Star Trekking - The Next Generation - Season 3 - "The Ensigns of Command"

And we're back with Star Trekking, my regular berth for all things Star Trek.  Today we resume our look back at Star Trek: The Next Generation which brings us to season 3. 

Which is when the show finally starting living up to the unfulfilled promise of the first two seasons.

One thing that help was the constant turmoil backstage was mostly resolved.  A lot of the chaos surrounding Gene Roddenberry's tenure diminished as his time on set was curtailed by advancing age and persistent poor health. Executive Producer Rick Berman was able to exert more influence over the show's production, running a more disciplined operation.  

Gates McFadden was back as Dr. Beverly Crusher and I for one was quite the happy fan boy about that.

One change to the show was a cosmetic one but I think it helped the show reflect a more mature aesthetic.  The show's Starfleet uniforms moved from collarless costumes to more sensible and serious tunics with a collar and black pants.  The new outfits looked less like pretend dress up and something more akin to a legitimate uniform.   

I don't know if there were technical changes in lighting or how the show was recorded but TNG in season 3 just looked better, less 60's throw back chintzy and more modern, a show of it's time and not so flat and retro.  

The quality of the stories made a significant improvement and picking the one story I wanted to spotlight was a far tricker decision.  

The season 3 premiere Evolution is a personal favorite. As on my list of favorites from season 3:  

• The Enemy  
• The Defector  
• The Hunted  
• The High Ground 
• Déjà Q  
• Yesterday's Enterprise  
• The Offspring  
• Sins Of The Father  
• Tin Man  
• Hollow Pursuits   
• The Most Toys 
• Sarek

And not to mention the season finale, The Best of Both Worlds - Part 1.    

Ultimately I decided to go with The Ensigns of Command, the 2nd episode of TNG's third season.  Written by Melinda M. Snodgrass and directed by TNG mainstay Cliff Bole, the episode providees an effective spotlight for Data and an especially great scene with Capt. Picard near the end.  

The episode opens with a string quartet setting up. Hey, look! Miles O'Brien plays the cello.  The ensemble also includes a Vulcan.  

Data enters with his violin and approaches the table where Dr. Crusher and Capt.Picard are sitting. (Does this count as a date?)   

DATA: Captain. Doctor. I am honoured by your presence, but may I suggest you attend the second concert.

CRUSHER: Why, Data?

DATA: Ensign Ortiz will perform the violin part. My rendition will be less enjoyable.

PICARD: Oh?

DATA: Although I am technically proficient, according to my fellow performers, I lack soul.

(That's rich given that one of his fellow performers is a Vulcan.)

CRUSHER: Data, telling us why you're going to fail before you make the attempt is never wise.

DATA: But is not honesty always the preferred choice?

PICARD: Excessive honesty can be disastrous, particularly in a commander.

DATA: Indeed?

PICARD: Knowing your limitations is one thing. Advertising them to a crew can damage your credibility as a leader.

DATA: Because you will lose their confidence?

CRUSHER: And you may begin to believe in those limitations yourself.

Just as the concert begins, Picard is summoned to the bridge and leaves. Data casts a sideways glance at the departing Captain.  Data thinks his violin playing sucks but is it THAT bad?

On the bridge, Picard listens to a tersely delivered message from a race known as the Sheliak.   

Federation creatures, there are humans on the fifth planet of Tau Cygna. This planet was ceded to the Corporate in section one hundred and thirty-three, paragraph seventy seven of the Treaty of Armens. We will begin settlement of this world in four days. Remove the humans.

Tau Cygna Five? Well, that can't be right! Hey, Riker, explain why that can't be right.  

RIKER: Tau Cygna Five is in the de Laure Belt. Heavy concentrations of hyperonic radiation.

PICARD: Humans can't survive in that environment. Exposure to hyperonic radiation is fatal.

Hypertonic 

I mean, hyper ironic....

On more time! Hyperonic radiation also scramble sensors, fucks with transporters and some other 3rd thing.

This is some serious plot specific radiation! 

Since hyperonic radiation doesn't fuck with androids, Picard sends Data down in a shuttlecraft to see what's what. Data's still wondering how bad was his violin playing?  

PICARD: Number One, any speculation on what we might find down there?

RIKER: My guess would be a lone survey ship. Maybe a dozen or so survivors.

Data lands on the planet on what has got the be the teeny tiniest shuttle in Starfleet and finds a bit more than anyone expected.  

The residents are descendants of of the original settlers, from the colony ship Artemis. They did some SCIENCE to figure out how to survive hyperonic radiation (but not before a third of them died.) All they had were the clothes on their back, their wits and an inexplicable jar of Nutella.  

