The Wit and Wisdom of Wild Dog

As I have written about before, Wild Dog -- that is, the René Ramirez version of him played on the TV show Arrow by actor and natural comedian Rick Gonzalez -- is one of my favorite comic book characters.

If I had a daughter, I would definitely name her "Hossette".

I'd wager that most people who even know who Wild Dog is know him only as The Ramirez Version, since the original (The "Jack Wheeler" Version) has appeared almost never in comics.  

I believe that his appearances in Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye may equal or exceed all the rest of his appearances combined. Sadly, even the joy that is Wild Dog doesn't make reading Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye worth the effort.

As linked above, we have discussed Wild Dog before.  But there is something we never pointed out.  Although The René Ramirez version was known for his dry wise-cracking the original Jack Wheeler was a man of few words.

Just like the Fleischer version of the Man of Steel, who, if a recall correctly, does not actually say a single word in costume.  He is a man of Action (Comics).

How few? Enough that I can give you all of them from his original four-point mini-series. Here in this post.

In the first issue, Wild Dog says:

nothing. At all.  There's an emergent hostage situation and we see Wild Dog leap into action, arming himself quickly and leaping into his vehicle to go to the rescue.

The Red Rover.

But there's no dialog from him, despite prompting.

He's a tad chattier in the next three issues. But not much.

This is perhaps his best quote.

Browning is well-known manufacturer of weaponry.  And fishing gear.  But there is no evidence that Wild Dog enjoys fishing.

His inner dialog is especially pithy.  This is his only visible thought in the entire series.

Not sure that's dialog exactly, but it is an utterance.

Sarcasm is his native language.  That's a characteristic the René Ramirez retained.

Here he is imitating the voice of a conspirator he has already captured, in order to lure the co-conspirators to their doom.

This is the first part of his big speech;

and that's the second part.

And that's it. Now, his secret identity, Jack Wheeler has plenty of dialog; conversations with friends and authorities, an extended flashback origin.  But AS WILD DOG he says only what you see here. If you want a hero of action, not of words, Wild Dog is your hero!

SKREEL!

If you are not familiar with the Filmation Cartoons versions of the DCU from the 1960s, you deserve to be.  I have mentioned them many times here, and they feature a lot of iconic characters (mostly notably, Superman, Batman, Aquaman, but also Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, Hawkman, and The Teen Titans).   

No Fleisher Studios, Filmation was a pretty small-time outfit. It famously bluffed its way into getting the chance to put many of DC's icons on the small screen.  So they were not trying to make the job any more difficult with "new and innovative takes" on the characters.

They had enough trouble with the basics.

The Superman and Batman cartoons were quite traditional, with the usual cast of supporting characters and villains.

Although the new recurring Superman villain, the Warlock, filled the obvious but empty niche of a villainous user of magic, one of Superman's few weaknesses.

Aquaman cartoons had the basic elements (him; the red-head; the big-headed purpled-eye freak; Atlantis; aqua-telepathy), but threw in a new power (the aqua-projectiles Arthur would whip and hurl) and a biologically inaccurate Troublesome Pet.

A man being perfectly amphibious is one thing, but... a pinniped?!
Patently absurd!

The Flash and the Atom were their usual selves.

As was Green Lantern.

But Hawkman? Now there's a different story!  Even at this point in his comic book history, Hawkman was clearly too byzantine and muddled a concept to be translated as-is by Filmation.

He was what you might call a fixer-upper.

So Filmation simplified that messy concept with its metaphorical flattening iron.

Nobody flattens quite as thoroughly as Filmation.

Carter Hall had black hair.

Just as he did in comics throughout most of the Silver and Bronze Ages (although most people have forgotten that and think of him as brown-haired, which happened in the late Bronze Age, for some reason).

Hawkman flew.

That part's baked in.

And his costume was a Filmation simplification of his Silver Age one.

Except for that nifty claw; more on that later.

But after that, Filmation took liberties.  Hawkgirl was nowhere in evidence, nor were lesser but still steady crime-fighting colleagues like Commissioner Cool-as-a-cucumber Emmett. Instead Hawkman supporting cast was boiled down into one person: the mysterious Prof. Barnes, a.k.a. The Phantom Stranger of Science.

Prof. Barnes.  
Friend. Father-figure. Authority-figure. Consultant. Colleage. Confidante. Lover?
Prof. Barnes is all things to all people.
Prof. Barnes is the Alpha and the Omega.

Hawkman was now an alien (specifically, a "scientific genius from a far-off world" to quote the cartoon's intro).

The cartoon having been made in 1967, Carter Hall being an alien was new IN COMICS, as introduced when George Kashdan took over the title late that year.

George Kashdan also wrote Hawkman for Filmation. Whether the cartoon or the comic is the chicken or the egg I do not know for sure, but suffice it to say that George Kashdan decided Hawkman was alien and made it happen both on pulp and on screen.

Based on the timing, I'm guessing that Kashdan made that change in the Filmation cartoon first, then changed the comic to match as soon as he got the chance. So, the entirety of the idea that Hawkman is an alien (and ALL the decades of lore that comes from that) is rooted in Filmation's three Hawkman cartoons. 

Hawkman was no longer an archaeologist.

