DC’s Hero Master Of The Elements Metamorpho!

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we find ourselves once more back in the world of DC Comics as we take a look at yet another superhero that they seem to overlook. I am talking about Metamorpho this time around, a hero who can turn himself into every type of element and is another overlooked character in the DC Comic Universe. When thinking about the updates for 2025, I wanted to at least cover two superheroes from DC. I knew that Plastic Man was a must, and I covered him back in May; and when choosing the second hero to cover I was torn between several as Catwoman, Black Canary, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Green Arrow were all considered but in the end I wanted to go for a hero who was not as mainstream as the above mentioned and that is why Metamorpho was chosen to get the Rotten Ink treatment. So with that, sit back and relax as we take a fun and brief look at Metamorpho, a DC Hero that is on the verge of being forgotten.

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Rex Mason was a very famous archaeologist who found some of the world’s most priceless treasures. He was mostly on the payroll of Simon Stagg, the owner of Stagg Enterprises who needed him to go to Egypt and find The Orb Of Ra, and during this time Rex would even fall in love with Sapphire Stagg, the daughter of Simon. But once in the pyramid that held the orb he was attacked by Java, the bodyguard of Simon, and exposed to a meteor that disfigures and turns him into Metamorpho The Element Man as he got the power of turning himself into every type of element! He would also soon find that Simon could use the Orb against him to keep him for getting revenge for this betrayal. And while a good guy, Metamorpho can never turn his appearance back to normal and has spent most of his life trying to find a cure even at one point getting the help of Green Lantern whose Power Ring even fails to get turn him back normal. Over the years he has worked alongside such teams as The Outsiders, Justice League Europe, Doom Patrol and even had a crime fighter partner named Element Girl. He also has a son Joseph Mason who has the powers of turning object into other elements. And like every DC Comic character, Metamorpho of course has many different versions from all the different Earths with each having different paths and adventures. Metamorpho was created by Bob Haney and Romona Fradon in 1965 and first appeared in The Brave And The Bold # 57 and is a classic character that has also appeared in cartoons and animated films over the years. This is just a quick crash course lesson on Metamorpho and who he is and what he can do.

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Metamorpho is one of those classic DC Comic characters that I remember seeing in issues of Brave And The Bold when I was a kid and while I liked his look, I never truly connected to him as I was way more into Plastic Man who had a similar ability and was created many years before him. But for some reason this weirdly colored hero always did get my attention as I can remember asking my brother all the time how you pronounce the character’s name as well as what his deal was because to me he looked like a super villain and not a super hero. Over the years as I was getting more and more comics thanks to comic shops and garage sales, I was able to read comics with Metamorpho in them as a hero and I found myself enjoying them as well as finding his powers cooler than I originally thought, as how cool it is that he can turn his whole body or even parts of his body into elements like gold, silver, helium and tin to name a few! Plus such things cannot hurt him as bullets and knives and only an ancient Egyptian orb can truly hurt him. And while he is not a topnotch hero in DC, I do find that they seem to overlook him when it comes to appearing in more comics as well as live action films as I think it’s time he gets to shine on the silver screen. I also have to say that back in 1975, as part of a vinyl record called “Songs And Stories Of The Justice League,” Metamorpho has his own song done by Arthur Korb and you must listen to it as its super catchy and can be found on YouTube. Also after reading this update, head to your local comic shop and grab yourself some comics featuring Metamorpho and give him a chance.

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Well as you can see, Metamorpho is a classic superhero from DC Comics that has been around sin d the 60’s and has made his way into being a member of the Justice League as well as appeared in some animated shows and films and in the 90’s even got his own mini series again to showcase this hero to the comic reading masses. I would first like to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what Metamorpho has in store for us as this mini series will be a first time read for me and I am excited to see what kind of action awaits in these pages.

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Metamorpho # 1   ***
Released in 1993     Cover Price $1.50     DC Comics     # 1 of 4

Rex Mason is an archaeologist on an adventure to get the Himalayan Ice Crystal and has to escape a pack of Yetis to get away. Years have passed and Rex is now the superhero Metamorpho and visiting the museum looking back at some of the items he had uncovered and talks with his friend Haney who runs it all. They chat about the past and why Metamorpho no longer gets these items, they speak of Joey who is the son of Metamorpho who is also cursed with powers due to his dad…and the possibility of a cure. Enter Jillian Conway, a fellow archaeologist who thinks a cure can be found inside a pyramid in Egypt due to some wall carvings she found and it is The Orb Of Ra that can reverse the super powered curse. Jillian also shows Metamorpho and Haney that she as well was exposed to the meteor that transformed Rex and his son as her face is hidden behind a mask, and she blames Simon Stagg who is the ex-father in law of Metamorpho and who is rich and abuses his power…he was also the last owner of The Orb Of Ra and claims it has been stolen and could be in Ireland. Metamorpho agrees to help Jillian to get the orb and tells her to get an extra seat for the plane ride as he heads to Stagg’s mansion and gets his infant son away from all the armed guards, as he wants the item that can cure him of his curse once and for all.