And Riker's estimate of the number of humans on the planet is a bit off.

Fifteen thousand two hundred fifty three!

OK, make that off by a LOT! 

So Data gets busy telling them why he's here.  He's surrounded by a group of colonists and their leader, Gosheven.

(It's pronounced "GO-SHUH-VIN", not "GOSH EVEN")

DATA: The Sheliak wish to colonise this planet, and are unwilling to share it with humans. If you are still here when the Sheliak colony ship arrives, they will eradicate you.

HARITATH: They'd kill all of us?

DATA: They have little regard for human life. Thus, the most sensible course is to prepare a contingency plan for the evacuation of your people.

GOSHEVEN: We're not evacuating.

DATA: Perhaps I have not made myself clear.

GOSHEVEN: Yes, you have. Let me be equally clear. There's going to be no evacuation. You've delivered your message, so go back to your ship. I have work to do.

Gosheven walks away from Data with total disregard for his presence.  This dude is a self righteous prick who would be right at home on Fox News.  

Someone throws an object at Data. He snatches it out of the air with lightning fast reflexes.  

Is Data under attack?

Nope! It's a meet cute.

A meet cute with an android? Let's see how this plays out. 

ARD'RIAN: Nice catch. Wonderful reflexes. Sorry to test you like that, but I was curious.

Oh great bird of the galaxy, it's a female woman of the opposite sex.

GOSHEVEN: Found a new toy, have we, Ardi?

ARD'RIAN: Toy? This is the most incredible android I've ever seen.

DATA: Have you seen many?

ARD'RIAN: Actually, no. You're the first.

GOSHEVEN: Only you would get this excited over a walking calculator.

ARD'RIAN: Cybernetic intelligence fascinates me. Are your neural pathways duotronic?

DATA: No, positronic.

ARD'RIAN: I didn't know that was possible! What's your memory capacity? How many operations per second? I have a million questions.

DATA: I'm afraid I have no time to answer a million questions. I have a mission to accomplish. I need to know more about your people, and Gosheven seems unwilling to talk to me further.

ARD'RIAN: I'm Ard'rian McKenzie. Perhaps I can help you.

And just like that, Data has a girlfriend.  

Even if Data does't realize it yet.  

Back on the Enterprise, LaForge and O'Brien are summoned to the ready room.  

RIKER: Gentlemen, we're giving you an assignment. One thing we don't want to hear is that it is impossible.

PICARD: I need the transporters to function despite the hyperonic radiation.

LAFORGE: Yeah, but that's im-

<takes a beat>

LAFORGE: Yes, sir.

Starship commanders always want the impossible.

And they want it yesterday.  

Back on the planet, Data is frustrated by his efforts to convince the colonists they gonna die. But his "he don't know it yet" girlfriend endeavors to bolster his confidence.  

ARD'RIAN: Data? We're having an effect. So many people are asking questions about the Sheliak that Gosheven has called a public meeting.

DATA: Is there any indication that Gosheven has changed his position?

ARD'RIAN: No. But a meeting will give you the chance to present your recommendations.

DATA: So far, my attempts at persuasion have been ineffective.

(Ard'rian kisses him full on the lips)

DATA: Why did you do that?

ARD'RIAN: You appeared to need it.

DATA: Among humans, a kiss usually serves to seal a friendship, or indicate support, attraction, affection. In this context, I must assume that your intention was to express support.

ARD'RIAN: You don't really understand human behaviour, do you?

DATA: That is something of an understatement.

ARD'RIAN: Sometimes I don't either. 

Oh, they are such a cute couple.

Data has a girlfriend! 
Data has a girlfriend! 
Data has a girlfriend! 

Meanwhile....

Picard has reached out to Starfleet and for reasons of plot, they earliest the can get some ships out to Tau Cygna Five is three weeks.

And Picard has been running up against the Sheliak who refuse to negotiate to give him more time to remove the colonists.

The Sheliak are a fastidious, pendantic bunch with zero regard for lesser life forms like humans.

We get a scene with Counselor Troi actually doing some real counseling.  

TROI: In our dealings with other non-humanoid races there has been some point of reference. Not so with the Sheliak.

PICARD: But we must have something in common. We communicate.

TROI: Barely. They have learned several Federation languages, but theirs continues to elude us.

PICARD: Telepaths?

TROI: Attempted and failed. Actually, the fact that any alien race communicates with another is quite remarkable. We are stranded on a planet. We have no language in common, but I want to teach you mine. (she hold up his cup of tea) S'smarith. What did I just say?

PICARD: Cup? Glass?

