Tangent Comics
is a
DC Comics
imprint
created in 1997, developed from ideas by
Dan Jurgens
.
[1]
The line, formed from 18
one-shots
, focused on creating all-new characters using established DC names, such as the
Joker
,
Superman
, and the
Flash
. Contrasting the Tangent Universe with the DC Universe, Jurgens commented:
[2]
The Tangent Universe tells the story of an Earth greatly influenced by the presence of super-powered beings. While the DCU Earth is essentially the same as our own, no more advanced in terms of technology or communications despite the existence of those qualities within the super-powered community, Earth Tangent is greatly influenced by all of that. Earth Tangent's economic, geographic and political landscapes are defined by the superhero community, whereas in the DCU those aspects exist unaffected by the superhero community.
Publication history
[
edit
]
The Superman
[
edit
]
According to
Dan Jurgens
, the reconceptualization of Superman "went through many permutations". An early idea eschewed powers altogether and revolved around highlighting the "man" in "Super
man
", and making him "a cop, or a doctor or something different. A guy with no powers but tremendous character who fights on behalf of his fellow man". Writer Millar noted that "the classic Superman role is already filled by the Atom", and wanted to echo "
Kafka
's
metamorphosis
where we actually see this likable, regular guy transform into a superhuman". Thus Millar took Jurgens' early idea "of the average Joe as the superMAN" and used artist Guice's "unique approach to the flashback scenes" (as seen in his
Resurrection Man
work) to create a different style than that used by Guice on his
Action Comics
work. The character and his storyline also draw influence from the story
The Reign of the Superman
written by
Jerry Siegel
and
Joe Shuster
prior to the creation of their iconic character. The Tangent Universe's Superman utilizes the name of DC villain
Two-Face
(Harvey Dent) rather than the name 'Clark Kent'. Superman's powers, according to his writer, are that "his brain is evolving at an accelerated rate" thanks to a 'god-force'.
[3]
Wonder Woman
[
edit
]
Writer
Peter David
worked from Jurgens' concept that Tangent's Wonder Woman is "a female warrior" exiled to Earth for sins committed on another world. Seeking a twist to make her different from the original
DCU
character, David thought up Wanda's origin as "a symbol of what [her] world could be if [her people] were united". Combining two diverse aspects, she "seems distracted in any combat situation" and "would rather not fight", preferring "pondering some deep philosophical point". After the character conception, artist Gene Ha produced design artwork, initially of a
bearded lady
, but eventually merely "a very alien woman".
[4]
Nightwing: Nightforce
[
edit
]
Writer
John Ostrander
previously wrote
Nightwing
for the first wave of Tangent issues and for his second wave issue christened the team (Hex, Black Orchid and Wildcat) "Nightforce". Citing the benefit of the Tangent line as giving "a far greater freedom to sculpt the world in any fashion we want", Jurgens said that for the second wave he hoped to "see Earth totally and completely subjugated". As the Tangent Universe's premiere covert team, much of the "mammoth task" of staging a pivotal Tangent event fell to Ostrander, who installed an undead,
vampire
Stalin
as head of a Soviet Empire. Ostrander also revealed the "Dark Circle", whose members could be killed and "resurrected as a warrior,
Night of the Living Dead
style, for the Ultra-Humanite".
[5]
Overview
[
edit
]
The history of the Tangent Universe radically diverges from the real world due to the presence of superheroes. The interference of the original
Atom
causes the
Cuban Missile Crisis
to escalate into a limited nuclear exchange that results in the nuclear obliteration of
Florida
and
Cuba
. The aftermath of the destruction of Florida shapes the lives of several characters.
The city of New Atlantis is created out of the remains of the city of Atlanta and is later the birthplace of the
Joker
. A group of sea creatures are mutated by the radioactive fallout into humanoid form and become known as the
Sea Devils
. The other major event to have repercussions is the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, which leads to the creation of the
Manhunter
and the deployment of alternate
Metal Men
as a U.S. black ops squad. As a result of the Cuban War in this timeline, the Soviet Union still existed in the late 1990s and was still a world superpower. However, China was not involved in this nuclear exchange and has its own metahuman genetic experimentation program, resulting in the creation of
Supergirl
and
Powergirl
.
