Interest has been expressed in a Planetary discussion so I guess I'll start one and see where it goes. I have never read it before. I don't plan to do in-depth summaries because those who expressed said interest have, and some have committed to reading along with me. I bought the omnibus edition, which doesn't have a table of contents but it does have an introduction written by Alan Moore. It collects Planetary #1-27, Planetary Preview, Planetary/Batman, Planetary/JLA and Planetary/Authority. Issue #1 begins with a woman named Jakita Wagner recruiting a man named Elijah Snow into a organization called "Planetary." The third member of the group calls himself "The Drummer." She has been with the team for four years, but knows nothing about it before that, including whether or not it even existed. She explains that Planetary is always a three-person team, but when Snow inquires about the third person before him she responds, "Tell you some other time. When we've worked it out for ourselves." There is also a mysterious "fourth man" who finances the group.
Their first mission takes them to a base in the Adirondacks in search of a man named Dr. Axel Brass (basically Doc Savage) who was born on January 1, 1900 and disappeared on January 1, 1945. They find him a a headquarters filled with trophies (such as "The Hull of the Charnal Ship," "Vestments of the Black Crow King," "The Murder Colonels," etc.). They find Brass still alive. He has been awake since 1945; he eliminated the need for food and sleep in 1942; stopped aging in in '43; learned to close wounds with the power of his mind in '44. He and his collegues (basically Tarzan, the Shadow, etc... a sort of latter day "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") created a quantum computer which opened the door to the multiverse where they discovered a team of super-powered individuals (basically the original Justice League of America) who attacked. Everyone except him was killed, and he has remained guarding the gateway ever since.
"It's a strange world," Snow remarks.
"Let's keep it that way," Jakita agrees.
Planetary is written by Warren Ellis and drawn by John Cassaday. Earlier today I finished reading #37-47 of Stormwatch, also by Ellis, but it really didn't grab me. Some of his stuff I like, some I don't, but Planetary drew me right in.
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I love how casual Elijah and Jakita (and Drummer) are about the unanswered questions. It is almost Meta, but also in harmony with their attitude towards the "strange" nature of their world.
Yay! Planetary!
I love how casual Elijah and Jakita (and Drummer) are about the unanswered questions.
I find that it's one of the charms of the series.
And I like that Ellis gets right into it, feeding the reader information that is useful, but may or may not ever be explained.
The waitress complains that the air conditioner "freaks out" whenever Snow arrives. No, it doesn't. Snow brings the cold with him. Snow isn't just his name; it's indicative of his nature (and powers).
Jakita's very first words are "Is it cold in here, then? I don't really feel the weather." Again, Ellis is telling us her super-powers on the very first page -- and taking the concept of invulnerability to its logical conclusion: Jakita doesn't feel bullets and knives, but sadly, doesn't really feel anything at all.
There isn't a wasted word here.
Next, Jakita tells Snow (and us) what her organization knows about him. Of note is that is 100 years old (and looks it), making him a Century Baby. (Although technically this isn't true. This issue came out in 1999, so he's really a couple years short of being the right age. If he was born at the beginning of the century -- Jan. 1, 1901 -- he'd be 98. If they're erroneously counting from Jan. 1, 1900, then he's 99. Upshot is that if he's 100 years old in 1999, he was born in 1899, and therefore technically not a Century Baby. Fellow Century Baby Jenny Sparks, for example, is mentioned as having been born on Jan. 1, 1900, which then should be Snow's birthday as well. I can gloss over that, but pedants might not.)
She also says "you've haunted the Twentieth Century." This is not only a great turn of phrase, but is also indicative of his Century Baby role: While Jenny is the Spirit of the 20th Century, Snow is the Ghost of the 20th Century. I don't know what that means, but it's cool.
We learn about the Third Man and Fourth Man. Well, we don't learn much about the latter. The former is The Drummer, and if there's a weak spot in Planetary for me, it's him. i don't find him interesting. It's like Ellis wanted to create a quirky character it would be fun to write. I didn't find him quirky; I found him irritating. But his power -- talking to machines -- is pretty useful. (If not very visual or physical. That's what Jakita's for -- she's the powerhouse of this team.)
Snow asks what happend to the last Third Man, and Jakita basically says they don't know. That's going to be answered later in the series.
