Blue Devil Stops Ram-Page

Chapel Hill, NC - Blue Devil, former Justice Leaguer and now a member of the recently-formed Sentinels of Magic, just defeated a monstrous being he described as an enemy he was "destined to fight since the beginning of time." He later elaborated that while the part of him that is still the stuntman Daniel Cassidy was only born twenty-eight years ago, the demonic nature instilled in him arising from his increased involvement in magic over the years has been at war with this enemy entity much longer.

The entity in question is Tar Heel, described by Sentinels spokeswoman Zatanna as the personification of the astrological power contained within the constellation Aries. This giant, anthropomorphic ram-being was apparently summoned by a the sorcerer Felix Faust, apparently recovered from his run-in with the Justice League last year when he attempted immortality and ended up awakening a sorcerer who threatened to destroy the world.

"There are a number of magical triangles of power in this world," explained Zatanna. "The Bermuda Triangle you've no doubt heard of. Well, apparently the Research Triangle here in North Carolina is specially conducive to magical energy as well, which is why Faust called down Tar Heel here."

While Blue Devil dealt with Tar Heel, it was the other Sentinels of Magic who defeated Felix Faust. The villain's own son, a former member of the Outsiders, was instrumental in that effort, as was the former Gotham vigilante called Ragman. Tapes of the battle also caught several bystanders helping the heroes, although in later interviews, they were all too modest to claim any memory of their heroic actions.

Blue Devil himself was less modest. "Tar Heel was a major opponent," he said, "talk about an ancient rivalry. Boy, you don't know rivalries unless you've been involved in demonic rivalries. I mean, this is bigger than Obi-Wan Kenobi versus Darth Vader, or James Bond versus Bloefeld."

"Aries considers itself the foremost of the constellations, whereas the demon within me considers itself to be worthy of the sky, hence its blue color. From what Xanadu [Madame Xanadu, a New York fortuneteller and less-active member of the Sentinels] told me, the two had several epic battles for a place in the sky back at the dawn of creation."

"But today, he had me on the ropes. If I didn't have my magical trident, there's no way I could have gotten in that three-point shot that beat him in the end."

The trident itself is a bit mysterious. It has alternately been identified as a mechanical construct imbued with magical energy in one of Blue Devil's earliest battles on Ile Du Diable, a simple machine, Satan's own pitchfork, or an extension of his own mystic power. However, it is known to respond to Blue Devil's commands and certainly delivered the decisive three-pointer that the hero described, returning Tar Heel to its place in the sky.

Felix Faust has been delivered into Justice League custody. The Sentinels report that they can find no evidence that he has released any other astrological powers, nor has he re-released the three demons that launched his career as a modern super-vilain. Zatanna has pointed out, though, that Faust has lived several thousand years and has been playing with demons for most of them.

Opal City Under Alien Attack

Opal City - For the first time in weeks, there has been report of what has been occurring in Opal City under its dome of darkness. The news does not appear to be good.

Preliminary reports say that the darkness was an advance attack on behalf of an alien civilization. Shortly after the dark dome disintegrated, several farmers in Turk County reported seeing a bright beam pierce the sky, followed by hundreds of soldiers using jet packs descending on the city.

It is not yet clear what the reason for this alien attack would be. In the past, most alien attacks have centered around Metropolis, or have been clearly world-wide in scope. It has been suggested that perhaps Ted Knight, who has stated that his enforced retirement from super-heroic activities was in order to further develop his scientific achievements, has created something that could be of interplanetary interest.

Other guesses center around the possibility that Jack Knight, the current Starman who was known to be in space for several months, had deeply offended some powerful alien. While the Justice League claims to maintain a cordial relationship with him, several super-heroes have confided that he comes off as pretentious and describe his need to sprinkle his conversations with trivial facts as annoying at best.

It should be stressed that these reports are only preliminary. It has been impossible to get into Opal City since the dome of darkness went up, and transportation to the area has therefore been difficult. However, much of what these reports say about the events in Opal City match what has occurred during other alien attacks on Earth. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that even the criminal element in Opal City (which witneses are reporting as larger than once believed) is battling against the aliens, similar to what happened during the Dominator-led invasion of Earth.

Miracle Mom

New York, NY - Terri Rothstein, mother of Justice Society member Atom-Smasher, said yesterday that she was originally supposed to be on the plane that was destroyed by the terrorist Kobra.

"It's a miracle that I wasn't on that plane," she said, "an act of a new God." It is unclear exactly what she meant by that odd phrasing.

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