TROI: Are you sure? I may have meant liquid, clear, brown, hot. We conceptualise the universe in relatively the same way.

PICARD: Point taken.

TROI: In your talks, you must be extremely accurate. The treaty is five hundred thousand words. The length was to accommodate the Sheliak. They consider our language irrational, and demanded this level of complexity to avoid any future misunderstandings.

In the past two seasons, Troi's presence on the Enterprise seemed extraneous. If she got anything to do, it was to use her empathic Betazoid powers to tell us shit that anyone else could figure out without empathic Betazoid powers.  This scene provides a small glimpse of Troi being written intelligently.  

Back on the planet, Data and Ard'rian are making some headway with the colonists but JD Vance....sorry, Gosheven voices his objection to their efforts.  

GOSHEVEN: Still stirring up trouble?

ARD'RIAN: Since when is talk trouble?

GOSHEVEN: It's over. Don't you get it? You had your say. You lost.

DATA: I appear to be reversing that defeat.

GOSHEVEN: No, you're not. You're just stubborn. Well, let me tell you something.

(Gosheven uses an electric prod on Data. He falls over)

GOSHEVEN: So am I.

ARD'RIAN: Damn you, Gosheven.

HARITATH: You killed him?

GOSHEVEN: I've killed no one. I merely shut down a machine. That's it, everyone. It's time to go home. You'll see that I'm right.

Picard and Troi score a face-to-face meet up with Sheliak on board their ship. It's pretty dark with some speckled neon here and there, like the interior of a Spencer's Gifts.  

SHELIAK: Advance and speak.

PICARD: Director, we will comply with your request to remove the colony from Tau Cygna Five, but we need time.

SHELIAK: The given time has elapsed. We carry the membership and we will proceed with their debarkation.

TROI: The temporary presence of these humans should not interfere with your plans.

SHELIAK: Unacceptable. You must remove the creatures.

PICARD: I'm trying, but the needed ship will not be available for three weeks.

SHELIAK: Then you are in violation.

PICARD: I have admitted that. I am only asking for a little flexibility.

SHELIAK: Section five hundred and one, paragraph seven hundred and sixteen, subparagraph five. Unwanted lifeforms inhabiting H class worlds may be removed at the discretion of the Sheliak Corporate.

PICARD: We will remove them, but you must grant us the time we require.

SHELIAK: You need time, Picard of the Enterprise? We will save you time. We will eradicate the human infestation.

PICARD: They are not vermin. They are citizens of the Federation. I will not permit this outrage!

SHELIAK: Intelligent converse is impossible. You do not discuss, you gibber.

PICARD: Between intelligent species of good-

 Picard and Troi are zapped back onto the Enterprise bridge in mid sentence.  

PICARD: -will....

RIKER: I take it the Sheliak just hung up on us again.

Back at colony, Data is "awake" 

ARD'RIAN: I'm not surprised at Gosheven's behaviour. But Kentor and the others, they said they were with us. I guess words don't mean very much.

DATA: Perhaps that is a part of our difficulty. Words are all we have been using. Humans seem to take much stronger notice of actions. I require a phaser.

ARD'RIAN: What's a phaser?

DATA: A type of weapon. Unfortunately it does not function in the presence of hyperonic radiation. I will have to be innovative.

(Data removes a small circuit board from his right forearm)

DATA: Hyperonic radiation randomises phaser beams. But I believe I can improvise a servocircuit which will compensate by continuously recollimating the output.

ARD'RIAN: You're using your own neural subprocessors to build a smarter phaser.

DATA: Essentially correct. Get word to Gosheven. Tell him I am coming to the pumping station. Tell him I am going to destroy the aqueduct.

ARD'RIAN: He'll try to stop you.

DATA: I sincerely hope so.

Ooh boy! Is that bad ass or what? Data using the innards of his own arm to science the shit out of a phaser that'll work despite the plot device radiation.  

The scene switches to a court yard where Gosheven is surrounded by 4 security guards.  Data phasers the four of them. 

DATA: That was the stun setting. 

(Data raises his phaser again)

DATA:  This is not.

(Data's phaser blasts strikes the base of the aqueduct and energy shoot up the side of the mountain.)

DATA: I can reduce this pumping station to a pile of debris, but I trust my point is clear. I am one android with a single weapon. There are hundreds of Sheliak on the way and their weapons are far more powerful. They may not offer you a target. They can obliterate you from orbit. You will die never having seen the faces of your killers. The choice is yours.

KENTOR: There are other places, other challenges.

GOSHEVEN: I really was willing to stay here and die for this.

DATA: I know that. This is just a thing, and things can be replaced. Lives cannot.

Data gives the phaser a twirl before reholstering it.

