Charlton VS Mighty MLJ

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Creative Crusaders: No-Charltons Allowed!

At long last, after an absence of two and a half decades, aside from the occasional cameos in crossovers with the Archie/Riverdale gang, the real Red Circle gang returns. Or at least, their forebearer... the Shield... several years older and showing his age at last. Introducing a new generation of heroes is an entice prospect, and given that the original publisher is stated as commiting to continuing the continuity of the MLJ originals is a project diehard fans will appreciate. It is our sincere wish that the Charlton crew likewise one days gain their own seperate niche, apart from the crowd scenes of DC's universe.

With that in mind, Judomaster would fit nicely as the Shield doppleganger in such an endeavor, as he as well would've aged somewhat since his last "Charltonesque" appearance on a separate Earth in the mid-1980s.  A new generation debuting in the style of the "Boys from Derbe" would definitely have a unique spin to it, as we'd previously seen with a new iteration of the Blue Beetle and characters like E-Man that took concepts such as Captain Atom and turned them on their head. With a newer version of the Comet, Web, Inferno, Web-Girl, Jaguar and Steel Sterling setting the  pace in Archie's updated universe... one wonders what became of the originals.. Are these the children of the Mighty Crusaders, carrying on their parents' proud tradition? Particularly, the though of a Web-Boy sired by John and Rose Raymond would be interesting, given his mother's apprehension towards heroics. And who would Jaguar-Girl's mom be, given that the original Ralph Hardy was a ladies man with at least three different love interests who formed his Jaguar Rescue Squad!

This Archie adventure excites yours truly than a "new 52" mired in a mob scene. Perhaps DC will see the success of Archie's new line of characters... should they stick with them and make them true to their core concepts... and create a new world for the refuges of Charlton. And we're not talking about the "pre-Watchmen" tales... but the originals themselves!


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