Which is for the best. Since Hawkman is ever the eye of a hurricane of objects destruction, he shouldn't be allowed with a mile of ANY museum.

The only reason Carter Hall was ever an archaeologist was to enable his ancient weapon fetish, so that was all wisely jettisoned.

Filmation Carter Hall was, in fact, a "brilliant scientist" (and presumably inventor of all his wild weaponry).  

Working with Prof. Barnes, because who WOULDN'T, if they could?

He worked at a "vast lab complex on the outskirts of Midway Center." Hey, they kept Hawkman's fictionopolis!

If I wrote Hawkman, "Vast Labs" would be the brand name of the place.

Gone is any explanation for his powers and abilities.  Are they a function of his being an alien, of his scientific weaponry, or both?

MAGNO-VISISON! RADAR VISION!
What are they? What do they do? Are they intrinsic to Hawkman's alien race or additive of his helmet?
Who knows; who cares? This is Filmation, people.

His cool-looking claw has modes, like "Electro-Claws", "Destructo-Claw", "Chemo-Claw" and "Repello-Ray"!

I guess he shops with Electrawoman and DynaGirl.

Or maybe Space Ghost (who first appeared the year before).

His wings appear to be nigh-indestructible as a defense, just like Bat-Fink.

"Your bullets cannot harm me;
my wings are like a shield of steel."

Even without space-ship, or even A SHIRT, he can fly unaided in the absolute-zero vacuum of space.

Where wings are especially helpful.

He has a kick-*** spaceship.

The Hawkship, 'natch.

And none of Aquaman's Tusky the Hapless Walrus BS.  Hawkman has a kick-*** animal companion: Skreel.

It really cannot be overstated just how bad-*** Skreel is.

He is the scourge of all fey alien dictators.

Yeah, and don't bother going for the gun.  Just be glad you still have EYES.

In fact, so awesome is Skreel I had to customize him into my Heroclix collection as a worthy sidekick to Hawkman:

If you 'read" Heroclix, you can see just how wicked that dial is for only 15 points.

His dial is borrowed from some minor Marvel character. And, as you would expect from a bird, he gets more dangerous the more you tick him off.

"Look, buddy, I GET it, I really do; but I am running out of excuses for why the crooks we turn in have no eyes."

No wonder Hawkman wears a hood to protect his eyes.

R.I.P. Prolific and Versatile Comics Creator Gerry Conway

 

Mr. Conway has died, but his legacy lives on.

Aqualiens

Recently, I asked whether the new "Emperor Aquaman" direction, in which Arthur uses newfound abilities to reach out to the seas on other planets was sustainable.   Well, some back-reading reminded me that Aquaman used to encounter aliens ALL THE TIME in the Silver Age.

Aquaman #1 Features annoying pest Quisp and the truly dangerous Fire Trolls who are from "another sea beneath the sea".  It's still on earth but is very "otherworldly".

Note that right from the start Aquaman covers would always tout the LENGTH of the stories. That's because Aquaman had previously been mostly a back-up feature and only appeared in short stories.  If you really a lot of Silver Age Aquaman, you might come to the conclusion that Aquaman was better served by shorter stories, since many Aquaman stories are needlessly contrived and drawn out.  It is, however, probably why Aquaman quickly got epic, world-building stories like meeting and marrying Mera and later having a baby with her.

Aquaman #4. Aquaman deals with scientists from the planet Suvia.

When your voice is as rich and impactful as Aquaman's, you do your OWN narration.

Aquaman #8. Aliens from the planet Phrygia plot to steal Earth's seas. 

Ah, Aqualad; always a ray of sunshine.

Phyrgia the country is actually a real place on earth (or, rather, was, in the 10th through 7th centuries BCE in Anatolia).  Had all those Cybele cultists.  It's where Eclipso buys his hats.

No wonder he stays in the dark.

Aquaman #10. Introduces Mera, a overthrown queen from ANOTHER DIMENSION. "Dimension Aqua", which sounds as though it should be outfitted in glorious mid-century plastic chic, like an underwater Howard Johnson's. 

You'd miss Howard Johnson's, if you'd ever been there.

Alas, Dimension Aqua was just a figurative and literal backwater.

Originally "Xebel" was just the name of a scientist in Dimension Aqua.
Also... Mera has giant webbed feet, doesn't she? She is definitely an alien.

Aquaman #12. Aquaman is kidnapped by aliens to participate in galactic aqua-gladiator fights.

The novelettes are thrilling because Aqualad's not actually in them.

Aquaman #16. Aquaman falls afoul of an alien gang.

Mera is so dumb, that "alien shapeshifter" never occurs to her.  This is what happens when you are from the boonies like Dimension Aqua. 

Aquaman #24. Unnamed aliens hire the Terrible Trio II to destroy earth's water.

Do NOT confuse The Terrible Trio II, who are schlubs, with the Awesome Threesome, who are, appropriately, awesome.

By this point, aliens are so common in Aquaman stories that the writers don't even take time to name them. They might as well be tourists gawking in Manhattan.

Aquaman #27. Xen the alien collects sea creatures for his zoo.  You may remember that this plot was recycled into Episode 5 of Filmation's Aquaman cartoon, "The Sea Raiders".

"WE HAVE CAPTURED A BIG-HEADED PURPLE-EYED FREAK! EXCELLENT!"