Meanwhile, Picard has had it up to his bald head with the damn Sheliak busting them with their damn treaty and he's found something that just might make it work for the Enterprise crew for once.  

This scene coming up is the main reason why I chose this episode for this week's spotlight.  

PICARD: Mister Worf, get me the Sheliak.

WORF: Yes, sir. Coming through, sir.

PICARD: Pursuant to paragraph one thousand two hundred and ninety, I hereby formally request third party arbitration of our dispute.

SHELIAK [on viewscreen]: You have the right.

PICARD: Furthermore, pursuant to subsection D three, I name the Grisellas to arbitrate.

SHELIAK [on viewscreen]: Grisellas?

PICARD: Unfortunately, they are currently in their hibernation cycle, However, they will awaken in six months, at which time we can get this matter settled. Now, do you want to wait or give me my three weeks?

SHELIAK [on viewscreen]: Absurd. We carry the membership. We can brook no delay.

PICARD: Then I declare the treaty in abeyance,

SHELIAK [on viewscreen]: Wait! Negotiation is permiss

(Picard has him cut off in mid word)

RIKER: You enjoyed that.

PICARD: You're damned right.

WORF: Captain, they are hailing us.

(one, two, three, four, make him wait outside the door. Picard inspects the ship's plaque for dust)

WORF: Sir?

(Five, six, seven, eight, does the beggar good to wait)

PICARD: On screen.

SHELIAK [on viewscreen]: You may have your three weeks, Picard of the Enterprise.

PICARD: Thank you.

This sequence has got to be in at least the top 5 coolest things Capt. Picard ever did.

(The Sheliak ship turns around. La Forge enters)

LAFORGE: Captain, we can do it. We can modify the transporters.

PICARD: Excellent.

LAFORGE: It'll take fifteen years, and a research team of a hundred.

PICARD: Mister La Forge, I believe we will postpone.

LAFORGE: Yes, sir.

Back on the planet, Ard'rian meets up with Data who is getting ready to depart in his shuttle. 

ARD'RIAN: Hi. The evacuation plan is going well. When the ship arrives, we'll be ready to leave. You succeeded.

DATA: I could not have succeeded without your support and insight. I am grateful for your assistance.

ARD'RIAN: Good. Then you won't forget me.

DATA: I am incapable of forgetting. I will remember every detail of my visit here with perfect clarity.

ARD'RIAN: But nothing more?

DATA: I do not understand.

ARD'RIAN: I guess what I really want to know is, do you have any feelings for me?

DATA: I have no feelings of any kind.

ARD'RIAN: No, of course you don't.

(Data kisses her)

ARD'RIAN: What was that for?

DATA: You appeared to need it.

ARD'RIAN: So you saw I was unhappy and did what you concluded would make me feel better. Rational to the last.

"You appeared to need it!" These two made such a cute couple.

Back on the Enterprise, Data enter's Picard's ready room where he is listening to Mozart.

PICARD: Come. Welcome home, Mister Data. Well done.

DATA: Thank you, sir.

PICARD: The good doctor was kind enough to provide me with a recording of your concert. Your performance shows feeling.

DATA: As I have recently reminded others, sir, I have no feeling.

PICARD: It's hard to believe. Your playing is quite beautiful.

DATA: Strictly speaking, sir, it is not my playing. It is a precise imitation of the techniques of Jascha Heifetz and Trenka Bronken.

PICARD: Is there nothing of Data in what I'm hearing? You see, you chose the violinists. Heifetz and Bronken have radically different styles, different techniques, yet you combined them successfully.

DATA: I suppose I have learned to be creative, sir, when necessary.

What the hell does "Ensigns of Command" even mean? The phrase is derived from the poem "The Wants of Man" by John Quincy Adams, meaning the outward signs, badges, or symbols of rank and power.  The title of the episode is not a reference to the rank of Ensign but rather to having the proper authority and proof needed to get a job done—using force, logic, or legal loopholes to demonstrate command. 

The Ensigns of Command may not be among the best TNG episodes but I personally found a lot about that that was commendable.  It was certainly a great spotlight for Brent Spiner and Data's exploration of humanity. It is compelling challenge for Data of not being about to solve problems with rationality but adapting his thinking and appeal to human emotion.  

And his interaction with Ard'rian is charming as hell.  We get two kissing scenes in the most Data-like way.

"You appeared to need it."  Yeah, that'll work.

And of course that kick ass confrontation between Picard and the Sheliak epitomizes what Star Trek is all about, the triumph of wisdom, intelligence and even wit over brute force.  With just a hint of those human foibles Roddenberry was determined to erase from the series.

