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Season of the Witch was the opening full-length story of “Issue 6” of the Tales To Behold subseries of the webcomic The Cosmic Beholder. Written and drawn by Paul Hoppe, it was released both in webcomic form and in a limited print run.
Contents
Plot
In New York City, the New Protectors have ramped up their apparent takeover of all crime-fighting duties, pressuring the Mayor into making all police forces subservient to them, and demanding that all superheroes come to the city hall to officially enlist into their service. When Amanda Allen tries to interview Captain Evening about these developments on her show Hero Hour, however, the program is unrelatedly interrupted by the supervillain and witch Hexia, evidently an old enemy of the Captain's. She decides to take the entire crew hostage, including the Captain, while she decides quite what she wants to do besides disrupt the broadcast.
This buys time for the rest of the Odds — the Blue Knight, Merv the Griffin and Armstrong Fatbuckle — to be alerted to the situation by the Commissioner. While the Blue Knight disguises herself as one more captured TV crewmember and Armstrong as one of Hexia's goth henchfolks, Hexia settles on the classic demand of a getaway helicopter, intending to take the TV crew with her and force them to help her make her own TV show. Before long, she realises the building has been infiltrated by the Odds, but her henchpeople are easily taken out by the two heroes and Merv, who crashes in through a window for the element of surprise. Before Hexia can enter the fight herself using “the outworldly mystical powers that are [hers] to command”, she is knocked to the ground by Amanda Allen herself using a wooden chair.
However, she quickly recovers and escapes to the roof, where she holds a gun to the helicopter-pilot's head and tries to make her getaway on her own. Merv tries to give chase, taking Armstrong into the sky with one arm, but the helicopter seems too fast for him. Unexpectedly, however, solo heroine Jung-La crashes into the helicopter, having swung on a vine from a nearby skyscraper — knocking Hexia out of her vehicle. Before the villainess falls to her death, she uses a vanishing spell to teleport back into the relative safety of the helicopter, startling Jung-La, who loses her own grip and falls, only to be caught by the Captain, who has recovered his uniform and Skycicle. Meanwhile, Armstrong and Merv make it onto the helicopter and get the better of Hexia, in spite of the witch managing to shoot Armstrong's skull off.
Subsequently, the Commissioner makes sure Hexia and her accomplices are captured. The Odds recognise Jung-La as the Sheriff they met during their earlier soul-searching road trip; she explains that she was inspired by their encounter to quit her police job and find a more creative and non-corrupt way of doing good in the world. The Captain, grateful for her timely help, offers her the chance to join the Odds, which she accepts. Before anyone can get too deep in celebration, however, the Commissioner rushes in to tell the Odds to watch the New Protectors' latest TV broadcast, a frighteningly totalitarian announcement (delivered by a Robot-Enforcer) explaining that as the New Protectors-led New York begins its zero-tolerance policy on crime, a curfew will be instituted, enforced by the robots in question, and all non-supervised superheroes will be treated as criminals unless they submit to the rule of the New Protectors.
Worldbuilding
Universes
- This story takes place entirely in Reality Z-25 31-H.
Other
- Merv the Griffin is described as “a demon of vengeance” by the Commissioner.
- While pondering what demands to make in exchange for returning the hostages, Hexia reflects that it's “like Christmas”.
Continuity
- Armstrong Fatbuckle's origins as “the Worst Man in the World” as originally introduced in COMIC: Hell Is Too Good For Him are referenced.
- Jung-La is introduced in her superhero identity within The Cosmic Beholder. Her civilian identity had previously been introduced in COMIC: Road Trip Of No Return (whose events are referenced in dialogue), and she appeared in COMIC: Symbiote Surprise as a fully-fledged member of the Odds as a fait accompli, positioning Season of the Witch and the wider New Protectors story arc as a prequel to this story and the ensuing further crossovers between The Cosmic Beholder and Kate Five.
- The opening Hero Hour broadcast and cliffhanger ending of the story both elaborate on the New Protectors plotline and “anti-crime measures” discussed between them and the Mayor, as established in the background of COMIC: Chasing Shadows.
Behind the scenes
Read online
Season of the Witch is available online on the Cosmic Beholder blog.