New DC series 'First Wave' has no superpowers

A youthful Batman who carries a .45 pistol? An earth with NO superpowers whatsoever? The return of Doc Savage?

DC Comics in launching a shadowy new universe, "First Wave," in March.

"Tommy guns & jet planes, dirigibles & Ferraris, computers & walkie talkies" is one description of this new universe of heroes and villains.

Thugs and corruption run deep in this universe, and the line between heroes and villains is blurred greatly here.

"Batman-Doc Savage Special" ($4.99) hit the comic book stands earlier this month and is the prologue to an eventual six-part miniseries to focus on this new, pulp-inspired universe.

Doc Savage, "The Man of Bronze," investigates Batman in this prologue story.

The young Batman is not yet seasoned and makes lots of slip-ups as he seeks to protect Gotham City his way.

Doc Savage — "He's our superman, but as you notice, in the lowercase sense," DC Comics states of the revived character, first used in pulp novels of the 1930s.

Savage lives on the top of the Empire State Building, is as strong as humanly possible, has intelligence and never lies.

Savage is the "superman" of this universe, and it is clear that Superman from Krypton may have borrowed a few things from him.

For example, Doc Savage often retreats to his "Fortress of Solitude" in the Arctic. That reference predates Superman's origin. Savage began in 1933. Superman in 1938.

"Man of Steel"? Does that sound reminiscent of "Man of Bronze"?

Savage's real name is Clark Savage Jr. Know any other hero named Clark?

Doc Savage is also not to be confused with "Doc Samson," a gamma-powered Marvel Comics character.

(However, Marvel did feature Doc Savage in an early 1970s comic series. DC ran a Doc Savage series in the late 1980s, and Dark Horse did a series with Savage in 1995.)

Besides Batman and Doc Savage, "First Wave" also has "The Spirit," a former cop, as a force for good. There's also a Black Canary, The Avenger and Rima the Jungle Girl in this universe. Savage is also backed up by his "Fabulous Five."

Will a "no-power" DC universe sell at the newsstands? Time will tell. But at the least, "First Wave" will outline pulp fiction's strong influence on some of today's superheroes.

e-mail: lynn@desnews.com