This is a pretty interesting first issue in a mini series that features Metamorpho, a hero who can transform himself into every type of element, and this series skips going through his origin story and takes it that you already know who he is and what he can do. The plot has Metamorpho teaming up with another archaeologist by the name of Jillian as they both have been effected by a meteor that was found in a tomb in Egypt and this has caused them to gain superpowers as well as be very badly disfigured and now they think that they might have found a cure and this is important to Metamorpho as this also has infected his infant son and he will do whatever he can to cure his son. Metamorpho is a hero who misses his old life of collecting artifacts and while he uses his new superpowers for good, he does feel guilty that his powers also has passed onto his infant son, and will do whatever he can to help his son and that even includes taking orders from his sleazy ex-father in law who only truly cares about money. Simon Stagg is that scumbag who runs his own company that collects artifacts and use to be the man behind paying for Rex’s quests to get the artifacts. He also is trying his best to ruin the relationship between Metamorpho and his ex-wife and baby’s mom Sapphire when he hides the note left for his daughter written by Metamorpho as to why he took Joseph from the Stagg mansion. And while the issue is not super action packed, the moments of Metamorpho fighting the Stagg Security Force and robotic Nanny are pretty cool as he kicks their butts and showcases his powers well. I also like that we get a look at some Yetis and that for some reason the flashback to getting the Himalayan Ice Crystal reminds me of Indiana Jones! The cover for this issue is pretty cool as it features Metamorpho looking all smug, and the interior art is very well done and was done by artist Graham Nolan. And if you are like me, I am sure you want to see if this orb can truly cure Metamorpho and his son Joseph and if they can trust Jillian Conway who I am starting to think might not be telling the full truth to our hero as I got a vibe from her that made me not trust her.

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Metamorpho # 2   ***
Released in 1993     Cover Price $1.50     DC Comics     # 2 of 4

While on the plane heading to Ireland, Metamorpho remembers back to the time he was attacked in the pyramid by Java and left for dead, but instead found himself changed and infected by a powerful meteor. Jillian snaps him out of his day dream and talks up her theory that the Orb Of Ra will be the key to their cure. While back at Stagg Mansion Sapphire is besides herself as her son Joseph is missing and her father Simon is still acting clueless on why Metamorpho attacked and took the child, and when Java is raged and wants to go after Metamorpho to get Joseph back he is shot and killed by Simon who claims to Sapphire that her new husband went insane and that he had to kill him in self defense…he then makes some very creepy remarks to his daughter. While in Ireland Metamorpho and Jillian do some tracking and call in a few favors and find that a man named Peter O’Grady might have or know who does the Orb Of Ra…but once at the bar Peter hangs out in, a big brawl breaks out and lots of guns are fired and even a flamethrower used with Metamorpho standing tall as many goons are knocked out on the bar room floor. But while he beat up lots of goons he finds that his son Joseph is in the hands of Peter O’Grady who has a gun to the child’s head and is threatening to end his life!

Oh man what a cliffhanger to end this issue as poor young Joseph Mason is in the dangerous hands of the scumbag named Peter O’Grady who is known for being a thief and killer. Makes me wonder just how Metamorpho is going to save his son’s life…or I wonder if the son’s own powers will save the day is he touches O’Grady. The plot of this second issue can be summed up like this Metamorpho with his small group land in Ireland and find big trouble with criminal Peter O’Grady while at the Stagg Mansion Simon continues his sneak plan as he keeps his daughter in the dark and also kills her new husband for not listening to his orders. Metamorpho in this issue shows that he cares about his son as well as ex-wife and will do whatever it takes to get the orb if it’s a key to heal them of this terrible super powered curse. And with his powers he is able to beat the heck out of a bunch of goons as well as show off his amazing ability to shake off attacks. Peter O’Grady seems to have been waiting for Metamorpho to come for him and thought that he and his men could take the hero down, but soon found that he was wrong and comes to the final plan of trying to take the heroes son hostage. Jillian Conway is clearly new to having these powers and almost seems afraid to use them, but does so in the bar brawl to help Metamorpho out, maybe I was wrong about not trusting her. Simon Stagg is pure scum as he is a cold blooded killer, has to be in control at all times and almost seems to like to see his daughter Sapphire suffer…and I think he was also hitting on her…gross. Java was the new husband of Sapphire and the bodyguard who attacked Rex in the pyramid. He was also a caveman that was melted out of a block of ice who finds himself dead when he questions the orders of Simon who made the murder look like self defense. The cover for this issue is just ok and not as cool nor eye catching as the first issues, and like before Graham Nolan is the artist who did the interior artwork and it is solid good stuff. Over all another great issue in this mini series and thickens the plot a little more as Metamorpho seems to be finding himself more and more enemies on his search for the cure.

