I'm trying. I'm really trying but I just can't get through the days anymore. There doesn't seem to be any point to anything. I can't stand it. I can't take it anymore.
- -- Buddy Baker
Appearing in "The Last Enemy"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Roger Denning
- Tricia Denning
- Skipper the dog
- T. C. the cat
- Morris Weidemeir
- Violet Weidemeir
Antagonists:
- Mr. Brumley
- Bug-Man (First appearance)
- Mr. Elson
- Lennox
- Mr. Shaver
Other Characters:
- Cliff Baker (Flashback only)
- Ellen Baker (Flashback only)
- Maxine Baker (Flashback only)
- Booster Gold (Cameo)
- Cave Carson (Cameo)
- Freedom Beast (Cameo)
- Dr. Roger Huntoon
- Justice League Europe (Mentioned only)
- Martian Manhunter
- Mike Maxwell (Cameo)
- Metamorpho (Cameo)
- Mirror Master (Phone call only)
- The Presence (Mentioned only)
- Psycho-Pirate
- Vixen (Cameo)
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "The Last Enemy"
Buddy Baker briefly hallucinates his wife Ellen, before waking up to the sight of his friend Roger Denning. It takes a moment for Buddy to remember and acknowledge that Ellen and his two children, Cliff and Maxine, are all dead.
The Dennings and Buddy's neighbours the Weidermeirs take turns taking care of him while he deals with his emotions. Buddy refuses to eat, and Roger worries that something will have to be done about a funeral soon.
Meanwhile, the man who killed Buddy's family, Mr. Lennox, visits his employers. Mr. Lennox worries about retaliation from Buddy, but his employers reveal that they have a secret weapon - a robotic armour with significant power that they call Bug-Man.
At Arkham Asylum, Psycho-Pirate causes concern for his doctors with a strange warning, and quotes from Babylonian myth.
Buddy's family's funeral is attended by members of the Justice League Europe, who futilely offer condolences and support to Buddy. Buddy is devastated, however. He confides in Martian Manhunter that he had planned to quit the League.
Later, the murder investigators search Buddy's house, proposing that the murderer entered by hacking the JLE transporter tube in his cellar. Unable to deal with the stress, Buddy contemplates suicide.Staring into his mirror, Buddy becomes frustrated, and smashes the glass with his forehead. As he prepares to down a fatal dose of pills, the phone rings, and when he answers, a voice offers to give him some names he might be interested in hearing.
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Animal Man: Deus Ex Machina and Animal Man Omnibus.
Trivia
- The title comes from 1 Corinthians 15:26.
- The speech quoted by Psycho-Pirate is from the Babylonian myth of Ishtar, who shouted it at the gatekeepers of the underworld.
See Also
- Write your own review of this comic!
- Discuss Animal Man Vol 1 20 on the forums
- Cover gallery for the Animal Man series
