This Week in Villainy: May 6-12, 2007

Who's Up and Who's Thwarted

Duela: Duela gets offed in Countdown #51 by at character with the worst hair in the DC Universe, the Monitor. (Number One went to Pre-Crisis Alexander Luthor.)

[WIKIPEDIA] Duela appears in Countdown #51. She abducts a teen celebrity from a nightclub, only to be stopped by Jason Todd. (She mentions to Todd that she comes from an alternate Earth.) After escaping, Duela is killed by a rogue Monitor, who states: "This world is not yours. Your presence in it is not tolerated. The penalty is death."

Dan DiDio, editor-in-chief of DC, has stated that the reason Duela was murdered will have a ripple effect throughout the series

She was the Joker's daughter. Or not. Maybe Two-Face's. Maybe Catwoman's. Or Wildebeest's. Or Doomsday's. Or Dr. Light's. Or Punch and Jewelee's.

She was a villain. Or a Teen Titan.

And now she's dead. Coins are flipping across the DCU to figure out who should be bereaved. No word on whether any of the coins are scratched on one side. Or not.

What we do know is that her death will have ripples across the DCU throughout the Countdown series. Maybe.

In other news, the cover of Countdown #50 (See a free 12-pagepreview here) promises the re-emergence of the Joker that was foretold in an earlier TWIV.

(If you have a suggestion for "This Week In Villainy," please let me know.)

Phables

Last year, a very special Mother's-Day Phable talked about a widespread Philly tradition: Stealing flowers for Mother's Day. That story got a lot of response... One of which I've waited a year to share with you. It's about stealing flowers for Mother's Day, too, but it's going to make you feel much different than last year's.