Oblivion Bar

The Oblivion Bar
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Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Day of Vengeance #1 (June 2005)
Created by	Bill Willingham (writer) Justiniano (artist)
In story information
Type	Perpendicular universe
Notable people	Magical beings Shadowpact Detective Chimp
Notable races	All magical

The Oblivion Bar is a fictional location that appears in titles published by DC Comics. It first appeared in the DC Comics series Day of Vengeance #1 (June 2005), and was created by Bill Willingham and Justiniano.

The Oblivion Bar serves as the headquarters for the magical super-team Shadowpact.

Publication history

The Oblivion Bar was first presented in Day of Vengeance #1 (June 2005). Created by writer Bill Willingham and artist Justiniano, it was expanded upon by writer Matthew Sturges who took over writing the series from issue #17 (November 2007). Both featured the bar as an integral part of the Shadowpact comics title which ran for 25 issues from July 2006 through July 2008.

All other appearances, such as in Superman/Batman #46 (April 2008) and Checkmate vol. 2, #9 (February 2007) have all been closely linked with members of Shadowpact's appearances in those titles, including a Christmas tale, "Christmas Spirits", in DCU Infinite Holiday Special (February 2007) featuring a Santa character, "Chris", and a reindeer in a humorous vignette.

Fictional location history

The Oblivion Bar is "a place where all the magic types... can hang out and unwind without being bothered by the normals, or even the non-magical super crowd."^[1] It is "located in a tiny pocket dimension created by the overlap in a number of different universes,"^[2][3] and has entrances in many places, including Atlanta, Georgia;^[4] New York; Gotham;^[5] Metropolis; and New Orleans.^[1] The Detroit entrance is in the back of a strip club.^[6] Kid Devil has also used an entrance behind a Chinese restaurant in an un-named city. These entrances are only visible to those with magic powers. Non-magical beings can only reach the Oblivion Bar by invitation — either by entering with someone magical or by carrying a book of matches with the "Oblivion" logo as a token of invitation and striking one. The doors drift from place to place over time,^[7] although they can be tracked and remain recognisable through magic.

It is not known how long the bar has existed. Detective Chimp (now a recovering alcoholic) has been living there for over 30 years. Jim Rook (Nightmaster) owned the bar from 2000–2007, but was not its first owner.^[8] Rook found an entrance to the bar at the back of his shop, "The Oblivion Bookstore", which turns out to be in some of the bar's back rooms in the pocket universe it exists in.^[9][10] Whomer Boz was the landlord at that time, and he gave Rook a job as relief bartender. Jim then took over the bar when Whomer failed to return from one of his trips to another dimension (it transpires he was receiving treatment for a degenerative disease),^[9] and employed Blue Devil as the Oblivion Bar bouncer.

Nightmaster and the Shadowpact team (including Blue Devil) disappear inside a blood bubble surrounding the town of Riverrock, Wyoming, and are presumed dead.^[11] On their return a year later,^[7] Nightmaster finds the bar open and being run by a telekinetic, Eddie "Flippy" Deacon. Deacon, who has flippers instead of hands and feet, was sold by his drug-addicted mother to a freak show when young, and later rescued by Batman from living rough after the carnival folded.^[12] He then learned telekinesis, making him the perfect barman — he can "mix 23 cocktails at once while doing the laundry."^[13] Eddie does not need a bouncer; he telepathically squeezes the throat of anyone causing trouble until they stop, as he demonstrates to the angel Zauriel and Blue Devil when they scrap in the bar.^[14] He also refuses to return the bar to Jim Rook, citing that as the bar is in its own dimension, Earth laws on possession do not apply.

Before Eddie's time, there had been no trouble in the Oblivion Bar despite the disparate and motley crew of demons, monsters, magicians, and fairies that haunt it. It is rumoured that what happened to the last person to cause trouble in the Bar gave it its name. However, the bar is forced to close for a while when it is trashed by Eclipso and Mary Marvel,^[15] although Shadowpact continue to use it as their base.

Nightmaster eventually deeds the bar to Detective Chimp when he decides to stay in the Nightshade Dimension,^[16] and Eddie is demoted to barman — as you do not argue with a chimp.

The Oblivion Bar is proud to be "the only known universe with its own happy hour" and has "internets access."^[17] Even the phone works — though Eddie did not know it, it is powered by a magic stone from Gemworld and as long as you have the dimensional dialling code, you can dial anywhere. The bar also features a unique coatrack — Etrigan the Demon, who was turned to stone after Eli Stone, the Midnight Rider, shot him with his ghost guns when Etrigan invaded the bar looking for Blue Devil. He is likely to be there for some time, as the effect only wears off in daylight, which does not occur in the pocket dimension.^[18] It also once contained a unique form of Kryptonite — Silver Kryptonite, in a box on the wall of the bar.^[19]

Customers at the Oblivion Bar

The following is an incomplete list of named customers (other than Shadowpact members) who have appeared in various Oblivion Bar scenes.