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Metamorpho # 3   ***
Released in 1993     Cover Price $1.50     DC Comics     # 3 of 4

Peter O’Grady gets the shock of his life when Joseph touches the gun and it melts away, as Peter drops Joseph it’s Jillian that catches him and Metamorpho goes on the attack and gets the information out of O’Grady that he needs as the orb has been sold to Emir Abd-Al-Aziz from Egypt and that is were our hero heads next. Meanwhile Simon has his security force remove the body of Java as Sapphire heads to her room knowing now what kind of master her father really is as he still talks about the killing being self-defense. But once back in Egypt Emir finds his palace under attack by invaders and Metamorpho and Jillian save the day and are given the Orb as a reward…but this is a fake and Metamorpho figures out that a conman named Delacroix is the one who must have it now. This leads them now to Casablanca and to a little bar where Delacroix hangs out and learns that the Orb has been returned to the pyramid it came from, and while there Metamorpho also finds is able to read some of the papers of Jillian who has headed to the hotel to put Joseph to bed. Metamorpho learns that the orb can only cure one person and that Jillian was going to use it on herself and the two end up having an element fight with Metamorpho making a mistake and getting hurt just as Jillian revels that she has been working with Simon Stagg the whole time who is as well in Casablanca now, but unknown to them all is that Sapphire is also there.

I knew it Jillian Conway should not be trusted and while she tricked me into thinking that maybe she was not a baddie her true colors come out in this issues as she is really into hurting people, watching people be hurt, is enjoying her powers now and was just using Metamorpho in order to track down the orb so that she could use if on herself as the cure is a one and done. Plus it tells you want kind of person she is when her business partner is Simon Stagg, the rich scumbag who seems to really get his jollies in making life terrible for Metamorpho who is his ex-son in law. And while this issue is a cat and mouse game of Metamorpho trying to track down the orb from location to location it very much is a very fun issue as you as a reader feel like you are apart of this adventure to find this cure. Metamorpho also proves that he will do whatever he has to do in order to cure his son and that includes fighting baddies and uncovering every clue he can. Also it is great to see in this issue that Sapphire is starting to truly see the monster that his her father and with her now hearing his plan as well as the lack of care to have her son be cured will I hope make he help her ex-husband get to the orb first. Having a part of the comic take place in Casablanca was very cool as one panel has a person at the bar look like Humphrey Bogart and his character Rick Blaine from the 1942 film Casablanca…nice touch guys. The action is lots of fun as Metamorpho, Joseph and Jillian all use their powers to fight off baddies and in the case of the two adults against each other in a showdown on who will get the orb first to get the cure. The cover for this issue is cool and has Metamorpho’s hands as blades and he is looking very angry and like the past issues the interior art is done by Graham Nolan and is really cool stuff. With issue three being another great issue I am looking forward to the fourth and final issue to see how this story ends.

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Metamorpho # 4   ***
Released in 1993     Cover Price $1.50     DC Comics     # 4 of 4

Metamorpho wakes up to see Sapphire and the two make up when he tells her about the note and she tells him how her father killed Java and now together they are heading to Egypt to get their son and the Orb to try and cure him. While at the pyramid Jillian holding Jonathan and Simon start their search for the Orb and are discussing the cure it could hold, and Simon lets her know that he wants to use it to cure Metamorpho so that he will return back to Rex so that he can kill him! Meanwhile Jillian knows she cannot trust Simon and has kept the fact it can only cure one person to herself figuring out a way to get the Orb in her hands to do so. As Simon and Jillian find the Orb Metamorpho and Sapphire arrive and are ready for a fight in order to get and cure their son, and as Sapphire attacks her father Jillian is able to sneak away with the Orb as Metamorpho gives chase. The Orb was no cure and when Jillian uses it on herself she turns to dust and dies as Metamorpho rushes to get his son and ex-wife to safety. In the end Simon Stagg is beaten up, Sapphire finds her inner power, Joseph is cured when he touches the meteor and Metamorpho gets his family back together and is happy once more.

The final issue has a happy ending for our hero as he gets his family back and his son is cured of his super powers by the meteor that had started this nightmare from the start! Metamorpho does what he can to bring his family back as it is clear that he has never truly gotten over Sapphire and loves her just as much as he does his son. And when the two find that common bond again its clear that she feels the same way about him. Metamorpho also while not sure caring towards others that he feels have done him wrong does try and save Jillian from her fate of turning to sand and dying, but she would not listen to his warnings and just wanted to be pretty again no matter the coast. And that is the thing about Jillian is that she used so many people to try and cure herself and would kill anyone that crosses her path and even is mean to a child in her attempt to make herself normal again. It is also great to see Simon Stagg get what is coming to him as he is beaten up by his daughter and even out smarted by Jillian when it came to getting and using the Orb and by the end of the issue he is a very broken man. Sapphire also finds her inner fighter and is sick and tired of being bullied by her father and fights back and because a stronger person by the end of this adventure. You also have to be happy that Joseph is cured of his powers, as that youngster would have had a super hard life if he had to live with them. And I am kind of shocked on how much I really did enjoy this mini series and how it really did remind me of a super powered version of an Indiana Jones adventure and Metamorpho was a pretty cool hero as while he is strong and powerful he also finds himself getting beat up and hurt throughout the series and that helps add to the drama and cliffhanger style endings. The cover for the final issue is pretty cool and is super eye catching if you are a fan of the character and like before the interior artwork by Graham Nolan is very good and his work is solid throughout the mini series. If you like Metamorpho as a character or just enjoy superhero comics that have a classic cliffhanger adventure feel make sure to give this mini series a read. Checkout the artwork below to see the art style of Graham Nolan used in this series.

