Random Coolness (Part 5)

More of the small details that made a BIG impression!

1.  The satellite headquarters of the Justice League: Leaving their original cave hangout behind, the League moved to a spiffy new orbiting satellite in Justice League #78 (1970), undoubtedly inspired by the space station in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).  Despite the "America" portion of the team's name, the satellite seemed to elevate the League's mission to that of international or even planetary protectors. Throw in some Star Trek-like transporters, a trophy room, chairs adorned with superhero logos, and an amazing view, and you've got yourself a headquarters that's never quite been surpassed (before or since).

Oh, and it also taught me the altitude of geosynchronous orbit (22,300 miles above the equator). Who says comic books don't teach you anything?

2.  Jay Garrick's helmet:  Ever since I first glimpsed the original Flash on the back of a Justice League treasury edition, I've been fascinated by Jay Garrick and his fellow first generation superheroes. However, Jay's wing-adorned metal helmet has a pedigree that goes back much further than the 1940's...all the way back to the ancient Greek god "Hermes" (or, as the Romans called him, "Mercury"), the fleet-footed messenger of the Olympian gods.  Ah, but as cool as that ancient/modern world connection is, a recent Jay Garrick story revealed another amazing detail about the helmet. 
Apparently, Jay used his deceased father's World War I helmet for his Flash uniform (obviously buffing it up and adding wings), which is just unbelievably cool. Of course, Jay didn't keep the chin strap despite traveling at sub-light speeds and stopping on a dime (ever heard of "inertia" Jay?), but even that illogical quirk can't stop me from loving that nifty old helmet.

3.  Iron-Man's Specialty Armors: Before toy action figures made variations of a superhero's costume a routine experience, Tony Stark was turning heads and blowing minds with a collection of super-cool specialty armors. Reserved for unique situations, these alternate versions of the Iron-Man armor were rare, but always entertaining.  Starting from the top left:  Deep Space Armor, Stealth Armor, Deep Sea Armor, Arctic Armor, and the intimidating Hulkbuster Armor (click on the images for a larger view).

Comments

[Siskoid]

Agree on all fronts. I was just defending Jay's helmet this week. The things grown men do...

And I've used the satellite in all my DC Heroes RPG games for my players' HQ. Hey, the JLA wasn't using it, right?

[Captain Average]

Three home runs Mark.
1.Hidden lairs have a definite appeal,but an orbiting HQ? Can't be topped.
2.My favorite Jay's helmet moment-in a JSA comic he throws it at a villain, vibrating it just enough to pass through the guy's head-and scramble his brains.Wow.
3.Definitely fun to see a hero that constantly adds to his wardrobe rather that wearing the same thing for forty years.And with Iron Man,it's easy to add small changes and chalk it up to upgrades.And looking for the differences is fun!And dude,that stealth armor looks sweeeet.

[Mark Engblom]

"And I've used the satellite in all my DC Heroes RPG games for my players' HQ. Hey, the JLA wasn't using it, right?"

Right! I'm sure the JLA didn't mind.

"My favorite Jay's helmet moment-in a JSA comic he throws it at a villain, vibrating it just enough to pass through the guy's head-and scramble his brains.Wow."

Woah! I forgot about that bit. Versatile, isn't it?

"3.Definitely fun to see a hero that constantly adds to his wardrobe rather that wearing the same thing for forty years."

You're right, Cap. In fact, Iron-Man may be unique in that regard, in that he's a character we expect to change his look every couple of years, whereas fans typically resist costume changes to the vast majority of superhereos.

[Brian]

Since most of those armors are Bob Layton designs, I thought I'd point you to Layton's blog, where he has something called design of the month, a constant updating of shellhead's look. It's fun, especially since it's one of your "random coolnesses" (one I share, btw).

[John Trumbull]

I agree that the JLA satellite is the best superhero HQ ever, and that George Perez shot from JLA #200 is my favorite shot of it ever.

What comic revealed that Jay Garrick's helmet is his father's from WWI? That is a way cool idea.

[Mark Engblom]

Fantastic! Thanks, Brian! I'll definitely become a regular visitor.

Hey....check out his concept for Doctor Doom's Space Armor! I love it!

[Mark Engblom]

"What comic revealed that Jay Garrick's helmet is his father's from WWI? That is a way cool idea."

I'm not 100% sure, John. Tell you what, let me do some checking and I'll post it as soon as I find out. Anyone out there know off hand?

[stephen]

I never realized how similar the hulkbuster suit and juggernaut's armor look. I wonder if that's coincidental.

[Pat Curley]

I liked that floating chair they had for the Atom. I pretty quickly lost interest in the JLA series around the time they switched to the fortress in the sky because of all the cloying Mike Friedrich scripts.

[Mark Engblom]

"I never realized how similar the hulkbuster suit and juggernaut's armor look. I wonder if that's coincidental."

Hadn't caught that, actually. Good eye.

" I pretty quickly lost interest in the JLA series around the time they switched to the fortress in the sky because of all the cloying Mike Friedrich scripts."

Yeah, Friedrich was one of the more annoying "Young Turks" to hit comics in the late 60's & early 70's. You quickly lose count of the liberal cliches.

[Mark Engblom]

"What comic revealed that Jay Garrick's helmet is his father's from WWI? That is a way cool idea."

I did some checking and I believe it was first mentioned in Flash (vol. 2) #208 (2004).

[Joe Lewallen]

I love the Golden Age Flash. I really like the way DC been using him for the last 3 or so decades. Jay Garrick is like your cool uncle or your cool grandfather, only he's a superhero who fought Nazis. What could be cooler than that?

I also love Specialty Armors, and had a full on geek out when they were first introduced.

[ShadowWing Tronix]

The specialty armors are a big part of why I was an Iron Fan. My favorite, though, is the Modular Armor. Not only does it look cool, it's...you know...modular.