Series
[
edit
]
Based on concepts created by Dan Jurgens, Tangent Comics as a whole is dedicated to
Julie Schwartz
.
[6]
1997 titles
[
edit
]
- The
Atom
- The grandson of the Tangent Earth's first superhero, an atomic veteran, takes on the mantle and learns a horrible truth about his family. Written and penciled by
Dan Jurgens
, with finishes by
Paul Ryan
.
- Doom Patrol
- A team from the future arrives in the present, warning of the impending destruction of the Earth. Team members include Doomsday, Star Sapphire, Firehawk and Rampage. Written by Jurgens, art by
Sean Chen
.
- The
Flash
- Lia Nelson, the first baby born in space, grows up to become a teenage superhero with light-based powers. She can move at the speed of light and create holographic constructs. Written by
Todd Dezago
, art by
Gary Frank
.
- Green Lantern
- A woman with a lantern which, when placed upon a grave, can bring the dead back to life just long enough to complete unfinished business. Written by
James Robinson
, art by
J. H. Williams III
.
- The Joker
- A costumed anarchist in the city of New Atlantis uses pranks to highlight the failings and hypocrisy of those in power. Written by
Karl Kesel
, art by
Matt Haley
.
- Metal Men
- The Metal Men are a covert military group, so named because they came back from every mission unscathed. The members are nicknamed "Hawkman", "Lobo", "Gravedigger" and "Black Lightning". Written by
Ron Marz
, art by
Mike McKone
.
- Nightwing
- A group of agents from a mystical secret society that controls much of the world go renegade. Written by
John Ostrander
, art by
Jan Duursema
.
- Sea Devils
- A society of mer-people are created by the nuclear exchange that destroyed Cuba and Florida in 1962. Written by
Kurt Busiek
, art by
Vince Giarrano
.
- Secret Six
- The Secret Six are a covert group of heroes who are formed when the Flash, Atom, the Joker, the Spectre, Plastic Man and the Manhunter join forces to combat Dr. Aquadus, a living ocean. Written by
Chuck Dixon
, art by
Tom Grummett
.
[7]
1998 titles
[
edit
]
Because the Tangent Comics titles were not linked to DC Comics' shared universe, they were free to make sweeping changes. In the Tangent one-shot issues published in 1998, a huge electromagnetic pulse disables all technology worldwide and an incredibly powerful being called the Ultra-Humanite begins taking over the world.
- Powergirl
- U.S. agents attempt to kidnap China's genetically-engineered superhuman. Written by
Ron Marz
, with art by Dusty Abell.
- Nightwing: Nightforce
- The
Superman
- An ordinary man finds himself evolving into something millions of years beyond human. Written by
Mark Millar
, art by
Jackson Guice
.
- Tales of the Green Lantern
- The Green Lantern tells three possible, and contradictory, stories of her origin. The framing sequence was written by James Robinson and drawn by J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray. The first two alternate origins were written by
Dan Abnett
and
Andy Lanning
, with art by Mike Mayhew and
Wade von Grawbadger
;
Georges Jeanty
and Drew Geraci. The third was written by John Ostrander, with art by
Ryan Sook
.
- The
Batman
- A knight who once fought King Arthur is forced to atone for his sins, seeking justice through an empty suit of armor for all eternity.
- The Joker's Wild
- The Trials of the
Flash
- The Flash teams up with her friends in the Secret Six to rescue one of their own from Nightwing. Written by Todd Dezago, art by
Paul Pelletier
.
- Wonder Woman
- An alien warrior, meant to be the symbol of unity for her fractured world, is instead pursued to Earth. She battles her pursuers in
Las Vegas
, all the while wondering about her role in the cosmos. Written by
Peter David
and drawn by Angel Unzueta from designs by
Gene Ha
.
- JLA
- A covert group of operatives is formed to take out several superhumans (the Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Superman). Eventually, the four targets come together and form their own Justice League. Written by Dan Jurgens, with art by
Darryl Banks
and
Norm Rapmund
.