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Well that was a fun comic series to read and I truly miss the days of DC Comics like this as I feel that the modern stuff just doesn’t have the magic touch like these classic issues due. And I myself find myself being a bigger fan of Metamorpho now after reading this as he really is more of an interesting character than I gave him credit for. But with that, our time in the DC Comics Universe has come to an end for now as out next update will take us back to the Rotten Ink Arena as we will be talking about the masked heel known as The Dark Patriot! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! The Dark Patriot was a wrestler I grew up watching and his R.I.W Legend Update Event should be a fun one!

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Kevin Nash The Master Of The Jackknife Powerbomb

Here on Rotten Ink we have covered some big men of the squared circle of Pro Wrestling like Andre The Giant and King Kong Bundy, and now I think it’s time we take a look at another as we step into the ring with Kevin Nash who hands down was one of the most popular wrestlers of the late 1990’s and through out the 2000’s in both WWF and WCW and even made his mark in TNA as being a main-eventer and a wrestler who put asses in the seats. Nash has been a very topical wrestler as some fans, critics and fellow wrestlers don’t like him and claim that when he was WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he was not a draw and that he was lazy and only knew a limited move set.  Others put him at the top of their favorite wrestlers and find his matches entertaining. Here on this update I will try and cover it all from his biggest match as Wrestlemania XI, to the Finger Poke Of Doom and even ending Goldbreg’s winning streak, it will all be covered! So once more lace up your boots and step over the top rope as we take a look at another big man of Pro Wrestling and the Image Comic based on him.

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Kevin Scott Nash was born on July 9th, 1959 in Detroit Michigan and had a pretty normal life besides sadly losing his father in 1968 from a heart attacks.  Kevin was only 8 years old. Nash was a great student and went to the University Of Tennessee where played center for the basketball team from 1977-1980 even making it to the NCAA Sweet 16, but his prankster attitude and clashes with authority took him out from playing for a fourth year. After moving to Europe and playing pro basketball for many years, he tore his anterior ligament, and this caused him to have to retire.  He took many other odd jobs overseas like 202nd Military Police Company where he guarded a NATO facility, and back in the US he managed a strip club and worked for a Ford factory. Nash eventually decided to try and become a Pro Wrestler and was trained by Jody Hamilton aka Assassin # 2, and in 1990 Nash was able to get a job with WCW.

With grease paint on his face and an orange Mohawk, he became Steel and teamed with his partner Iron to become The Master Blasters that would spend a few months feuding with Mike Rotundo and Tim Horner. But Iron was not working out and was replaced by Blade, and the team was undefeated for a time making them a tag team to watch as they had the power and look.  Their first loss came by the hands of Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman. Even after the loss, they ended up getting a tag team title shot against The Steiner Brothers and would not be able to take the straps from the champs. By 1991, their push as a tag team came to a end and so did the tag team as Steel would now just be called Master Blaster and would have single matches against the likes of Brian Pillman and Junkyard Dog only to lose.

Master Blaster was gone by February 1991, and Nash would get the second gimmick of his career as he became Oz! As Oz he had a weird old man Halloween mask, silver hair, dressed in green, was managed for a short time by The Great Wizard and was based on the book/movie The Wizard Of Oz.  He was a powerhouse of power and made his debut at the 1991 Clash Of The Champions where he started his short undefeated streak…that was until The Great American Bash 1991 when he faced Ron Simmons, and after this loss he became a jobber for the wrestling stars like Dustin Rhodes, Rick Steiner, Bobby Eaton and Bill Kazmaier. And 1991 went that way for Oz, as what was supposed to be a big grand gimmick turned into a cheesy one that was used as enhancement talent. Rumor has it that Oz’s push came to an end over money, and it was also said that the whole gimmick was a rib (prank) on Nash to try to get him to quite WCW. I can remember watching that Clash Of The Champions when Oz premiered and thinking just how amazing his entrance theme was…while the gimmick was lame, it still is one I remember.

At the start of 1992, after Oz was sent packing back to the Emerald City, Nash got yet another change this time becoming a wise ass gambling mobster type named Vinnie Vegas who was quickly placed in the A Half-Ton Of Holy Hell stable along side Vader and Mr. Hughes and was managed by Harley Race. But as fast as this stable was created it was also disbanded a month later.  Vegas ended up going to the stable The Diamond Mine along with The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall) and Scotty Flamingo (Raven), and their leader was Diamond Dallas Page! This stable lasted for a short while, and after they broke up, DDP and Vegas formed a tag team named The Vegas Connection.  This lasted until Page was fired. Vinnie Vegas floated around for a while longer losing matches and being forced into teams with such wrestlers as Big Sky. But his luck was about to change as he had some powerful friends in the WWF, namely Jim Ross and Shawn “HBK” Michaels, and they pulled some strings so Nash was able to get out of his contract and his wrestling career was about to blow up! Kevin Nash’s first run for WCW saw him as an orange Mohawked goon named Steel, then the silver haired Oz and ended it being a parody of a mobster named Vinnie Vegas…say what you will about his first run characters, but they are what makes wrestling fun with their cheesy outlandish appearances. Check out below for pictures to see the evolution of Kevin Nash in WCW wave one.

