Panel 2: So, all three of these bad guys’ “supranyms” come from an ever-expanding master list of roughly a thousand or so possible “cape names,” mostly of a goofy or punny nature. 

Baby Bird, in particular, is a reference to a legendary but genuinely grotesque, gut-wrenching, Jackass-like stunt that took place during a Christmas-time eggnog-swilling contest on the old Opie and Anthony radio show.  At one point, the always-game “Pat from Moonachie” projectile vomited eggnog back into the mouth of another contestant, along the lines of a mother bird feeding a chick—hence the “Baby Bird” monicker for the stunt. I’ve dug up a video of the incident, but WATCH AT YOUR OWN PERIL, folks, as seeing the “Baby Bird” performed is even more nauseating than I ever imagined from just hearing it on the radio. BEWARE!

On the other hand, a truly horrific incident (or two) is approaching in Empowered vol. 4, albeit of a less Jackass-y nature, so perhaps that grotesque video might help steel your stomach for what’s looming. (Okay, probably not.) 

Panel 4: What “heavy hitter” might Katastrophe be addressing? Find out next time, folks!

-Adam Warren