The Outsiders #21
Outsiders #21 is the debut issue of Sondra Fuller, who enters DC's rogue gallery as Lady Clay — the fourth Clayface and the first woman to carry that name — a distinction that would grow in narrative weight when she became a central figure in Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle's 'Mud Pack' storyline two years later in Detective Comics #604–607. The issue also introduces Strike Force Kobra as a unit, a team of new villains Kobra engineered by studying Batman's older, more obscure adversaries — a clever meta-conceit that writer Mike W. Barr used to breathe fresh life into the Outsiders' rogues gallery during the waning months of their solo series. Both debuts, confirmed by multiple sources, make this a single issue with a direct line to some of the more interesting Clayface lore that followed in the late Bronze/early Copper Age.
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By July 1987 the Outsiders' solo book — launched in November 1985 after Batman departed in Batman and the Outsiders #32 — was approaching its final arc before cancellation with #28. Writer Mike W. Barr, who had shepherded the team since their 1983 debut in The Brave and the Bold #200, scripted both stories in this issue: the main 'Strike Force Kobra' chapter with pencils and cover by series stalwart Jim Aparo, and a Markovia-set backup drawn by veteran Superman artist Curt Swan (inked by Al Vey) that functioned as a direct lead-in to the concurrent Outsiders Special #1. The use of Swan on the backup is a small editorial curiosity — his clean, Silver Age line style is an unusual fit for the grittier Outsiders aesthetic, though no production explanation has surfaced in available sources.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: July 1987; on-sale date: May 1987 (DC Universe Infinite / GCD data).
- Main story: 'Strike Force Kobra' Part 1 of 2, script by Mike W. Barr, art by Jim Aparo; continued in Outsiders #22.
- First appearance of Lady Clay (Sondra Fuller), the fourth Clayface and the first woman to hold that identity, created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo.
- First appearance of Strike Force Kobra as a team — Kobra-engineered villains whose powers were modeled on obscure Silver Age Batman foes, including Elemental Woman and Planet Master (also first appearances).
- Lady Clay's infiltration plot hinged on impersonating the Outsider Looker, whose powers she could only partially replicate — a flaw that allowed Batman to expose the deception.
- Backup story: 'Meanwhile, Back in Markovia…' — script by Mike W. Barr, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Al Vey — served as a narrative bridge and lead-in to Outsiders Special #1 (1987).
- Cover pencils and inks credited to Jim Aparo, with Dick Giordano as additional cover contributor per DC Database credits.
- Lady Clay's debut here directly seeded her role in the 'Mud Pack' arc (Detective Comics #604–607, 1989 by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle), cementing this issue's long-term importance to Clayface mythology.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Batman Arkham: Clayface #[nn] (2017)
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