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Kevin Nash entered the WWF in 1993.  He grew out his hair and dawned black leather and became “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, the bodyguard for Shawn Michaels.  The pair became Two Dudes With Attitudes, and he helped Michaels deal with good guy wrestlers who were looking to beat up on the Heart Break Kid. In the 1994 Royal Rumble, Diesel entered the Rumble at # 7 and lasted for 18 minutes and tossed out seven men that included Owen Hart, Rick Steiner, Bob Backlund and Billy Gunn. Over the months Diesel would win the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon and with Shawn Michaels captured the Tag Team Titles from The Headshrinkers, making Diesel a double champion!! This was a short feat as he would lose the IC belt back to Razor, and after a tag match his partner, HBK landed a super kick to his chin, breaking them up.  They forfeited the belts and Disel was no longer his bodyguard.  This marked his turn from heel to face as the crowd began cheering Big Daddy Cool. Things were going great for Diesel as he would go on to win the WWF World Heavyweight Champion from Bob Backlund in 8 seconds at Madison Square Garden only three days after breaking away from Shawn Michaels. He would defend his belt and retain it via a draw against Bret “Hitman” Hart at the 1995 Royal Rumble that would see Shawn Michaels winning the Rumble and getting a title match at Wrestlemania XI that we will go more in detail about a little later in this update. Diesel would hold the belt for a little while and would defend it against the likes of Sycho Sid and Mabel.  He would also reform his friendship with Shawn Michaels, and they would go on to capture the tag team titles again and with HBK also being the intercontinental champ, the pair held all of the major titles! But this time at the top was coming to an end as he and HBK lost the tag titles to Owen Hart and Yokozuna on a technicality and Diesel would lose the WWF World Heavyweight Champion on November 19 1995 to Bret “The Hitman” Hart as Survivor Series.  With this loss, Diesel turned heel again and had matches against the likes of The Undertaker and Bret Hart and would leave the WWF after WrestleMania XII losing to The Undertaker and jobbing at house shows before his contract expired. Kevin Nash’s first WWF run lasts from 1993-1996, and while many would say he was a low drawing champion, he certainly made his mark in the promotion’s history with multiple title wins and some classic matches as both a face and a heel.

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With WWF owning the rights to the in ring name Diesel and not wanting to return as Vinnie Vegas or Oz, Nash made his return to WCW on the June 10, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro when he joined his pal Scott Hall (formally Razor Ramon) to form the invading tag team known as The Outsiders and simply went by his real name Kevin Nash! You see WCW was now going head to head with WWF on Monday Nights, and the storyline at first acted as if WWF had sent the pair over to cause chaos and to bully their talent. But after the WWF threatened to sue them, the storyline changed that they were just there to take over WCW and they had a mystery partner waiting to come out and help with the takeover. At the PPV Bash At The Beach, Kevin Nash along with Scott Hall teamed with a mystery partner to take on Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger, and it was soon revealed that Hulk Hogan was the mystery partner.  The world of pro wrestling’s biggest face turned heel, and so began The New World Order (n.W.o).  Kevin Nash would become one of the biggest draws for the company winning the Tag Team Title as well as the World Heavy Weight Title and would have feuds with the likes of The Giant, Lex Luger, Rey Mysterio Jr., Goldberg.  Nash became one of the company’s biggest draws and flipped many times from being heel to face and back again. Not only was he a part of The Outsiders and n.W.o but also was the leader of the n.W.o Wolfpac, which had such members as Sting, Lex Luger, Macho Man Randy Savage and Konnan. Nash was a staple of WCW Nitro and Pay Per Views and was always a main event attraction. And unlike his first run with the company, he held the cards and was able to control the creative control of his character and was making the most money of his whole pro wrestling career. But also during this time WCW was beating WWE in the ratings and almost put them out of business.  Kevin Nash was one of the pro wrestlers leading the charge of bringing in the ratings, but when the tide turned and the end started to come crashing down on WCW, they ended up the ones being closed and bought out by their rivals, and Nash sat out his contract instead of jumping onboard and joining the WWE for the Invasion storyline. Kevin Nash’s second run for WCW was a major success and lasted from 1996-2001. And while this tiny history lesson on his second run for World Championship Wrestling might not be 100% in detail, I suggest you do yourself a favor and get the WWE Network and watch old WCW events and live or in most cases relive the history of his run.

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After WCW closed in 2001 and was bought out by WWE, many wrestlers who had long-term contracts with Time Warner had decided to stay home and not sign new contracts to wrestle for WWE during the WCW Invasion angle. Nash decided to stay home and collect his guaranteed money for the remainder of his contract and made his return to WWE in 2002 as part of the n.W.o alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall who were also making their return to the company as part of Vince McMahon’s plan to poison his own company because he had to share the power of running it with Ric Flair…or so the storyline went. The n.W.o stayed around for a short time feuding with the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin and even Hulk Hogan as Nash and Hall turned on him after he lost his match at Wrestlemania X8 to The Rock. But a string of injuries left Nash out of action, and by this time Hall was let go from WWE.  The n.W.o was no more when he returned, and instead he was put into an angle that had two of his best friends Triple H and Shawn Michaels at odds with each other.  This lead to a feud with Triple H that gave him title shots that he was unsuccessful at capturing. His next major feud was with Chris Jericho, and his final match was in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho. Nash was the first to be eliminated, and after neck surgery, the WWE did not renew is contract making his second run with the company lasting from 2002- 2004.