RIKER: You enjoyed that.

PICARD: You're damned right.

You go, Jean-Luc!  

Next time on Star Trekking....

We move up to season four of Star Trek: The Next Generation and our spotlight falls on Data once more.

Movie Time: Hotel Berlin

Yesterday was my birthday and I'm now 63 years old.

As an official OLD PERSON, I am now required to have a deep and profound interest in World War II.

It was our last really good war.  It had the biggest scope (it was a WORLD war) and the best villains. (Nazis? Boo! Hiss!)

I do love me a good WWII docmentary and my favorite topic is what a dumbass Adolf Hitler was, making profoundly stupid decisions based on his unequivocal belief that he and only he was smart enough to do things no one else had done.

Like attacking Russia in winter! How clever is that? No one would expect Russia being attacked in winter.  No one had done it before so Hitler thought it was a genius move to attack Russia in winter.  

Well, it's STUPID because it's RUSSIA in WINTER! 

German forces advancing on Russia were quickly stymied because RUSSIA in WINTER is HELL!! 

Or that time Hitler attacked Iran without considering Iran could shut down the Strait of Hormuz.... whoops! Sorry, mixing Hitler up with another STUPID ego maniac.  (They kind of start to blur together.)  

Ultimately, Hitler's rampant ego and stupidity were good things for the Nazi busting good guys that finally brought WWII to an end. 

This coming Thursday, April 30th, will mark the 81st anniversay of Hitler's suicide and the fall of the Reichstag, marking the military defeat of Nazi Germany.  The garrison in Berlin surrendered on May 2, 1945.  

The Nazis were whupped and we never had to worry about a fascist government run by an ego maniacal stupid person ever again. 😟

Which brings us to.... Movie Time!   

Hotel Berlin (1945) is an American drama set in Berlin in the waning days of WWII.  The film was in production well before Germany's surrender but hey, the writing was on the wall. It was clear to everyone except for stupid ego maniacs that the Allies were engaged in a good ol' romp 'n' stomp and Nazi Germany was heading for a fall.   

Released in March 1945, a month before that fall, Hotel Berlin is oddly prescient.  Watching it, I thought the movie was made after the defeat of Nazi Germany.  

Hotel Berlin serves as a sort of quasi-sequel to Grand Hotel.

Both movies were based on books written by Vicki Baum, both set in a big ol' hotel in Berlin. 

And like the earlier film, Hotel Berlin follows a web of plotlines that connect in a single space over a single span of time.   

The hotel is the nexus for a collection of Nazis, officers, spies and some ordinary Germans just trying to get by in a time of war. 

Martin Richter is a  German underground leader who escaped from the Dachau concentration camp seeking refuge at the hotel.  

Joachim Helm, a Nazi still dedicated to a cause spiralling towards defeat, is out to capture Richter.

Another hotel guest is Nobel laureate Johannes Koenig, Richter's friend from before the war and also an escapee from Dachau.

General Arnim von Dahnwitz is also at the hotel.  He is wanted for his role in a plot to kill Hitler and has 24 hours to surrender or kill himself. 

Lisa Dorn, a famous actress and Arnin's lover, is also at the hotel.  Arnin tries to convince Lisa to get married and run away with him to Sweden.  Lisa deems Arnin's plight as hopeless and declines that offer. Alas, Arnin agrees with her and takes the option that is NOT surrendering himself.  

Hotel "hostess" (and informant) Tillie Weiler warmly greets Major Kauders, a pilot determined to make the fullest use of a short leave (Wink! Wink!) They argue and split when Kauders suspects Tillie of hanging out with Jews.  

Sarah Baruch comes to Tillie and begs her help in getting medicine for her husband, dying of cancer. 

Hermann Plotke, a snivelling Hitler sycophant, recognizes Sarah and orders her to put on the Star of David badge required of all Jews. Tillie intervenes and exposes Plotke as a thief, as a common shoplifter before the war. 

Tillie is arrested for helping Jews.

Hermann is arrested for stealing stuff.   

Meanwhile, back to Martin Richter, as part of a scheme to get him out of the Hotel Berlin, he is disguised as a waiter. But Lisa Dorn snitches him out to Joachim Helm.  

Richter and Helm get into a tussle that ends when Richter tosses the Nazi down an elevator shaft.

Richter also shoots Lisa Dorn for being a snitch. 

And that is where our tangled tale of deception and despair ends.

Whoa! That was a lot.

Unlike the frothier Grand Hotel with it's high voltage cast,  Hotel Berlin is a darker dramatic excursion.  All the characters are German and there is a concerted effort to make these characters relatable. They are only people trying to cope with life under an oppressive and corrupt regime that has led them into a war they cannot win.  Some cope by leaning into the last vestiges of power of this regime; others cope by standing firm against it.  Under this duress, not everyone makes the best decisions.

