Wednesday’s Children

“I left Nix Uotan, Last of the Monitors, in his human guise at the end of Final Crisis – a cosmic being grounded on Earth disguised as an ordinary human being with everyday problems – like the need to pay his rent, which frames the entire story. 

For his appearance in The Multiversity, we chose to streamline Uotan into a more superheroic figure; I asked Ivan Reis to sex up Uotan’s previous A Clockwork Orange look to make it more of a sleek sci-fi superhero costume in black and gold with an impressive cape. I figured he’d have adopted a style more in keeping with his surroundings in the DC Universe.  

We never really resolve whether or not Uotan’s unnamed human identity is hallucinating his adventures as he lies reading comics on Xannies and Zoloft. Are stories real? Monitors move in mysterious ways…

Superjudge is an album by psychedelic rock band Monster Magnet. Frontman Dave Wyndorf is a long-time comics fan, often citing Kirby in his lyrics. Dave kindly gave me permission to use Superjudge as Nix Uotan’s official superhero name, and he’s thanked in the last issue of the series.

If Nix Uotan is Wotan, the God of Wednesday when the comics come out, if Wotan, like The Babylonian Nabu, Roman Mercury, Greek Hermes, Egyptian Thoth and many others is a god of speed, communication, language,  then Stubbs represents the so-called ‘Ape of Thoth’, the cynocephalus that capers around the silver-tongued mage like the Jester taunts the King, pricking pomposity with humour, obscuring wisdom with inane chatter and madcap interpretation.

Nix Uotan was created to be DC’s Dr. Who equivalent – in this case, a super-powerful black character traversing the many worlds of the Multiverse, solving problems in his cosmic yellow submarine with a wisecracking pirate chimp for company! I’ve always been a little disappointed no-one has thought to pick him up and run with the concept.

As our two heroes travel in their shiftship, the Ultima Thule to answer a distress call from Earth-7, they encounter only ruin and horror and a universe broken and spoiled…”

RINGO :

 Woe... is Me.

Liverpool can be a lonely place 

on a Saturday night.

And this is only 

Thursday morning.

(Thinks) Compared with my life, 

Eleanor Rigby's was a gay, mad whirl.

Nothing ever happens to me.

(Thinks) I feel like an old, splintered drumstick.

I'd jump into the River Mersey, but it looks like rain.

Nothing ever happens to me.

(Engine whirring)

LIVERPUDLIAN POLICEMAN: 

Puss, puss-puss. Puss, puss, puss. Here, pussy.

Here, pussy, pussy, pussy. Here, pussy, pussy.

Ahem, er... (Cat meows)

RINGO :

Would you believe me if I told you 

I was being followed by 

A Yellow Submarine?

LIVERPUDLIAN POLICEMAN: 

No, I would not.

RINGO :

Oh yeah, I didn't think you would.

(Engine whirring)

I could have sworn there 

was a Yellow Submarine.

But that isn't logical, is it?

It must have been one of them 

unidentified flying cupcakes

or a figment of my imagination.

(Thinks) But I don't have an imagination.

(Engine whirring)

(Knocking)

Help, help, help!

RINGO: 

Thanks, I don't need any.

Help! Won't you please, 

please Help Me?

RINGO: 

Be specific.

(Talking gibberish)

...Blue Meanies!

What you need is...

'H' for hurry, 

'E' for Urgent,

'L' for love me and 

'P' for p-p-please help.

(Door creaks open)

(Door slams loudly)

(Slamming doors and strange noises)

Hiya, baby!

♪♪

(Screeching halt)

Your story has touched my heart.

Jump in, we'll get my friends.

- Bless you! - Did I sneeze?