Comicbook World #43: Giant Fireball Lights Up Midwestern Sky

Is it ever good news when a giant fireball appears in the sky? Even when you can rule out missile attacks and nuclear bombs, there aren't too many explanations that feel good for those who are looking up at a giant sonic-boom-generating ball of light.  Well, in comics it sometimes results in spontaneous super-powers, but even that isn't universally a good thing...


The first such comicbook fireball that comes to mind is the superpower-granting ball of light from Rising Stars, the comics-writing debut of J. Michael Straczynski.A similar story jump-off was behind Marvel's short lived New Universe titles in the eighties (and the even shorter-lived Warren Ellis-penned revamp series New Universal). But don't go trying to outrun any speeding bullets... each event only caused a very limited number of super-powered mutations, and it's more likely that something bad would come smashing through the ionosphere... but maybe I'm just pessimistic.

As it turns out, it was probably just a meteor... according to MeteorShowersOnline.com (is the internet not awesome?) the Earth passes through a meteor orbit causing a meteor shower called the Gamma Virginids during the period of April 5 to 21 every year. Which is not to say it still couldn't give you super-powers, but don't quit your day job as mall security juuust yet...
feel free to read the CNN post about the fireball here.
read more Comicbook World posts here.
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2 comments:

  1. Arkonbey6:54 AM CDT

    That would be freaky (and awesome in retrospect).

    I remember driving back to Vermont with my wife one night and we saw a massive green fireball dropping down on what was probably northern Canada.

    It was so big we actually held hands just in case it was a Dinosaur Killer.

    Then, we felt a bit silly, but it was really big and really green.

    Also, it's a same about Meteor Man (shaking head). But, it's always fun to see James Earl Jones get all 'hip'.

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  2. Samax7:59 AM CDT

    your reaction to the meteor (or whatever it was) is probably the same one I would have...

    I have nothing at all to say about meteor man... LOL!

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