Like, perhaps, Martin Richter's decision to execute Lisa Dorn for her betrayal? The time of Hitler and his bloody war is coming to an end, the ultimately failure of this oppressive and corrupt regime is self evident. Does Lisa really need to die at this late stage of these events?

But sadly, the war is in fact not yet over and Hitler's devotees are still all too willing to enforce his edicts with lethal results. Dorn betrayed them before and may do so again.  Can she be trusted to be left alive?  

It is hard to come to terms with the results of Richter's brutal calculation.  

As I noted earlier, Hotel Berlin is very prescient of events that will occur after it was made and released.

Film critic Michael Atkinson made this observation: "For most of the world in early 1945 the concentration camps were still just a rumor, but here characters talk in ominous terms about Dachau and Birkenau, whose gas chambers were claimed in the picture to kill '6,000 people in 24 hours!', in a movie that hit theaters one month before Auschwitz and Dachau were liberated and exposed to the world." 

Hotel Berlin offers a rather sympathetic portrayal of Germans which did not set well with those who bought into the jingoistic war propaganda against our enemies.  New York Times critic Bosley Crowther chastised the creators of Hotel Berlin for presenting sympathetic German characters, in both his March 3, 1945 review of the film and in a March 11, 1945 article criticizing the makers of Lifeboat, The Seventh Cross, Tomorrow the World and Hotel Berlin for “giving our very real enemies...a sizeable break.”

I'm not sure that Hotel Berlin counts as given anyone a sizeable break.  The people portrayed within dwell in the murky grey of morality under seige, confounded by desires for power and the basic need for survival.  

Our enemies are only human after all.  

Your Friday Video Link: Uplifting Messages About Life

Today is my birthday.  😎

To celebrate the anniversary of my arrival on this planet 👽and being another year closer to my exit 💀, Your Friday Video Link is dedicated to reaffirming the joy and the wonder that is life. 

Here is Sammy J and Randy Feltface with an unlifting message about life.

I felt like you should see that.

Get it? Felt.  'Cause the puppet is made of... felt...

Laugh! It's my birthday! Laugh, damn it! LAUGH!! 😆

If I can't be meglomaniacal on birthday, when can I?

Let's get a bit more into that happy go lucky look at life, let's sing-along with Eric Idle as we "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life!"

I'm all about the positivity, that's me! 

As I reflect on this milestone day about a plethora of bad life choices 😭, I hope you have a great day! 👍

And remember to be good to one another.   

Comic Book Retro 50: April 1976

A bit of blog bidness up front: 

1) The bi-monthly blog post where I look back at comic books I bought 50 years ago will now be monthly.

2) And it's called Comic Book Retro 50! 

Tell all your friends and enjoy! 

******************************************************

Here we go, fellow comic book nerds as we venture forth 50 years into the past to answer the burning question of:

What comic books did a young Dave-El buy in April 1976?

Since Marvel had a banner across the top of every cover proclaiming the "Marvel Comics Group", DC answered with their own banner starting in May 1975.  

Now taking up even more real estate on the cover was "DC Comics Salutes the Bicentennial".  

The number on the right end of the banner was part of a giveaway that required readers to (gasp!) mutilate their comics to win a metal Superman belt buckle.

Note that this trade dress ran on issues that were COVER dated July 1976 although these issues actually went on sale in April 1976.   

The gap between the actual sell date and the date on the cover was designed to trick retailers into keeping titles in the spinner racks longer.  

Maybe you could get your nifty Superman buckle in time to wear at your 4th of July Bicentennial picnic! 

Let's get on with the comics! 

I picked up Superman#301 which had a couple of significant developments with the creative team. 

Instead of Cary Bates or Elliott S! Maggin (or in the case of the last 5 issues, both of them), we get writer Gerry Conway.

And instead of Superman mainstay Curt Swan, we get the debut of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez on pencils.  While Swan was a solid artist who provided the definitive look for Superman both in comics and for outside marketing, Garcia Lopez offerd a more dynamic style that made the Man of Steel feel more modern.  

Alas, Garcia Lopez only provided a relative handful of issues for interior Superman art but did provide a plethora of covers for various Superman titles.  DC Comics also employed Garcia Lopez as their principal artist for style guides, making his version of Superman more unbiquitous than Curt Swan's.  

Conway & Garcia Lopez pair up with regular inker Bob Oskner for a 17 page slugfest called "Solomon Grundy Wins on a Monday!".  