Tangent: Superman's Reign
(2008)
[
edit
]
The 12-issue
miniseries
revisits the Tangent Universe 10 years later, both in reality and fiction. The series ran between March 2008 until April 2009 and was written by Dan Jurgens with art by Jamal Igle and Carlos Magno. The series was met with favorable reviews, noting strong character development and plotting.
[8]
[9]
In efforts to aid an alternate-reality-displaced Tangent Flash (Lia Nelson), Green Lantern (
John Stewart
) and the Flash (
Wally West
) are inexplicably transported to Earth-9, the Tangent Universe, by the Tangent Green Lantern. The trio joins the Tangent Spectre and the Tangent Manhunter in freeing the Atom, leaving John Stewart captured by the Tangent Superman, ruler of Earth-9. While being interrogated by the Tangent Superman, John Stewart's ring is contacted by Hal Jordan's ring, which the Tangent Green Lantern uses to bring additional members of the Justice League to Earth-9. The rescued Atom is revealed to be the Tangent Powergirl, lover to the Tangent Superman, and a fight ensues. The Tangent Manhunter is brutally murdered. The Tangent Superman takes Stewart's
power ring
and uses the ring, augmented by his psychic powers and the magic of the Tangent Orion, to travel to New Earth of the mainstream DC Universe. Meanwhile, Batman infiltrates the Core, the hub of information on Earth-9, and is saved by the Tangent Batman while escaping, who is mounting a revolution against the Tangent Superman. The Tangent Superman and the Tangent Powergirl battle their New Earth counterparts, only to escape and destroy the
White House
. The Tangent Superman proceeds to kidnap the world's leaders, take power from them and detonate a nuclear weapon to distract New Earth's heroes. While on Earth-9, the heroes find and recruit the Tangent Superman's last tie to humanity, his wife Lola Dent. The heroes on Earth-9 transport themselves back to New Earth, where the combined forces of New Earth's and Earth-9's heroes fight against the Tangent Superman, the Tangent Powergirl and a cadre of villains that the Earth-9 ruler has gathered from New Earth (
Lex Luthor
, the
Joker
,
Mr. Freeze
, the
Icicle
,
Black Manta
,
Poison Ivy
and
Felix Faust
), as well as the Tangent
Ultra-Humanite
. The raging battle against the Tangent Superman weakens him, allowing him to be ultimately defeated by his wife, concluding the story.
Convergence
(2015)
[
edit
]
Convergence
is a two-month weekly
miniseries
, published by
DC Comics
, that ran from April?May 2015.
Convergence
spins out of the final issues of the weekly series
Earth 2: World's End
and
The New 52: Futures End
. The story involves
Brainiac
trapping cities from various timelines and planets that have ended, transporting them in domes to a planet outside of time and space and "opening them for a great experiment to see what happens when all these folks meet". Notable during this event is the return of DC characters from before the 2011
Flashpoint
story arc that led to the creation of
The New 52
universe.
[10]
Interactions with the mainstream DC Universe
[
edit
]
The Kingdom
(1998) revealed that the Tangent Universe was part of
Hypertime
, a fluid system of alternate realities based on splitting and re-merging timelines. Regular DC characters became aware of the Tangent Universe, but did not interact with it.
Infinite Crisis
(2006) identified the Tangent Universe as
Earth-97
, part of the recreated
DC Multiverse
. As Earth-97 was being destroyed in the chaos, the Tangent Universe's Green Lantern said that the heroes had to follow her lantern's light in order to survive. At the end of the story on New Earth, two children found the lantern belonging to the Tangent Universe's Green Lantern washed up on a beach.
The Tangent Universe's Green Lantern, Flash and Atom appeared in
Ion
#9-10 (February?March 2007), in which they displaced Ion and the two children who had found the lantern. Ion found himself in the Bleed, where he encountered
Captain Atom
. Upon returning to Earth, Ion defeated the Tangent heroes, apparently by sending them back to their native dimension. During this appearance, everything said by the Tangent heroes was a repeat of lines from the original Tangent Comics run.
