(Spoilers for DC Comics released 04/06/2021)
(Words in italics signal actions)
The GC52 Logo appears on televisions, computers, and all other types of viewing devices at its normally scheduled time. Lead Anchor Dan McMahon sits at the center of the newsroom behind his desk. This week he’s wearing a tweed coat with a dark blue tie that is outlined by the large window behind him looking out over Metropolis. The Daily Planet globe is visible behind him as the setting sun sparkles off the crown jewel of the City of Tomorrow. The GC52 theme music begins to dim as the actual program begins.
Dan: Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening to all our wonderful viewers from the docks of Coast City to the furthest reaches of Oa, you are watching the multiverse’s best news show that brings you the news that you need to know! As always, I’m your host, Dan McMahon, doing my part to bring you up to the minute updates on the worlds you live in!
There have been multiple reports of Scarecrows popping up all over Gotham City. Now, that actually doesn’t sound like a surprise to anyone who knows Gotham but there is more to this. Dr. Jonathan Crane, AKA The Scarecrow, supposedly died in the Arkham A-Day explosion. Coming back from the dead isn’t all that far fetched but seems unlikely with how large that explosion was. At first people believed it to be the work of the Unsanity Collective but it just doesn’t seem to fit the ideals they weave. Batman was spotted at the scene of one of the hay-stuffed harbingers but was quickly ambushed by the GCPD.
Dan takes a deep breath before pushing his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Dan: Mayor Nakano has recently tapped former GCPD veteran Renee Montoya to march to the beat of the anti-vigilante drum. It’s quite strange that someone like Renee wouldn’t Question the need for faceless heroes to stop the villains of Gotham. The Mayor just seems to be making things worse in Gotham with no solution.
In other news out of Gotham, Harley Quinn –
Dan looks off camera as he starts talking to someone directly.
Dan: What do you mean she is in the studios, Jerry? You’re telling me she just waltzed past security into the archives? Darkseid on a crutch… well it seems like we have a report from Violet from inside the building.
Dan sighs deeply before the feed cuts over to Violet.
Violet: Hi guys, I have exciting news to share with you all. I was rooting around the archives of GC52 and found an old file on the infamous Man-Bat! Ya know the OTHER large bat that flies around Gotham? SCREEE’s a lot?
Violet looks away from the main camera and turns to her other side as if talking to someone else in the room.
Violet: This took place before the source wall fell apart like a wet newspaper by the way.
She turns back to the camera to continue the report.
Violet: Man-Bat tried to stop a gang from stealing a sonic cannon to prove to his wife that he can be a good balance of man and bat, but the cannon went off, got damaged and deafened several people.
We’re off to a great start, oh boy.
Before Blackgate could take him in, he escaped, YAY!
But WAIT.. shortly after the Suicide Squad were sent by Amanda Waller to hunt him! Harley Quinn wasn’t too pleased about taking him in, she feared the government would perform a live autopsy and managed to get him on his after a quick little skirmish. She gave Kirk a second chance, knowing he only wanted to do the right thing, so she let him go and even told him to punch her to make it look believable!
With a light death threat from Harley Quinn, he took the second chance and went to visit his sister who he has dedicated his life to “helping”. He claimed to have found a way to repair the hearing damage done to those by the cannon. She wasn’t impressed but before the argument could escalate..
BANG!
Violet slams her hands on the table causing the camera man to jump back.
Violet: Scarecrow comes in, it was him all along! Ladies and gentlemen who would’ve guessed!? He sent that gang to steal the cannon so he could mix fear toxin with sonic subliminals and make everyone go crazy! But he needed Kirk and his wife (who he kidnapped earlier) to fix the sonic cannon for his plan to work. Scarecrow now holds them captive under the influence of his toxin! What happened!? I’ll tell you… IF Dan let’s me come back after snooping around in the archives…
Violet sheepishly smiles over at Dan before waving goodbye to the camera before it cuts back to Dan.