After being let go and healing from his surgery, he went to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and made his debut along side Scott Hall to help Champion Jeff Jarrett retain his title at the 2004 PPV called Victory Road. Nash, Hall and Jarrett called themselves “Kings Of Wrestling” which lasted a short time until Hall left in 2005, and Nash wanted his shot at the title and turned on Jarrett to feud for the title. And just like before, Kevin Nash became a major draw for TNA and had matches against some of the company’s top talents like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Monty Brown and Randy Savage. Nash also not only wrestled for them but also acted as an on-air character delivering comedy bits and showing his joker side. Nash had some solid matches, and his fans stood beside him during his time with the company that seen him as a member of such groups as The Band and Main Event Mafia and would have him in the spotlight in main events as well as helping push younger talent. Kevin Nash’s run for TNA was not as iconic as his time with WWE or WCW but it was entertaining and him being with them helped make them seem like a major player in the world of Pro Wrestling. Nash worked for TNA from 2004-2011 and from what Nash has said in interviews, his time there was just not a highlight of his career.

Kevin Nash as Diesel made his return to WWE on January 30, 2011 at the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant and did not win. Nash was given a WWE Legends Contract and made appearances for the company off and on and had a few matches during his return most notably against Triple H who was feuding with CM Punk at the time.  Nash interfered in a match causing Triple H to turn on his friend who was trying to help him win. He would induct Shawn Michaels into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2011, helped in NXT as a guest match commissioner from late 2012 to early 2013, entered the 2014 Royal Rumble and lost again as well as inducted his long time friend Scott Hall as Razor Ramon into the Hall Of Fame and made many more appearances on Monday Night Raw as well as WrestleMania. Kevin Nash himself was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2015, and he still is under a Legends deal with the company as of this update. While his return to WWE might not have had him as a main eventer and had him in very little matches, it is nice that he is home in WWE, a company they he belongs in and who helped make him a household name.

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Over his long career as a top draw in the world of Pro Wrestling, Nash has had his share of drama and moments that live on that anger some and entertains others. The first being that he was a member of a backstage group called The Kliq in WWF alongside Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Triple H and 1.2.3 Kid who are said to have bullied talent and manipulated Vince McMahon into big contracts, screwing over other wrestlers like Vader, The Patriot and Shane Douglas, to name a few, from getting their proper pushes. When he left WWF on May 19 1996 at Madison Square Garden, Nash as Diesel on his last match in a steel cage against Shawn Michaels broke character at the end of the match when Diesel and Triple H who were “heels” hugged Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon who were “faces,” and this allowed people to see that Pro Wrestling was….you know the F word….I don’t want to say it as I have respect for what all wresters do to entertain and much like Horror Hosts I like to have the veil over my eyes. Lots of wrestlers would go on record and claim that he held them back from getting bigger pushes as he was worried about his spot at the top. He is said to have smacked Rowdy Roddy Piper in the face backstage in WCW in front of management and talent causing the legend to back down, breaking his tough guy image…or so Nash says. He is the man who many claim pulled strings to be the first to beat Goldberg in WCW, who was on the worlds longest winning streak in pro wrestling. Nash is the man who in WCW de-masked the luchador legend Rey Mysterio Jr.! Nash was considered to be very lazy by many dirt sheet writers who claimed Nash would put no effort in his matches in WCW and was handed titles due to his high-end contract. Many wrestlers and managers behind the scenes have had very harsh words about Nash and his attitude and ability like Jim Cornette, Matt Bourne, Ricky Morton, Ultimate Warrior and Bob Holly to name a few. But one thing he did in his career has been said to have been the final nail in WCW is the “Finger Poke of Doom” where Kevin Nash oversold a finger poke to the chest by Hulk Hogan to put the belt back on the Hulkster and start up their n.W.o friendship once again.  People saw this as once more being a lazy move and storytelling by Nash and the bookers. But say what you want about Nash and his mixed bag of popularity with fellow workers and critics, but this Pro Wrestling fan was always entertained by his matches and gimmicks, below is a gif of the infamous Finger Poke of Doom.

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The build up to Kevin Nash’s biggest WrestleMania match was played out for almost a year before it happened.  It was between him and HBK, and their on and off again friendship had to come to a massive end and this match was to be it. Kevin Nash, as Diesel, had Pamela Anderson in his corner taking on Shawn “HBK” Michaels with Jenny McCarthy and Psycho Sid in his for the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XI that took place on April 2, 1995 at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut. The match’s set up was Diesel was the champion, and he had to defend against his one time best friend Shawn for the final match of the feud as HBK had become jealous of the way the crowd was more behind Diesel.  He felt that it took the spotlight off him during their friendship. The match was the second main event of the PPV and was a back and fourth match that showcased Diesel as a powerhouse as well as made it clear that Michaels could hang with the bigger wrestlers in top main event matches. The matched ended with Diesel using his finisher the Jackknife power after about a 20 minute match that in the end had Diesel leaving with both Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy and locked in as a true world champion. While this match would never be on anyone’s top 5 list of best WrestleMania matches, it still was a good solid match and was Kevin Nash’s best at the worlds biggest pro wrestling event.

