Fairmount City has faced plenty of supervillains before. But this may be its first livestreaming supervillain.
After losing her brief burst of social-media stardom, Hailey re-emerges with a new look, a new name, and a dangerous new relationship with engagement metrics. Now she is Countess Influencia — the Validation Vampire — and every heart, like, and notification seems to make her stronger.
Fairmount News Network tries to cover the attack, but even the news crew can’t stop checking her feed. As hearts start streaming from phones across the city — and around the world — it becomes clear that this crime spree is no longer just a local story.
The world has met Countess Influencia.
And she would very much like you to smash that “Like” button.
Transcript
Panel 1
At the Fairmount News Network studio. Someone off panel whispers, “Psst! Ms. Takahaski! You’re on the air!” Hana Takahaski looks up from her smartphone and says, “Oh! Umm… We’ve got breaking news!”
Panel 2
Hana says, “We’re getting live reports of an attack on the downtown area.” A stream of hearts begins floating from her phone.
Panel 3
The scene widens. Hana is still on her phone. The cameraman is also on his phone. Streams of hearts flow from both phones and from other unseen people in the studio. Hana says, “She may be the first supervillain to livestream her own crime spree! Moreover…” Then, distracted by her phone, she says, “Hold on…” Her phone displays the text: “YAS, Queen!”
Panel 4 (inset)
Exterior view of the Fairmount News Network building. Several streams of hearts flow outward from inside the building and from the street below. Hana says, “Moreover, while Fairmount City is her current target, she has already taken the whole WORLD by storm!”
Panel 5
Hailey, now transformed into Countess Influencia, floats above the city as streams of hearts flow directly into her body. She says, “Look upon Countess Influencia and despair!” Then, in smaller type: “And don’t forget to smash that ‘Like’ button and subscribe!”
Alt text
A five-panel Evil Inc comic introduces Hailey’s new supervillain persona, Countess Influencia. At Fairmount News Network, anchor Hana Takahaski is caught looking at her phone just as she goes on the air with breaking news about an attack downtown. As she reports, red heart icons begin floating from her phone. The scene widens to show the cameraman and others in the studio also absorbed by their phones, with streams of hearts flowing upward. Hana reports that the villain may be the first supervillain to livestream her own crime spree, then gets distracted by a message reading, “YAS, Queen!” Outside the Fairmount News Network building, heart streams pour from the building and the street below. In the final panel, Hailey floats above the city in her new vampire-inspired outfit as Countess Influencia. Streams of hearts flow into her body as she declares, “Look upon Countess Influencia and despair!” She adds, “And don’t forget to smash that ‘Like’ button and subscribe!”
52 Steps: Week FourteenI don’t know how I missed it for thirteen weeks, but
Comic Book Resources has an excellent series of columns on DC’s “52.”
Written, by Justin Eger, it’s a weekly recap of the latest issue, complete with comment and perspective from a very astute reader of comics even a “Panel of the Week.”
From the latest update:
The Metal Men have had a load of continuity and ret-cons because despite their less than stellar success, they are an inexplicable favorite with DC’s writers… ah, who am I kidding, everyone loves them. Just for not very long. They’re kind of a one trick pony. They started out as a scheduling mistake. In 1962, The Atom was appearing in “Showcase.” He was given his own book and there was nothing planned for issue #37 of “Showcase.” “Showcase” was just that, a showcase for new ideas to see if they could carry a book. So, Robert Kanigher knuckled down and scripted the first Metal Men story over a weekend. Ross Andru and Mike Esposito handled the art and they killed off the team in the first story because they figured there would never be a second. Someone up the chain thought they had a chance and asked for three more issues. Issue #38 showed Doc Magnus scavenging for the robots’ parts (especially the responsometers that gave them personalities). Basically the Metal Men died at the end of each issue to be resurrected in the next – this went on for years.