Dan: Can someone get security down there, please? Our next story tonight is something out of the oddity files. Remember a few weeks back where I mentioned some sort of ghoul roaming the desert killing people? Well now in the same area, a massive tree has burst from the scorched landscape. I did some digging and there was that massive Swamp person with one of those B-list Justice Leagues recently but this doesn’t seem to be the same thing. Just odd is all that something appears like that. Like an idea sprouting far from where it should be… anyway…
Let’s go over to our new hire, who’s covering some strange goings-on out in deep space.
The camera cuts, instead of a newsroom overlooking a city as one would expect, all that is there is the darkness of space, with the odd star flickering in the distance. A low rumble can be heard, seemingly a high powered engine. The new hire begins their report.
Thomas: Thank you, Dan, and good morning, afternoon, or evening to our viewers, depending on the time on your planet at the moment. I’m Thomas, reporting on the intergalactic beat from the GC52 Correspondent-Class starship “Cavalcade.” The once-peaceful City Enduring has seen better days, its 500-year record of stability having been rocked by a series of revolutionary bombshells threatening to overthrow its very way of life. Reports had already come in of corruption among the High Council, black markets and thievery on the digital landscape, sweatshop cryptocurrency mining, cover-ups in the case of a high-profile murder, and armed forces opening fire on an orderly protest. The city could only contain so much pressure, leading to tonight’s story of riots breaking out across the city in the face of a frustrated referendum voting process. We are hearing from multiple sources across the city about long voting lines, people turned away by officials and by force at the polls, as well as malfunctioning voting machines.
The state of emergency here has gotten so dire that the city’s “sky screen” has been deactivated, giving everyone a clear view of an invading force that seems to be waiting for a signal to unleash even further violence on the populace. A key factor in all of this is the presence and influence of Green Lantern Sojourner Mullein, a recent recruit into Oa’s peacekeeping force, supposedly equipped with a unique, self-charging ring. We can only assume her hardware is being tested to the limit as disparate, power-hungry forces clash throughout the city. Our hopes, and those of 20 billion residents, rest on her shoulders.
Shifting to more Green Lantern news, the United Planets Summit, spearheaded by Superman and Superboy and organized by the Guardians of the Universe, is off to a rocky start. Initially planned as a means to bring all sentient, starship-capable species together, it began with a vote on whether to include the Guardians and Oa in the United Planets at all, leading to debate over their role in the universe. Five thousand Green Lanterns were present in diplomatic as well as security roles, including Corps Leader John Stewart of Earth, dressed in eye-catching Kryptonian attire.
Events took a turn for the worse when an aquatic magical being from crossed paths with a young Bolivian girl from Earth possessing repurposed Lantern hardware, leading to a massive spell of destruction. Stewart’s insightful leadership uncovered the only method of stopping the attack, which was to use one’s willpower to reject violence, robbing the spell of energy. This brief respite was followed by the assassination of a Guardian, a matter which is currently under investigation and resets our studio’s “Days Since A Guardian of the Universe Died” counter. Back to you, Dan.
The camera cuts back to the GC52 studio in Metropolis. Dan quickly finishes a conversation he was having with someone off screen.
Dan: Thanks for that Thomas, here’s hoping my good buddy Guy Gardner shows up to lend his excellent helping hand to situations. That’s all we have for you, so as always… be it the Bat Symbol in Gotham, a red streak through Central City, or a golden lasso on Themyscira… GC52 has you covered with the news you need to know. Till next week, I’m your host Dan McMahon. Be strong in all your convictions.
Books covered this week:
- Batman #107 by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles.
- The Swamp Thing #2 by Ram V, Mike Perkins, Mike Spicer, and Aditya Bidikar.
- Green Lantern #1 by Geoffrey Thorne, Dexter Soy, Marco Santucci, Alex Sinclair, and Rob Leigh.
- Green Lantern: Far Sector #11 by N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, and Deron Bennett.
- Man-Bat #3 by Dave Wielgosz, Sumit Kumar, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Tom Napolitano.