes out there saving the day. I got off on it." His first public appearance in years, and he's getting screwed by Lady Justice. He'd like to tell all those lawyers - as his paper target spells, "Eat it." On the way to court, Rocky rehearses his testimony. And sees a Walk light read "Tell the truth." Ace feels different after his occult experience. A whisper. As the courthouse sign reads, "Tell the truth." Red sees "Tell the truth" in his shaving mirror. And at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent finds his computer terminal displays "Tell the truth" to infinity. |
The Challs take the witness stand one by one. Red has shaved his head in silent protest. Rocky talks about being a Challenger. "They were my family." He was wrestling for the WFW when three mugs told him to take a dive - Objection! The prosecutor charges that Rocky was actually washed up, bumming, wrestling in Thailand for beer money. Rocky objects. "It wasn't like that!" Ace has little to say. He might have been foolhardy to transport explosives to a mining site, and then jettison them - Objection! The prosecutor charges that Ace was on the run from DEA agents and jettisoned marijuana. Ace objects, "I don't know where you are getting your information..." Red insists on being called, "Just Ryan, bub." He got in the hard way. In El Segundo, a "commie pinko jerk" Colonel Domingo thought to take a radio tower out - Objection! The prosecutor argues that Red was sent by the CIA to befriend and eliminate Domingo. Red says only, "You got stones, lady." (These are smears from an over-zealous prosecutor bent on becoming a Supreme Court judge. Whatever's happened, there are plentiful records of the Challs' heroism.) |
Harold Moffet, reporter, sits to tell Prof's origin. He's covered the Challs "since the get-go" when Prof saved the life of a "Jacques Cousteau clone". Moffet interviewed the man in the hospital - Objection! The prosecutor says Moffet isn't a real reporter, since his "shoddy work" appears in a rag. His job was to popularize the Challs. "Hey, when the legend becomes fact, you print the legend." (Line from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.") The defense lawyer argues four heroes were brought together for a nationwide tour to inspire young people but, tragically, their plane crashed. The prosecutor argues the Challs were media-created to sell toys and junk. Planes crash all the time. "I don't see those survivors putting on purple pajamas and going on to fight Kra, the Living Robot!" |
The Challs' lawyer pleads about how "they challenged the unknown over and over again. Until their luck ran out... when Walter Haley pulled that fatal switch..." The prosecutor demands to see "at least one fifty-foot volcano man" or else the defense is absurb. And blaming Prof proves their guilt, so she asks for the death penalty!  A nifty montage of adventures spans two pages, but note Prof's hand pulling the fatal switch and the broken clocks - borrowed time run out. |
Reporters filing stories think it looks bad for the Challengers. Until the defense brings in his last witness - Superman!  The prosecutor flushes red screaming about a "ham actor in a monkey suit". Until the witness picks up the jury box as proof of his identity. Subpoenaed, Superman admits to being uncomfortable as an "expert on superheroes." He claims to not know the Challengers except by reputation. (See Comments below.) But he knows they chose to protect the innocent - and sometimes heroes fail. As for fifty-foot monsters, "... use your imagination. After all - you believe a man can fly." |
The Challengers wait for the verdict.  The jury finds them "not guilty of any criminal misconduct. But..." The Challs should make "full financial restitution to the town of Challengerville" and "recommend they should - retire!" The Challs are congratulated, but they rush to thank Superman. He's "a little sad when you think of it." When the jury found the Challs financially responsible, Superman worries about the future when other heroes won't answer "a call for help" because they fear the lawsuits, publicity, and "the cost. Not in human lives, but in dollars and cents. Good luck." The three are mobbed by reporters. Will they do talk shows? Make a movie? Sell the Challengers trademark to a younger group? And many other silly questions. |
In a distant hotel room, a hooker pesters her wacky client. The guy's been glued to that TV trial for days, ignoring her. Is he happy? He should be. He's the mad bomber who blew up Challenger Mountain! He listens raptly as Ace makes a statement. Ace thanks the world for their prayers, letters, and phone calls during their ordeal. "And so, it is with great regret, and fond memories, that we make the following statement: We have decided to give up being the Challengers of the Unknown. And pursue our own lives." The mad bomber is ecstatic in his confused way. "Sappy, zappy, wappy... happy."  Across the world, in Venice, "city of romance, mystery, beautiful dangerous women," headlines read "CHALLOS SONO MORTI." A woman who sees that headline decides to leave Venice and come home to America... Things get worse yet in Issue 3. |
Comments So the Challengers, who couldn't be killed by dozens of monsters and villains, are destroyed by lawsuits. Questions linger. Why does the red demon hate the Challengers enough to influence the prosecutor? Who conveyed the spooky messages "Tell the truth"? Who is the Mad Bomber? And the mysterious woman in Venice? |
As to Superman's controversial appearance... As rumors go, Jeph Loeb, Hollywood screenwriter, came to DC comics to write Superman and Batman. Denied those, he took on the Challengers, whom no one cared about. So, at the first chance, Loeb stuck Superman into the story. According to Elliot Maggin's website, Mike Carlin said no. Superman would never testify about someone he didn't know. So Elliot and Loeb cooked up a plot whereby a Superman ROBOT would fake a testimony. Then, in a restroom scene, the Challs dismantle the robot into suitcases. So the story went through - but with the real Superman, not the robot panels. Everyone was thrilled at how perfectly Loeb caught "the voice" of the Man of Steel. Except Mike Carlin, who fired Elliot Maggin. So it's said. The full story and an interview are here. Another glitch is that Superman claims to have never met the Challengers in person. This is right or wrong. Superman worked with the Challs at least twice: fighting White Martians (JLA 144) and fighting the Gravity Masters (WF 267). They were all in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. But if the Crisis undid all some earlier adventures, the Superman may not have met them. (So much for continuity.) Read an legal eagle's review of the trial at comicfacts.blogspot. |