• Acheron - Shadowpact #10 - A ghost creature
• Amethyst - Superman #663
• Animal Man - Day of Vengeance #1
• Arion - Day of Vengeance #1
• Batman - Superman/Batman #46 - Invited by Detective Chimp
• Andrew Bennett (I, Vampire) - Day of Vengeance #1
• Black Alice - Shadowpact #5
• Black Bison - Day of Vengeance #1
• Black Orchid - Day of Vengeance #1
• Blackbriar Thorn - Day of Vengeance #1
• Bloodwynd - Superman/Batman #46
• Jason Blood - Day of Vengeance #1
• Bork - Day of Vengeance #1; Superman #663
• Captain Marvel - Shadowpact #5
• Cicada - Day of Vengeance #1
• Claw the Unconquered - Day of Vengeance #1
• The Creeper - Superman/Batman #46
• Darkseid - Day of Vengeance #1
• Deadman - Day of Vengeance #1 and others
• Doctor Occult - Day of Vengeance #1
• Doctor Fate - Shadowpact #12
• Eclipso
• El Muerto - Day of Vengeance #1
• Etrigan the Demon - Day of Vengeance #1 - Not a guest; crashed in to attack Blue Demon and was turned into a coatrack
• Freedom Beast - Day of Vengeance #1
• Ghost Patrol - Day of Vengeance #1; Superman #663
• Guy Gardner - Day of Vengeance #1
• Kid Devil - Teen Titans vol. 3, #42 - Refused a drink and ejected because he is under 21
• Bill Knightley (fake Arion) - Day of Vengeance #1; Superman #663 - After leaving the bar, he is mugged outside while drunk by the real Arion
• Jennifer Morgan - Day of Vengeance #1
• Mister Miracle - Shadowpact #12
• The Phantom Stranger - Day of Vengeance #1 and others - First as a mouse who had been living in Detective Chimp's pocket until he could work out how to change back, then in human form
• Timothy Raven
• Rex the Wonder Dog - Shadowpact #5
• Sargon the Sorceror - Day of Vengeance #1
• The Shade - Day of Vengeance #1
• Eli Stone (Midnight Rider) - Shadowpact #10
• Superman - Superman/Batman #46 - Invited by Detective Chimp
• Traci Thirteen - Day of Vengeance #1; Superman #663
• Valda the Iron Maiden - Day of Vengeance #1
• Vixen - Day of Vengeance #1
• Witchfire - Superman #663
• Zauriel - Day of Vengeance #1 - Later seconded to Shadowpact
• Zatanna

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "One Last Drink at the End of Time" in Day of Vengeance #1 (June 2005)
2. ^ "The Particle Theory of Darkness" in Day of Vengeance #5 (October 2005)
3. ^ Called a "52nd dimension" in "Devil May Care" in Teen Titans vol. 3, #42 (September 2007)
4. ^ "The Big Picture" in Superman #663 (July 2007)
5. ^ The Gotham entrance is in a bar called Oblivion with a big neon sign outside of it — as seen in "K-Varietals" in Superman/Batman #46 (April 2008)
6. ^ "Pawn 502, Part 2" in Checkmate vol. 2, #9 (February 2007)
7. ^ ^{a b} "One Year Later" in Shadowpact #5 (November 2006)
8. ^ Detective Chimp says in Day of Vengeance #5 that he has not left the bar since before the two owners before Jim.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword" in Shadowpact #12 (June 2007)
10. ^ The bookshop itself is a magical gateway to another dimension, as it was previously as "Oblivion Inc." — as seen in various Nightmaster stories since his origin in Showcase #82 (March 1969)
11. ^ Shadowpact #1-4 (July–October 2006)
12. ^ "A Vow From the Grave" in Detective Comics #410 (April 1971)
13. ^ "The Wild Hunt" in Shadowpact #6 (December 2006)
14. ^ "Quitter" in Shadowpact #14 (August 2007)
15. ^ Countdown #27 (October 24, 2007)
16. ^ "The Burning Age" in Shadowpact #23 (May 2008)
17. ^ "A Virus of the Mind" in Shadowpact #21 (March 2008)
18. ^ "The Lucifer Trident" in Shadowpact #11 (May 2007)
19. ^ A post-Crisis version of Silver Kryptonite — as seen in "K-Varietals" in Superman/Batman #46 (April 2008)