Fallen Angel #1
Darkness Falls
by Peter David, David Lopez and Fernando Blanco

 Notes and Annotations

by Jackie Williams

If you have an suggestions or updates, feel free to e-mail me.

Updated January 4, 2004. Updates in blue.

Page 1

Panel 4

The bartender mentions that they are in Bete Noire. Bete Noire is French and translates to Black Beast in English. Webster’s Universal College Dictionary defines bete noire as “a person or thing especially disliked or dreaded; bane;bugbear.”

Page 4

Panel 1

Before the sniper can take his shot, his target does something to make the rifle’s scope explode in his face. This could be an example of telekines.

Page 5

Panel 1

Here we learn the gentleman communicating with the sniper is Doctor Juris. This is obviously a play on Juris Doctor or J.D. Those who aspire to be an attorney must earn their Juris Doctor before they can take the bar exam.

Page 6

Panels 1 and 2

These panels are the main source of the widely held theory that the bartender, Dolf, is Adolph Hitler. First, the name Dolf is a shortened form of the given name Adolph. Second, the name of the bar he works in, Furors, sounds very similar to Der Fuhrer, a title held by Hitler. Third, Dolf answers a question in German, saying nein to reply in the negative. Lastly, he says that he has previously “been a painter, a writer [and] dabbled in politics.” Before his political career, Hitler was a painter. He is the author of Mein Kampf and was the political and military leader of Germany before and during World War II.

Page 7

Panel 2 and 3

Our heroine is referred to as both Lee and as Fallen Angel. Both of these names support the theory that she is Linda Danvers, a former Supergirl. In the last Supergirl series, the hometown of Linda Danvers was Leesburg and she was in fact an Earth angel.

Page 8

Panel 3

Lee states that “there’s no police force here” as the man we saw dressed as an officer on Page 2 enters the room.

Panel 4

The nice hat Benny is wearing previously belonged to the elderly gentleman on page 2, panels 3 and 4.

Page 11

Panel 1

Doctor Juris not only has a name associated with the legal profession, but is also a magistrate. Magistrates generally have some sort of judicial and administrative power within a municipality.

Page 13

Panel 1

Black Mariah was an enemy of the Marvel Comic’s characters Power Man and Iron Fist. Black Mariah is also slang for the paddy wagon used to haul those accused of crimes to jail. I am not sure how either of these apply to the character they are referring to.

Page 14

Panel 5

Peter David’s notorious sense of humor could be at play here. The name of local pimp is Bumper Ruggs which I think is a play on words meaning Bump Her Rugs.

Peter David was nice enough to comment on the annotations and had this to say about the origin of Bumper Ruggs, "Close, not quite. The name derives from the British slang "Bumping rugs," referring to lesbian sex."

Thanks: Peter David, Gayle Gamble