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Besides Pro Wrestling Kevin Nash has also found his calling in acting and has been in a number of TV shows as well as movies. His first movie role came in 1991 when he played Super Shredder in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze”, with the next playing Quixo in the 1992 episode This Old House Of Mayan for USA Network show “Swamp Thing”! 1992 also saw him act in the TV show “Super Force” playing the characters Lau and Iau in two episodes. And 1995 saw him play a Male Phone Caller in the made for TV Film “The Weinerville Chanukah Special”.  In 1997, he had a cameo in a TV Show playing The Giant in the episode The Crucible on “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch” and later that year would play Jackhammer Guy in the film “Family Plan” and be an unaccredited character in the Indian film “Aar Ya Paar”. Nash played a character named Rocky Williams on a 1998 episode of “Love Boat: The Next Wave” and would follow that up with starring as The Big Easy in two episodes of the show “Nikki” from 2000-2001. One of his biggest roles in a film came in 2004 as The Russian in the comic book flick “The Punisher,” and this helped mark him as a true actor as he was praised by fans and critics for this role. This lead to roles in films like “The Longest Yard” 2005 remake, “Grandma’s Boy” the 2006 comedy, “DOA: Dead Or Alive” as Bass Armstrong that was as well released in 2006, 2011’s “Monster Brawl” and “Rock Of Ages” in 2012 to name a few. His next big role was as well in 2012 as he played the male stripper character Tarzan in the film “Magic Mike” and would reprise the role for its 2015 sequel. And these titles are just a drop in the hat as he has been in many other films as cameos and through out this year of 2017 is also on tap to act in all types of flicks. So not only did Nash conquer the squared circle he also made his mark in acting.

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Kevin Nash as well as his ring name Diesel has had much merchandise made in his image and had made it into his fans and collectors hands. He has graced the covers of many magazines from WWF Magazine all the way to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He has had VHS and DVD’s made about him, showcasing his “best” matches. He has had action figures made in his image by such companies as Toy Biz, Mattel and Jakks Pacific as well as has been on Pogs and Slammers, posters, t-shirts, video games and so much more! Growing up, my favorite Nash merchandise I owned was a long sleeve n.W.o Wolfpac shirt that I wore for years until bleach and age caught up to it. So of you’re a fan of Nash’s lots of great stuff is out in the world to add to your collection.

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For as long as I have owned a video game system, some of the must-buy releases for me are wrestling games, and Kevin Nash has made many appearances in them with many companies from WWE all the way to TNA. The first game I can remember him in was “WWF Raw” that came out for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and a number of handheld systems, all made by Acclaim. I can remember him in two WCW games for the N64 “WCW vs. n.W.o: World Tour” that was released in 1997 and “WCW/n.W.o Revenge” that was released in 1998 and both released by THQ. For the Sony Playstation, I remember him in the 1998 game “WCW Nitro” as well as “WCW Thunder” that was released in 1998 as well, both made by THQ. Later on for Playstation and N64 I remember him in the EA games “WCW Mayhem” from 1999 and “WCW: Backstage Assault” released in 2000. From here Nash would show up in WWE games on the PS2 for the Smackdown series and has made many appearances in the WWE games made by THQ and 2K and has been on systems like Game Cube, WII, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. And he’s even in the most modern game WWE 2K17! Nash also was a part of the “TNA Impact!” game made by Midway and released on PS2, PS3, WII and Xbox 360. So as you can see, if you’re a gamer and a Nash fan, you can have him in your modern storylines in WWE 2K’s Universe Mode and maybe just maybe make him take a fall by the finger poke of doom!

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As you can see, Kevin Nash has made his impact in Pro Wrestling, acting, video games and merchandise and even made his leap to comic books, thanks to Image Comics! Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the wrestling boom caught the eyes of comic companies big and small, and many titles were made based on wrestlers like The Rock, The Road Warriors, King Kong Bundy, The Undertaker and more so why not give Kevin Nash his own comic series that had him act as a vigilante. I want to thank Dark Star and Lobe Star Comics for having these issues in stock, and the referee is wanting me to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s climb into the ring with the man who named himself Big Sexy and see if he can jackknife powerbomb himself into having a solid comic series. I want to also note that Image Comics released a preview issue for Nash that was nothing more than a write up and unfinished pages from issue # 1 so I decided to skip it for this review.

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Nash # 1  **1/2
Released in 1999     Cover Price $2.95     Image Comics     #1 of 2

The world is coming to an end all thanks for a secret Cabal called The Citadel run by the evil Cyrus Storm who has made the worlds food supply run short and he and his goons are keeping the poor down and wanting them to die off! Citadel driver Seventeen is on a run when he finds some poor starving people and kills off the old woman and is about to kill her grandchild when Nash comes to the youngsters aid and makes a bloody mess of the driver. But even for the rich things are not all that well as Storm is in a power struggle with Minister Parch who’s food truck has gone missing! Storms daughter Tara takes the message that Parch and his men are going after the truck and are going to kill Nash who is out in the wasteland with the poor starving people. The Minister sends his right hand man Trax and a fleet of airships and soldiers to kill Nash and this legend of the wasteland fights them all off and just when he thinks he has won the fight someone shoots him several times in the back, ending out first issue on a cliffhanger as the shooter is in the shadows and Nash has been wounded bad.