The mission is explained. Again, I love Ellis' dialogue, which does an exposition dump without ever being boring or wordy. I love the throwaway line about the Russians' "Vault of Forbidden Knowledge." What else is in there? Do any current Russians know of its existence, or were they all purged? Was Stalin the last to know, or did he ever know? So many questions, so many possible story springboards, from that one line.
We get a mention of Renaissance Man Doc Brass. I immediately thought of Doc Savage and wondered if we were supposed to make that connection. OF COURSE we are. I didn't realize it in this first issue what the true subject matter of this series is. But it becomes obvious in ensuing issues.
Jakita says, "He was born on January One, 1900, which got our attention. Same birth date as several other unusual individuals." That got my attention, too. Jakita doesn't say "just like you," and as mentioned above, his current age is too old to have been born on Jan. 1, 1900. This is why when Elisha Snow is later referred to as a Century Baby in other works I thought it was just a "neat idea" retconned into his story. Which should have been mentioned right here. But it's not. I don't think Ellis meant for Snow to be a Century Baby, at least not initially, and if the term had even been coined yet.
Snow: "It's amazing how you can talk for ages but not actually say one goddamn thing I understand. How do you do that?" I had to laugh at that. Because most readers would be somewhat at sea, with the quick forward movement of the story, information from unreliable narrators and ongoing exposition with hosts of outstanding questions. I was keeping up when I read this originally, but just barely.
Snow to Drummer: "I can shove these things so far up your butt you'll taste them when you cough." That's a pretty classic Ellis line.
Snow mentions the "Saigon bug-out," which indicates he was in Vietnam in 1975. (After that it was Ho Chi Minh City.) So his withdrawal to his desert hermit life must have happened after that -- meaning there are probably a lot of Elijah Snow stories from before that we don't know yet.
We hit the trophy room. I hope somebody reading this thread is a Doc Savage expert and can tell us if these adventures mirror some actual Doc Savage adventures:
We get to the meat of the story, which involves some of Ellis' patented pseudo-science, where he extrapolates from what's cutting-edge now to, in this case, worst-case scenario. The computer was built by Doc Brass' secret society, and ID'ing them is a challenge, because Ellis doesn't even match faces to the few names he mentions. They all seem to be pulp heroes, so let's give it a try:
Doc Brass = Doc Savage
Edison = Thomas Edison
Hark = Fu Manchu
Guy in aviator outfit = G-8
Scary guy = The Shadow
Jimmy = Jimmy Woo
Ascot Guy = Tarzan
I hope others have better guesses than I do. And some of this will be complicated by later issues.
Obviously, the seven characters that attack from the supercomputer are analogs of the original Justice League. It's not said if they are villains, but their universe is ending (did they cause this?) and they attack without mercy (sounds like the Crime Syndicate). It seems preposterous that these underpowered pulp characters could kill the JLA, but somehow they manage.
Speaking of analogs, does anyone have any guesses about the Planetary team? Snow and Jakita seem like originals, but I would not be surprised if they have antecedents. And Drummer looks like every drummer in every rock band from the '60s and '70s, but again, I would not be surprised if he was based on a specific one.
Maybe Ellis was folding a number of characters together?
I went through the same thought process you did trying to ID the members of the secret society.
I came to the (tentative) conclusion that Ellis is dealing with archetypes here.
I am not 100% certain, but I do think that Ellis is indeed dealing with archetypes.
But this is not the last that we see of the Doc Brass allies that died in this issue. We have significant flashbacks ahead.
Captain Comics said:
I love how casual Elijah and Jakita (and Drummer) are about the unanswered questions.
All three of them have had experience with unanswerable questions. They just accept that there’s no point in beating your brains out over things like that.
Jakita's very first words are "Is it cold in here, then? I don't really feel the weather." Again, Ellis is telling us her super-powers on the very first page -- and taking the concept of invulnerability to its logical conclusion: Jakita doesn't feel bullets and knives, but sadly, doesn't really feel anything at all.
Until now, it hadn’t occurred to me that she can feel nothing. Ouch!
Some time ago, I commented on some thread that “if you’re going to have a super-strong character in your group it might as well be Jakita Wagner.”
The computer was built by Doc Brass' secret society, and ID'ing them is a challenge, because Ellis doesn't even match faces to the few names he mentions.