 Solomon Grundy was a massive zombie man-monster who mostly fought the Golden Age Green Lantern on Earth 2.   

How did Grundy get from Earth 2 to Earth 1 to fight Superman.  IIRC, Gerry Conway tells us that Grundy walked here. 

Conway didn't have to deal with multiple Earths over at Marvel.

Conway does a little bit of world building by introducing the super criminal organization known as SKULL in this issue 

They would appear off and all in Superman for a couple of years as well as in Superman Family.

April 1976 brought us Batman Family#6.  This book was split between new stories featuring Robin and Batgirl working solo or as a team and an assortment of reprints. 

The reprints include a short 1945 solo out for Alfed (when he was known as Alfred Beagle) and a Mad Hatter story from Batman#161 where the villain takes revenge on the jurors who convicted him and sent him to prison. Which is the same story used in the Mad Hatter's appearance on the Batman TV show.

The new stories include a solo outing for Batgirl as Congresswoman Barbara Gordon heads out west.

But of some considerable note is this issue's Robin adventure. 

By Bob Rozakis, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin, "The Joker's Daughter" introduces a distaff version of the Clown Prince of Crime.  

"Can't bring myself to hit a girl"? Jesus, Robin, it's 1976, not 1946! 

The mysterious femme fatale would return in subsequent stories as various "daughters" of established Batman villains to bedevil the Teen Wonder.  

Her reveal of who she is and how she came to be will be covered in a future Comic Book Retro 50 post. 

Next up is Justice League of America#132 by Gerry Conway, Dick Dillin & Frank McLaughlin, "The Beasts Who Fought Like Men",concluding the tale begun the month before in issue #131.

From Justice League to Justice Society, we go to All Star Comics#61.  

Let's talk about this cover for a second.

We've got the two banners at the top, word balloons and a text box hyping the plot.  Besides the big All Star Comics logo, we've got a banner proclaiming "with the SUPER SQUAD" with the JSA reduced to an afterthought shield graphic next to the comic's title. 

Boy, there is a LOT going on! 

So what the hell is a "Super Squad"?   

I'll let Gerry Conway try to explain it.

"I wanted to do a “modern” group — which at the time meant kids in costume.  Youth rules — and the original JSA characters were a bit long in the tooth, according to continuity (even given that time seemed to run at a different rate on Earth-Two).  Robin was a nod to the present; The Star-Spangled Kid was a nod to the past; and Power Girl was an attempt at something “new.”"

"Calling the resulting group the “Super-Squad” was intended to differentiate it from the JSA.  Also, while I wanted to use the All-Star name for the comic, I knew that, in fact, none of these characters were what readers of the ’70s would consider to be “stars.”  Hence, “Super-Squad.”"  

Except that never quite panned out.  Robin was quickly written out and SSK and PG were basically members of the JSA.  Still, the Super Squad cover dress would continue for another year before it was finally replaced with a proper Justice Society logo.

Keith Giffen took over as penciller  with issue #60  and li'l Dave-El was really loving his artwork.  

Giffen was still relatively new to the comics game but I found his work to be especially powerful and dramatic, setting the stage for Giffen's later work with Paul Levitz on Legion of Super Heroes. 

Speaking of the Legion,  here comes Superboy#218.

Cary Bates is determined to make us care about Tyroc.

But we don't want to.  

He's got the dumbest super power where he screams weird shit which makes stuff happen. 

What kind of stuff is determined by the needs of the plot.  

The convoluted standard issue Cary Bates plot involves some shenangans with a Legion reject called Absorbancy Boy.

I will pause a moment to let you giggle at that.

<pause>

Are you done now? Good. 

So Absorbancy Boy (stop giggling!) absorbs residue energy such as from super-powers. Now he has the powers of Sun Boy and Superboy.

Because Cary Bates is determined to  make us like Tyroc whether we want to or not, the solution to this threat is something only Tyroc can do.  

Tyroc challenges Absorbancy Boy using an ultra-high frequency that only Superboy's super hearing can hear.  This hurts Absorbancy Boy because he's not used to Superboy's powers so Tyroc knocks him out.

World's Finest Comics #239 gives us  "The UFO That Stole the U.S.A." wherein Superman, Batman & Gold from the Metal Men contend with an alien invasion that isn't what it seems.

Illustrated by Curt Swan & John Calnan, the story is more patented insanity from writer Bob Haney.  

In order to reach Superman in space, Batman has Gold (which is a very malleable metal) stretch into a very long wire to extend to Superman in outer space.  

If that sounds impossible, well, that's Bob Haney for you.   