The first issue of Nash will take you by surprise as not once is it said that he was once a Pro Wrestler and in the comic he is more like Mad Max as he wanders the wasteland and wants to help the weak and poor while sticking it to The Citadel. The underline plot of the comic is a statues war as the rich who are all members of a church have all the water and food while the normal low income people are forced to live in the wasteland a place were no food will grow and water is contaminated. The only hope for the poor is Nash a man whom the powerful fear and the weak idolize. Nash in the comic is a man who is trying to do the right thing but his macho ego still makes it hard for him to connect to those he is helping, he also loves the ladies and seems to 100% knows how to defend himself and will get as brutal as he needs to be. The Citadel clearly are people who crave the power over others and use their God as a way to justify their terrible deeds of killing and looking at the poor not as humans but as bugs that need to be exterminated. I kind of like the fact that they have not touched on the fact Nash is Kevin Nash from WCW and superstar of Pro Wrestling as this makes Nash’s violent acts more believable as well as fitting in the world the story has created. Another thing I like about this issue is that it has some bloody moments from an old woman taking a shotgun blast to her guts all the way to Nash blowing up the head of one of his enemies and each kill shows blood and slight gore! The things that don’t work for me as a reader is the fact the story seems very cookie cutter and seems like writers Kevin Nash himself and Marat Mychaels rented a bunch of Post Apocalyptic movies from Blockbuster Video and took elements they liked and mashed them together like potatoes on Thanksgiving. The art done by Marat Mychaels is ok but has that 90’s dated look and is in the style of early Image Comics. Over all this issue was a fun way to kick off the series and makes me wonder how they are going to wrap it up in one more issue? So with that lets see what they have in store for us in issue # 2 and who the man is that shot Nash in the back.

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Nash # 2   **1/2
Released in 1999     Cover Price $2.95     Image Comics     #2 of 2

Nash has a few slugs in his back and it was Trax who shot him and as Nash is about to embrace death his enemy turns on his own men and kills them! Trax tells Nash that he can only die when he allows it and that he himself is trying to gain power and will take down Minister Parch when he is ready. As Trax returns back to the city Nash and the poor come together to become an army and try and fight back against The Citadel and as they are on the move Tara Storm in a warship beams Nash up and informs him that he can end all this fighting and killing if he would just forget about the poor and join them once more and be a warrior for Storm! Nash turns down her offer and once placed back down with the poor people he decides that he needs to have sex with many of the women in the group, only to wake up and find almost all of them dead besides one who is an assassin for Minister Parch and has been hired to kill him! Nash and the female killer fight back and fourth and this leads to the young boy he saved in issue one being killed and Nash in a rage kills the female killer and promises that he is going to bring Minister Parch down once and fore all.

This second issue was suppose to lead to an issue three that never came to the light and left the story of Nash vs. The Citadel unfinished and questions never answered. The story this time around has Nash learning that Trax wants to be a player in ruling this new world as well as finds out that Tara Storm loves him and wants him to rejoin The Citadel and ends the issue having to kill a female killer who has been hired to kill him off in the name of The Minister. Nash in this issue is filled with even more ego and spends more time wanting to bang women than to protect and fight alongside the poor. It’s great as Kevin Nash once more was the co-writer and he in both issues has it that he is scoring with women and even that he has made it with Tara Storm the daughter of the series main bad guy! But while this is laughable bad that he would make himself a ladies man, it also is fitting for Nash and his style of humor. The female assassin is cold blooded and not only kills a few women but also kills a young kid all the while doing these acts in a tank top and panties, silly! Trax as well is cold as ice as he guns down his own men in order to fail on his mission on purpose so that he can use Nash as a tool to upset Minister Parch who he wants to overthrow. One odd thing is that Nash is spoken about as if he is a legend and savior but in both issue people die around him and again he seems more interested in scoring than defending. The art is once more done by Marat Mychaels and looks just like last issue with that pure 90’s Image cheese look. It’s a shame that this series just ended before the full story could have been told as I wonder what Marat Mychaels and Kevin Nash had planned to bring The Citadel down….I am guessing that it just would have had Nash bedding ladies till he finally could power bomb Minister Parch through a table all the while Tara Storm and random women giggled about Nash being a legend in bed. I am sure I am not to far off on my guess, but it really would have been nice for Image and Next Entertainment to have finished the story. This issue as well has some bloody moments and to sum it all up “Mad Nash: Beyond Wasteland Food Shortage Dome” as I have dubbed it was a fun read and took a Pro Wrestler and turned him into a comic book hero. Check out the art below to see the style this comic has to offer, and I would say if you’re a fan of Nash and cheesy end of the world comics you might want to give these two issues a read.

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So while Kevin Nash might not have taken the comic shelves by storm like he did the world of Pro Wrestling, it’s still very cool that he added his touch to series based on wrestlers. But it’s time to leave the wrestling ring and step back into the world of Horror Hosts as out next update is one I am super hyped to bring to you. It will be about The Creeper, who hosted Moraine Playhouse Theater here in Dayton, Ohio via public access in the late 80’s! Until next time make sure to read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and support your local pro wrestling federation! Next update prepare to meet The Creeper as he is a true favorite Horror Host for this monster kid.

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