Except for the three most obvious (Doc Savage, The Shadow and Tarzan), I’m inclined to agree with Jeff that the rest are archetypes. The one called Jimmy certainly dresses like The Spirit, but he wasn’t a pulp hero and had no scientific background.
It seems preposterous that these underpowered pulp characters could kill the JLA, but somehow they manage.
One of them is shot full of holes. It is a little unsatisfying that we don’t see how everyone but Doc Brass dies. I accept that these guys were good at what they did. Ellis just wanted Brass to be the only survivor and move on.
ISSUE #2:
Although that exact scene does not appear in the story, it depicts exactly what you think it does.
A novelist and self-styled "Master Storyteller" leads a small expedition of devout followers to Island Zero (basically "Monster Island"), a political hotbed since the end of World War II, claimed by both Russia and Japan. there they find the remains of "Mothra," "King Ghidora" and "Godzilla." All of the monsters died out by the mid-'70s. The Japanese Secret Service has had the expedition under surveillance and contacts Planetary to deal with them, ideally before they see something they shouldn't. Jakita demonstrates super-speed in this story, and super-strength was alluded to last issue. Snow reveals that he speaks Japanese and demonstrates the power of "heat subtraction," which surprises Jakita.
"You telling me your precious 'Fourth Man' didn't know about me?" Snow asks.
"Oh, I'm sure he did. He just didn't tell us."
Before they get a chance to complete their mission, however, the expedition is accosted by an observation force stationed on the island, nerve gas is released, and the problem solves itself. Just before they leave, "Rodan" flies overhead and, once again, Snow and Jakita get the final words.
SNOW: I thought you said they'd died off.
JAKITA: I did. Isn't that great?
It is so good to be re-reading this series.
The first appearance wasn't actually #1, but rather the preview that ran in a couple of late 1998 Wildstorm books. Chronologically, it comes later; apparently the Absolute Edition puts it between #12 and #13. It must come at some point where Elijah is better acquaintanced with Jakita and Drummer than in these early issues.
In #1, Jakita says outright that Drummer is nuts. It is kept a bit ambiguous this far, but this issue lends a lot of credence to the idea that Drummer might not have a full deck. It clearly does not make him any less useful, mind you, nor less adaptable to the decisively weird stuff that Planetary keeps running into.
Some hints that there is more going on under the surface than we actually see on panel. Last issue Jakita claimed not to know who the previous Third Man was, but their Japanese informant in this issue says outright that Jakita had been previously on Island Zero "with (Elijah's) predecessor". For the moment I assume that Elijah is aware of the incoherence but decided to run with it for the time being; he has pointed out that it is impossible to get straight explanations from his teammates and they did not make a lot of effort to challenge that statement.
Why?
One of the great things of this series is how unexpectedly authentic and relatable the dynamic between the three protagonists is, down to the point of view character (Elijah Snow) feeling the least aware of what is actually happening at any given time and often losing patience with the erratic behavior of his colleagues. Even then, he seems to be holding out a mystery or two of his own as well.
In fact, there are some great odd lines sprinkled through this issue. Drummer's from the "I said that out aloud" joke, of course. The commentary from the Japanese Planetary staff member about Elijah being "the new guy" and its immediate retort. One of the acolytes' claim that the situation "is not real". Elijah saying out aloud that he wish he knew how the Japanese soldiers just appeared out of nowhere. Jakita calling the likely origin of the Kaiju "stupid", in a moment of remarkable lack of self-awareness immediately followed by an admission that it is incredible that Island Zero has been left so untouched. Elijah pointing out that the armed guard stationed at the Island achieved nothing more than their own deaths and Jakita just smiling as a reply. And the last panel of a Rodan look-alike turning up out of the blue and Jakita being so happy to see it.
Planetary (the comic book series), in harmony with its own mission statement, is a weird place and we like it just that way.
I came to the (tentative) conclusion that Ellis is dealing with archetypes here.
I am not 100% certain, but I do think that Ellis is indeed dealing with archetypes.
I’m inclined to agree with Jeff that the rest are archetypes.
How can l argue with a brain trust of this magnitude? Archetypes it is.
I did test the theory by searching for pulp detectives named “Jimmy.” I found a Jimmie (Jimmie Dale, The Gray Seal), a James (James Oliver Curwood RCMP) and a Jim (Jim Anthony, Super-Detective). Jim Anthony was a Doc Savage clone who would have the requisite scientific expertise. But his manner of dress on the pulp covers I found was mostly shirtless.
