Who Was Who Is Who #10

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of this year, who might make it and who hasn't got a Crazy Quilt's chance.

CONGO BILL / CONGORILLA - a surprise addition to James Robinson's run on Justice League of America the big ape played a big part in most of the adventures. Doubt we'll get to see him in the new DCU though.

THE CONSTRUCT - long ago robotic enemy of the Justice League who popped up occasionally, possessed someone's body then got defeated. Won't be seeing him any time soon.

CONTROLLERS - sort of cousins of the Guardians of the Universe, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Geoff Johns bring them back in the pages of Green Lantern at some point down the line; it would be nice to see them come in and teach the Guardians a thing or two. Thing is, there's so much planned in the GL titles, while I think they may come back, I don't think it'll be before the end of 2012.

COPPERHEAD - killed some time ago by the latest Manhunter, I doubt he'll be resurrected.

Monday Covers #20

JSA #52

Such a nice cover, such a damn cool look as well.

Why didn't anyone do more with this version of the Crimson Avenger?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #83

Backwards spells - Zatanna deals with creeps in her own style.

• Battlefields #6 - I think we all knew the mostly lighthearted story couldn't end well, but even so, those last couple of pages were a bit of a shock.
• Brightest Day #2 - Firestorm appears to have an unwanted (and unknown) passenger; at least one White Martian has shrugged off their human disguise; and the Martian Manhunter shows why he's been described as the soul of the Justice League, dealing with a tricky situation in a calm and compassionate manner. Oh, and those last two pages? See below.
• The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins #1 - easily picking up the longest title award, as my wife said: "Hasn't this journey been going on for some time already?" We get more flashbacks, though, this time dealing with the aftermath of Jericho Hill. My only gripe - as it starts the adaptation of The Gunslinger, how can it miss the classic opening line of the book: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
• DCU: Legacies #1 - comparisons to Marvels may well be made as this story romps through various generations of heroes as seen by an everyman character, but right now it's off to a great start. Appearances from the Crimson Avenger and other Golden Age characters along with the less well known "Scoop" Scanlon make this a treat for those of us who like DC's history.
• Justice League of America #45 - didn't I say last time that this series seemed to be getting better? This issue, once more, seems to sprawl - there's no real sense of pacing, it's simply one scene after another that barely seem to connect. Such a shame.
• Zatanna #1 - the last thing I read that had Paul Dini credited as writer was Countdown . . . and we all know how that turned out. It's an absolute joy, then, to read this first issue and come away with the intention of adding this to my pull list. Zatanna's always been a cool, if underused, character and it's nice to see her get an ongoing. The story races along, setting up for the next issue, and the art is nice and clean. Good job all round.

And what made me laugh out loud:

Deadman vs the Anti-Monitor!? It took most of DC's heroes to beat him in Crisis on Infinite Earths; took dozens of Green Lanterns to have any effect in the Sinestro Corps Wars; the combined Lantern Corps still had problems with him in Blackest Night.

Now Deadman has to fight him on his own?!

Who Was That Masked Woman?

I've been re-reading JSA over the last couple of days, cataloging the series for the lovely people over at Collectorz.com and have come across something that doesn't really sit right with me: the identity of the Crimson Avenger.

One of the things I like about the Collectorz comic database is that it allows you to record which characters appear in particular issues and, as I was updating JSA #33 onwards, I came across the fantastically designed Crimson Avenger. Now in both the Collectorz database and elsewhere, this version of the Avenger is listed with a secret identity/alter ego of one Jill Carlyle.

Trouble is, I can't find anywhere - in a comic I mean - that definitively states that's her name.

The issues of JSA would be the most obvious place to start, of course, but throughout the Stealing Thunder storyline and #52 and #53 where she takes Wildcat to task, no mention is made of her real name.  She simply appears, does what she needs to do, and vanishes in a haze of red mist.

The Wikipedia entry also lists her as Carlyle although it does go so far as to include the line "She... might be called Jill Carlyle." (that's my emphasis there) as well as the data panel entry which lists her alter ego as "Unknown."

The Comic Book Database lists her as Carlyle with no mention of where that name comes from but the DC Comics Encyclopedia lists her alter ego as unknown as well:

That scan's from the updated and expanded version, by the way.

So where has Jill Carlyle come from?  The closest I can come to is this page from JSA #53:

Click on it to make it readable. In that page, the Avenger relives the murder of Jill Kyle before heading off, presumably, to track down Kyle's killer because that's what she does. That's not her grave, just that off the latest victim she has to avenge.

If anyone knows where the name of Jill Carlyle came from, please post a comment and let me know.