Justice League of America #259 - Feb. 1987

Professor Ivo continues his revenge on the Justice League!

The Story: "Homecoming!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. We open on the lifeless face of Vibe, after he was murdered by one of Professor Ivo's androids.

The body is found by Manhunter, Vixen, and Steel, who are so enraged that Vixen threatens the life of a bystander who she thinks is involved.

Given the current feeling about superheroes, Steel convinces her to calm down, while Manhunter tells them--Vibe is dead.

He touches the weird mask on Vibe's face, lifts it off, and stares at it for a moment, thinking:

The police arrive, but the heroes pay them no heed, and carry Vibe off.

They don't realize Ivo is watching them, and he moves to phase 2 of his plan--kill Gypsy. He has realized the best revenge is to kill these innocent heroes, make them pay for the crimes of the original League, hurting them in a way that just killing them never could.

But he is conflicted over Gypsy, because even to him, she seems so young and innocent. He consults another android therapist, but gets mad when it agrees with him. He quickly changes course and orders the hit on Gypsy.

Gypsy decides to head home--to her real home--and hitchhikes a ride with a creepy, dead-eyed guy.

Meanwhile, Vixen and Steel want to know who this "Ivo" character is Manhunter keeps muttering about, and he tells them about his and the League's history. He figures out Ivo's sick plan and heads out to search for him.

Meanwhile, Ivo's android reveals himself and attacks Gypsy, who manages to defend herself for a little while. Finally, though, the android delivers the "killing" blow, leaving Ivo racked with guilt.

But all is not what it seems:

The android explains he and his brothers were made from Ivo's brainwaves...his thoughts and feelings. Ivo's doubts about murdering Gypsy simply manifested themselves in this android, who realized it was wrong to kill. He drives Gypsy home, who has a tearful reunion with her parents.

As he watches the scene from outside, a hand grabs his shoulder--a hand belonging to the very mad Martian Manhunter.

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Vixen, Steel, Gypsy

Notable Moments: ...and then there were four.

I'm glad whoever at DC decided who would live and die chose to spare Gypsy. As Ivo said, she was so sweet that killing her would've been so grim it might've been unbearable.

The deck was stacked with Vibe--he was written by several writers as a jerk, so he was first on the chopping block. But Gypsy, thankfully, was spared.

JLA Mail Room editor Greg Weisman hints at the identity of #255's co-writer Michael Ellis, but doesn't say who he is exactly.