There are a number of pulp detectives whose names were never provided, and “Jimmy” could be any of those – Secret Agent X, Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger, etc. One of them is of interest: The Continental Op. For one thing, he operates in San Francisco, which fits what Brass asks of Jimmy. The other thing is that I’ve actually heard of him.
It also occurs to me that Thomas Edison died in 1931, so the "Edison" in the part of the story set in 1942 couldn't be him. There was a Thomas Edison Jr. IRL but it's unlikely to be him. As everyone says, it's probably an archetype -- that of a genius kid like Encyclopedia Brown, now in his teens or early '20s.
All three of them have had experience with unanswerable questions. They just accept that there’s no point in beating your brains out over things like that.
Great point.
One of them is shot full of holes.
That would be the Green Lantern analog. We only get two panels of the fight, but we see Jimmy impaled by “Wonder Woman’s” shield, and “Flash” killed by Edison’s gas gun. And Hark is killed by “Martian Manhunter.” Brass and “Superman” are seen fighting in the air. I get a distinct fascist vibe from the ersatz Superman’s outfit, but maybe that’s just me.
What do you suppose happened to Doc Brass' legs?
“… a political hotbed since the end of World War II, claimed by both Russia and Japan.” There are at least five islands I’m aware of that fit this description IRL. One is Sakhalin, and there four more in the Kuril chain, whose names I don't know. Russia grabbed them at the end of WWII, but Japan still claims them. Good luck getting those back, my Japanese brothers, as they are now all lousy with Russians.
"You telling me your precious 'Fourth Man' didn't know about me?" Snow asks.
"Oh, I'm sure he did. He just didn't tell us."
Most of the dialogue between Wagner and Snow will have more significance later. But for now, we learn more about the super-powers of both.
“Did it suddenly get cold in here?” Yes. Yes it did.
"You need a jacket, grandpa?" "The cold doesn't bother me." No. No it doesn't.
Did you notice Snow stole the Japanese guy’s cigarettes, smoked one on the plane and gave the pack to Jakita? And somehow he knew she smoked. All very odd, indeed.
“Island Zero” combines Monster Zero and Monster Island, so it sounds like an authentic mid-1960s Japanese kaiju movie.
There is a lot of talk about dreams, but that may just be the "Master Storyteller's" way of interpreting the world. If there's significance in the kaiju world, I don't know it.
The flags on the dead soldier’s arm are, in order, U.S., Japanese, Russian Federation. Whodathunk you could have gotten those three to agree on anything and keep it secret.
When the series first appeared, I thought it odd that one member of a three-member team didn't go into the field. That just wasn't done in comics! But it makes perfect sense, since he has no combat skills. I always thought that characters like Marvel's Multiple Man and DC's Triplicate Girl should keep their "originals" safe back at base, and ONLY send duplicates into combat, as they are expendable. As seen with Doppelganger in The Boys, if you kill the original, all the dupes die, so why take the chance? It seems that Robert Kirkman had the same thought, as his character Dupli-Kate in Invincible secretly kept her original self safe. Interestingly, though, we saw duplication in combat, so apparently her duplicates could duplicate.
"Did I say that out loud?" I think that's the first time I heard that joke.
ISSUE #3:
A ghost cop... Jim Corrigan? Reading Planetary reminds me a bit of reading Astro City for the first time and trying to figure out who's who. We meet another Planetary employee, 22 years old, who has been on the job for six years, two longer than Jakita. I have known many percussionists in my life, even roomed with one in college, and Drummer is just like every one of them. When the the "mystery archaeology" reveals itself, Drummer's comment about the "196,833" different angles is a call-back to the "theoretical snowflake" in #1. Ellis continues to dole out information in dribs and drabs. Drummer asks Jakita to provide kinetic energy by stopming her foot on the ground. Could that have something to do with the drumsticks? Ellis stole the reference to "re-enact your birth" from Howard Chaykin, but removed from the context of the "victim" sitting in a ticket booth with a window which has a hole in it it's not funny. I do, very much, like the philosophy and theme of this issue.
You won't believe that ChatGPT says when asked about the academic significance of the number 196833 - which, incidentally, is 3 x 7 cubed x 191 - which probably means nothing, but I still find it odd.
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