For Steve Englehart's last issue as JLA writer, he worked in The Phantom Stranger one more time, in a story called "The Key--Or Not The Key", drawn of course by Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin:
The Phantom Stranger doesn't participate in the main story, dealing with the JLA's possible new member The Privateer and the super-villain The Star-Tsar.
So I present his entire appearance in this issue forthwith:
So I present his entire appearance in this issue forthwith:
...a couple of thoughts occur to me whenever the Stranger did one of his "Thanks, I'm outta here!" disappearing acts.
First, whenever the Stranger would say he wasn't needed for the particular case, wouldn't that make the rest of them feel good? Obviously the trouble can't be that serious, if the Stranger doesn't feel compelled to stick around (conversely, it should really worry you when he did stick around).
Secondly, did any of the other JLAers ever feel jealous that the Stranger got special treatment? After all, some of the JLA considered him an official member, yet he got to come and go as he pleased. I wonder if that bothered someone like The Atom as he whiled away hours on Monitor Duty.
First, whenever the Stranger would say he wasn't needed for the particular case, wouldn't that make the rest of them feel good? Obviously the trouble can't be that serious, if the Stranger doesn't feel compelled to stick around (conversely, it should really worry you when he did stick around).
Secondly, did any of the other JLAers ever feel jealous that the Stranger got special treatment? After all, some of the JLA considered him an official member, yet he got to come and go as he pleased. I wonder if that bothered someone like The Atom as he whiled away hours on Monitor Duty.
3 comments:
Now Rob, there you go again, causing people to think thoughts that they don't need to think. Ray Palmer had enough trouble coming without you making him jealous of the P.S. J/K man, but I'm sure the thought came up to some members. (Grant Morrison had a comment in his JLA where the Atom said something about not being able to do Monitor Duty and Superman & Batman said something along the lines of "do you think we do it?")
Liking the new blog Rob, keep up your usual fine work!
For my money, some of the best and the most...satisfying...storytelling occurred during Englehart's run on the JLA. I eagerly biked the four miles to the Mall, went into the Readmore book store and handed over my 60 cents for the latest issue of JLA in those days.
As far as the Stranger's JLA membership, I don't know where I'm pulling this from, but it seems like I read somewhere that part of the member obligations were doing monitor duty so many times a month, participating in a certain number of cases per year, etc. None of which the Stranger fulfilled, I'd bet on. I'm sure if the rules were being strictly enforced his membership would have been revoked almost immediately.
Butch-
maybe i shouldn't have picked on the atom. i'm sure all the "B" grade members thought the same thing.
Bribaby-
i'm sure you're right. if someone in the team had bothered to read the by-laws, they would've decided PS is not fulfilling his duties.
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