Action Comics #461 continues the Superman tale by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Tex Blaisdell as the alien Karb-Brak continues to cause problems.  

And because DC has it's finger on the pulse of the young people of 1976, the back up is a solo story featuring Perrty White. 

Look at the ol' cigar chomping Daily Planet editor in the DC banner, just begging the hip happening kids of the 70's to buy this comic! 

Challenging All Star Comics#61 for the month's most crowded cover is Adventure Comics #446.  

Aquaman is on this cover THREE times, in the banner, off to the left side on a friggin' seahorse with an American flag and beating the shit out of Black Manta.

Guys, I think Aquaman is in this book! 

We're in the middle of an Aquaman run by writer Paul Levitz and artist Jm Aparo (with Paul getting some scripting help from Martin Pasko.)  Paul was very young (I think he was just out of high school maybe?) and was writing Aquaman because no one else wanted to.  

Pasko pecks out the script for the Creeper who holds down the fort in the back up with Ric Estrada  & Joe Staton doing their best to invoke the spirit of Creeper creator Steve Dikto.  

I was not buying this book on the regular and this was very much a random purchase.  After this issue, I did not buy another issue of Adventure until 1978.   

Looks like April 1976 was another month without Batman or Detective Comics. 

Next month, Comic Book Retro 50 moves to May 1976 where the Caped Crusader's solo titles will return to my purchase pile and we get the return of Green Lantern/Green Arrow. 

Earth Day 2026

Today, Wednesday April 22, 2026 is Earth Day.

Here is the photo of the Earth taken by the Artemis II mission.

 

Take a good look.  It had a good run while it lasted.

 

There are obstacles in keeping our world safe and hospitable to life.

 

At the top of those obstacles are people who seem to thing the Earth is perfectly fine and there is nothing to worry about.

 

The big fat orange blob monster Donald Trump will still ramble that climate change is a hoax and so what if sea levels are rising, that just means more ocean front property.

 

Or something stupid like that.

 

One argument Li’l Donnie makes in defense of his position is what he perceives is uncertainty from others about what is happening with the Earth.

 

First they called it “global warming” and then they called it “climate change”.   If the Earth is getting hotter, how come it still gets cold and we have ice storms and what not?

 

Geez! This guy! 

Of course this dumb fuck does not understand the difference between "weather" and "climate".  

 

“Global warming” posits that the overall temperature of the planet is increasing. 

 

This warming impacts the strength, position and direction of air currents and ocean currents.  Polar ice melts more frequently which adds to the ocean levels.

 

All of that messes with the overall climate of the planet.

 

It doesn’t equate to the weather is hot instead of cold.  What these changes to the climate mean is that when it is hot, it gets REALLY HOT!

 

When it gets cold, it gets REALLY COLD!  

There are those on the right who argue that we've always had tornados and hurricanes. 

 

That is true but with climate change, we get MORE tornados and hurricanes with greater intensity.

 

It is kind of complicated which is why certain simpletons grasp hold of ignorant talking points to disavow what is going on around them.  

 

Besides Trump, other alleged conservatives claim the Earth is doing just fine and there’s nothing to see here.

 

Like that March 2026 was the hottest month in recorded history? 

 

Why this propensity to deny the reality of our changing climate? 

 

Mostly it’s due to that perennial favorite cause of conservatives, the almighty bottom line.

 

Every dollar spent to mitigate pollution is a dollar away from the sacred profit margins of big business.   

 

That’s why Trump and his cronies are so eager to tear through EPA regulations that mandate things like cars producing fewer pollutants.

 

Li’l Donnie will try to slap a populist coat of gloss that this is to help make cars more affordable for the common folk. 

 

Do you really think any loss in the cost of a car is going to outweigh any gain in the profits of automakers and their billionaire CEOs? 

 

Besides money, another argument made by conservatives involves religion.

 

They’ll argue that the Bible says God has given mankind dominion over the Earth

 

But dominion does not mean that people can do whatever the fuck they want with the world.

 

Dominion means responsibility as well as privilege. 

If one accepts the premise that God gave man dominion over the Earth, then that means God gave man the responsibility to not fuck it up.   

I once sat across from a man in a Sunday School class who said he did not think man would destroy the world because God would not let it happen.

Well, if that helps him sleep at night, so be it. 

But it is a statement that is dumb as fuck. 

If you accept that God exists, I think at best maybe God is rooting for us human to make this work and not totally screw up this small sparkling ball that we cling to as it floats in the cold lifeless void of space.

But God knows we are perfectly capable of making a mess of everything.

That is the power and the peril of having dominion.   

On this Earth Day, we need to remember this world is all we have.

And it is ours to keep.

Or to lose.