Solomon Grundy Vol 1 1

"Born On a Monday": The Phantom Stranger appears near an erupting volcano, and recounts how he's lived for so long and seen many strange things. He begins observing one such strange occurrence right now.

"Born On a Monday"
Solomon Grundy Vol 1 #1
May, 2009
Executive Editor	Dan DiDio
Cover Artists	Scott Kolins
Born On a Monday
Writers	Scott Kolins
Pencilers	Scott Kolins
Inkers	Scott Kolins
Letterers	Sal Cipriano
Editors	Adam Schlagman
Next Issue	Solomon Grundy # 2

Rrr -- Grundy no stop! Grundy smash!

— Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy #1 is an issue of the series Solomon Grundy (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2009.

Synopsis for "Born On a Monday"

The Phantom Stranger appears near an erupting volcano, and recounts how he's lived for so long and seen many strange things. He begins observing one such strange occurrence right now.

Aztar confronts a demon on top of the erupting volcano. He tries to stop the demon, who tells him to leave, and that he doesn't belong there. Azar pleads with him not do this, and tells him that all can be forgiven. However, he's stopped short when the volcano erupts again, blowing up and knocking Aztar backward. The demon picks up Aztar's burnt body, and says goodbye, calling Aztar 'brother', before the volcano explodes, seemingly killing them both. The demon's headless body stumbles qaound, before finally slumping over, dead, and his blood seeps into the ground.

Time passes, and the area that once housed the volcano is now known as Slaughter Swamp, the birthplace of the zombie known as Solomon Grundy.

Sunday. A man kneels by the grave of his dead wife, and places his wedding ring in front of it. A man runs by, bowling the man over and knocking his head against the grave stone, killing him. A voice calls after the man who knocked the other man over, calling him Cyrus. Cyrus begins hearing voices in his head, and continues down the hill in the grave yard. He trips, and falls into an open grave, which makes him remember when he was a boy, and his father buried him alive. Green chains wrap around his arms, and he is hoisted out of the grave by Green Lantern and the Phantom Stranger, who tells the impetuous Lantern that, even though Cyrus just killed the man in the grave yard, and even though he has countless other lives to answer for, no amount of pain or damage can equal that. He claims that this is their only chance to end Solomon Grundy one and for all, and that only Cyrus can do it. Stranger tells Cyrus that he has seven days to find the weapon that killed him, and find and forgive his murderer, and his soul will be saved, and his curse as Solomon Grundy will end. He must do this before the approaching Blackest Night, or else his soul will be lost forever. The Stranger leaves to see who's interfering with their endeavors, and Green Lantern flies away with Cyrus.

They fly over Gotham Harbor, and Cyrus remembers when his father died there.

The year is 1867. A twelve year-old Cyrus Gold hides behind some crates on one of the docks, and watches his father's boss smack his father around. Cyrus' dad finally hands over the gold that he has, and the man beats him some more, before finally breaking his neck, and tossing him into the water.

The two arrive at Slaughter Swamp, much to Cyrus' dismay, and Lantern asks if he was killed there. Cyrus confirms this, remembering that he was killed with a knife, and Lantern goes under the swamp water to look for it. Cyrus hears an evil voice talking about how he should be dead, but he can't find the source. Green Lantern comes out of the water, but starts feeling very cold, and passes out. Two crocodiles emerge from further into the swamp, and rip Cyrus apart, leaving him to die in the swamp waters. That night, when the full moon rises, Cyrus' body parts turn a pale white, becoming more muscular, and they begin reattaching to the other limbs, finally reforming the body into the zombie, Solomon Grundy.

Grundy hears a voice from behind, stating that they know of transformations. He turns and begins getting punched and clawed by hands that appear to be on fire. His attacker screams that the deal he made was eternal, and that it can't be broken. The evil, flaming face stares back at him, and claims that he's been sent there to spoil Solomon's plan, and stop him from saving his soul. Grundy concludes that he doesn't like this person, and attacks them. The creature fights back, introducing himself as the Demon Etrigan. Grundy screams that he'll kill the demon, and he punches Etrigan back through the trees. Cyrus' thoughts echo inside Grundy's head, stating that he doesn't want to fight a demon, and he tries to get Grundy to stop fighting. Grundy uproots a tree, and smashes it down on top of Etrigan, who is delighted by a good fight. Etrigan leaps into the air, grabbing Solomon, and the two sail out of the swamp and crash into a nearby bridge. Ignoring the innocents on the bridge, Grundy bats some of the concrete from the street at Etrigan, who blasts it out of the air. The demon opens his mouth, and engulfs Grundy in hellfire. Etrigan begins using more and more fire, and Grundy continues attacking while burning, and the force of Etrigan's attack finally results in a massive explosion, splitting the bridge in half, and sending cars into the water below.

Elsewhere, a LexCorp truck drives by Gotham City, and breaks down. The two drivers get it working, eager to get out of the city as quickly as possible due to the large number of villains that frequent the area. They hear a creak from inside the back of their truck, but thankfully the computer says that their 'cargo' is still asleep. Inside their truck, Bizarro sleeps soundly inside a containment unit.

Appearing in "Born On a Monday"

Featured Characters:

• Solomon Grundy (Cyrus Gold) (Flashback and main story)

Supporting Characters:

• Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
• Phantom Stranger (Flashback and main story)

Villains:

• Template:Apn

Other Characters:

• Aztar (Flashback only)
• Bizarro (Cameo)
• Unnamed demon (Flashback only)
• L.M. Dawson (Behind the scenes)
• Two LexCorp employees

Locations:

• Gotham County (1867)

• Gotham City
• Slaughter Swamp

Items:

• Green Lantern Ring

Vehicles:

• 
  
  

Notes

• Solomon Grundy appeared last in Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy #1.

See Also

• Cover gallery for the Solomon Grundy series
• Images from Solomon Grundy Vol 1 1