Here is the latest in our year-long look at one cool comic (whether it be a self-contained work, an ongoing comic or a run on a long-running title that featured multiple creative teams on it over the years) a day (in no particular order whatsoever)! Here's the archive of the comics posted so far!
Today we take a look at Garth Ennis and John McCrea's last goodbye to Hitman in the two-issue series, JLA/Hitman...
Enjoy!
SPOILERS BE AHEAD FOR THE HITMAN SERIES!!!
Okay, so Tommy Monaghan, the hitman who starred in the comic Hitman, died in the last issue of Hitman.
JLA/Hitman is the untold story of how Tommy helped the JLA on a mission, as told by Clark Kent.
Tommy gained superpowers from aliens during the Bloodlines crossover, and over the years Ennis told stories where Tommy interacted with Batman, Green Lantern and, most famously, Superman (where Tommy and Superman have a rooftop heart-to-heart where Tommy helps reaffirm Superman's faith in both himself and humanity in general).
So when the Bloodlines aliens (or worse, EVOLVED Bloodlines aliens) return, Batman knows who they can turn to for information about the aliens...
Once on the JLA's moon headquarters, Batman is irked to learn that Green Lantern actually teamed up with Hitman...
The news really shakes Superman, and we see more of that in the second issue.
The big twist at the end of the first issue is that the aliens somehow jam the powers of the JLA (including Green Lantern's power ring) while Superman is on their hijacked NASA shuttle.
So at the beginning of the next issue, the JLA is powerless against the aliens, who we see have taken control of the astronauts...
That's some spooky stuff, huh?
Hitman responds the only way he knows how...
I love that line.
And once Batman is taken out of the picture...
the Tommy is actually the next most capable member of the JLA after Wonder Woman, so the JLA sort of NEEDS his help.
So Tommy and the remaining league members fight the aliens. Meanwhile, the President of the United States has ordered a nuclear strike on the Watchtower because the JLA have been neutralized, so they are working under some heavy duty time constraints.
And when Superman shows up with a parasite attached to HIM? Well, things look bad.
The series ends with an incredibly poignant tribute to Tommy from Superman. I featured it in the Year of Cool Comic Moments. Go look for it!
Meanwhile, also go look for this two-issue series. It was cool.