The Tangent Universe's Green Lantern later appeared in
Justice League of America
(vol. 2) #50 (December 2010), where she fled to New Earth in order to warn its heroes of an impending attack by the
Crime Syndicate of Amerika
. During the issue, it was revealed that the Syndicate members had ravaged the Tangent Universe's Earth and killed many of its heroes in the process. The Tangent Universe's Green Lantern later became instrumental in the ensuing battle by temporarily resurrecting
Alexander Luthor Jr.
of the original Earth-Three and by the end of the story, the Tangent Universe had been restored to its former state.
Earth-9
[
edit
]
The "History of the Multiverse" backup stories in the 2007?2008 series
Countdown to Final Crisis
established that the Tangent Universe now exists as one of the new 52 alternate universes. DC's official list of the current known multiverse lists the Tangent Universe as
Earth-9
.
Collected editions
[
edit
]
DC Comics reprinted the Tangent Comics one-shot issues and the miniseries
Tangent: Superman's Reign
in a series of five
trade paperbacks
:
- Tangent Comics
(August 2007), 208 pages, collecting the
Tangent Comics: The Atom
,
Metal Men
,
The Flash
,
Green Lantern
and
Sea Devils
one-shot issues.
- Tangent Comics Volume Two
(January 2008), 192 pages, collecting the
Tangent Comics: The Joker
,
Nightwing
,
Batman
,
Secret Six
and
Doom Patrol
one-shot issues.
- Tangent Comics Volume Three
(June 2008), 208 pages, collecting the
Tangent Comics: The Superman
,
Wonder Woman
,
The Joker's Wild
,
JLA
,
Tales of the Green Lantern
,
Powergirl
,
Nightwing: Nightforce
and
The Trials of the Flash
one-shot issues.
[11]
- Tangent: Superman's Reign Volume One
(February 2009), 160 pages, collecting #1?6 and
Justice League of America
(vol. 2) #16
- Tangent: Superman's Reign Volume Two
(September 2009), 144 pages, collecting #7?12
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).
DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle
.
Dorling Kindersley
. p. 281.
ISBN
978-0-7566-6742-9
.
A series of nine one-shots springing from the imagination of writer/artist Dan Jurgens, the Tangent Comics imprint introduced an entirely new universe of heroes.
- ^
"Jurgens Talks "Tangent: Superman's Reign"
.
Comic Book Resources
.
- ^
"Tangent Comics: The Background: Man of Tomorrow",
Tangent Comics Volume Three
(DC, June 2008)
ISBN
978-1-4012-1806-5
, DC Comics, p. 199
- ^
"Tangent Comics: The Background: Wonder Woman",
Tangent Comics Volume Three
, DC Comics, p. 200
- ^
"Tangent Comics: The Background: Nightwing Nightforce".
Tangent Comics Volume Three
DC Comics, p. 201
- ^
Tangent Comics Volume Three
, p. 4
- ^
Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 281: "The Secret Six found their own monthly one-shot title written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Tom Grummett".
- ^
"Review of
Tangent: Superman's Reign
#1 at Girls Entertainment Network; April 2, 2009"
. Girlsentertainmentnetwork.com. 2009-04-02. Archived from
the original
on July 8, 2009
. Retrieved
2011-02-03
.
- ^
"Review: Tangent: Superman's Reign Vol. 1 trade paperback (DC Comics) Collected Editions; March 16, 2009"
. Collectededitions.blogspot.com. 2009-03-16
. Retrieved
2011-02-03
.
- ^
Andrew Wheeler (25 November 2014).
"
'Convergence' Week 3: 'Teen Titans', 'Swamp Thing', And More"
.
Comics Alliance
. Archived from
the original
on 19 March 2015.
- ^
"THE BEAT ≫ Blog Archive ≫ DC's Collected Editions ? May/June '08"
. Pwbeat.publishersweekly.com. 2007-12-12. Archived from
the original
on 2012-07-12
. Retrieved
2011-02-03
.
External links
[
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]
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