Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for October 13, 2013

Not exactly Mysta, not exactly notOne thing is for certain, the lady is red hot.Infused with Mysta’s memories, horns grafted to her headReprogramed personality, new life for one once dead.A breakthrough in genetics, transformation still ongoingGhote’s word the only tale there is for what we think we’re knowing.A Chimera is a rarity, ‘tis neither this nor thatEven her manipulators not sure what they begat.Aunt Mysta to young Honeymoon, so much like her motherSuperimposed Lunar DNA, hard to tell one from the other.One of a kind, she walks the earth, adding chapters to her storyShe’s su generis, exceptional, radiating unique glory.

Little Orphan Annie?

AND…???

A chimera?!

I.did.not.expect.this. Seriously, I’m blown away.

A Chimera?

After all this, we find out this Moon Maid is a synthetic being rather than a clone?

Freaky.

Definition of Chimera:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)

Who is she??

A chimera or chimaera is a single organism (usually an animal) that is composed of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from different zygotes involved in sexual reproduction. If the different cells have emerged from the same zygote, the organism is called a mosaic. Chimeras are formed from at least four parent cells (two fertilized eggs or early embryos fused together). Each population of cells keeps its own character and the resulting organism is a mixture of tissues. Chimeras are typically seen in animals; there are some reports of human chimerism.1

I expect another long explanation before we know her true identity.

When asked if Moon Maid were a clone, I read recently posted here that Mike (the writer’s) response: “It’s worse than that”This is.

Can’t wait to see who she is!

True identity? Huh?

No matter what, though, this has been a fantastic story. A wild roller coaster of a ride for more than a year.

Yeah, this explanation is going to take a few days, though we already know a lot. The only thing I never thought about was the ray-blasters in her gloves, but it also says they were surgically implanted, which has me a little confused. I guess the true identity of the subject is next.

I knew she wasn’t the real thing, although I don’t understand what she actually IS

Also, how did these guys obtain MM’s DNA from the accident scene? They were working at the morgue perhaps? one way or the other, I wouldn’t think there had been much left of her, to begin with.

Actually, nearly everyone is a chimera to a tiny degree. During a normal birth, maternal stem cells migrate to the baby, and pitch in where needed. They have been observed forming missing heart valves, for instance. An adult typically has about 50000 maternal cells still living (compared to trillions of cells total).

Siamese twins sometimes result in one twin being absorbed into the other during gestation. This has led to severe injustices as law enforcement assumes only one set of DNA per person.

For instance, a mother applied for welfare, the routine DNA test determined the kid was not hers – despite the sworn eyewitness testimony of both the father and the obstetrician – and they took her child away. It took 4 years of pro bono help from lawyers and geneticists to get back. Half her body, including her ovaries, came from her twin sister. So, in a real sense, her children were her sisters.

An athlete was disqualified for blood doping, and his trophy rescinded. Eventually, it was shown that his blood DNA did not match other parts of his body. It was from his twin brother. (Too late for the trophy, however.)

Good morning everyone…

Is this the beginning of the end for MM/Mysta,,, or the end of the beginning…

Team Tracy, you’ve blown us all away with this story arc.I’m sure that Chester Gould is more than pleased and proud of the work you’ve done thus far.We look forward to bigger and better adventures in the future. And we know you won’t disappoint us!Thank you once again!

Now, can we please get back to Police work?

So bottom line; Moon Maid remains dead….a colossal disappoint to Honeymoon, Junior, and most of our readers…what was the point of this anyways, then? I’ll look for Abner’s smiling face as a sign to began reading again.

Ghote and Sail sound like evil men well dispatched to their fate….but now I wonder again if maybe Diet Smith either knew or suspected Sail and/or Ghote were on the Space Coupe when he locked in the course for a trip to oblivion.

I keep re-reading this and doing research into Chimera’s and I don’t want to sound too critical (for I’ve very much enjoyed this strip) but this is just not adding up to me. So, they basically took some fully grown female, infused Lunarian DNA (got that part) but yet somehow this fully grown human had Lunarian EYES with white pupils?The horns…so what exactly were the horns? Plastic? With round-tipped solar cells? And they ran wires from the horns to gloves to power ray blasters??? From solar power?Anyone else having a hard time digesting all of this?

Kudos to Willy007, who so far is right on the money!!!! Chapeau!!!

Also, my respects to Mike Curtis. He managed to give us Moon Maid, without having to treat her death as a comic book one.

I guess this carefully qualified explanation by Diet Smith will not satisfy some at all; others will be partially satisfied; a few may even be completely satisfied.Diet tells that he is relying on the only account that he (or anyone, as far as he knows) has, namely, what Ghote told him. That means there is always the possibility that some or all of it may be shown to be untrue at some time in the future.Alleged fact 1: the original Moon Maid remains well and truly dead.The (so far, fictional) Science we are asked to believe is that “Moon Maid” is a new and advanced (and apparently unique) kind of chimera, with real Lunarian DNA but fake Lunarian powers and a reprogrammed brain with a version of Moon Maid’s personality.It is not yet clear whether or not Diet Smith knows (i.e., was told by Ghote) who the experimental subject was, upon whom all these changes were made. We will probably get a little more exposition, but other than the test subject’s true identity, if he in fact knows it, Diet Smith has pretty much told us all he is likely to reveal. I’m still not sure whether he did or did not know Sail and Ghote were aboard the Space Coupe when he sent it off (I do believe he purposely launched it into space).

One of my early guesses wasn’t that far off after all. On sept. 22 I mentioned my brainwashed\surgeried person theory wasn’t looking as good…but I guess it is after all.

Night-Gaunt49’s reply to 9ChickLuannbean

“I completely disagree. Hack work this is not. Not even close. I see them closing a wound made many years ago by hack work writers who cut off something they did not like and did it brutally.”

You’re right, NG49. The wound is now closed. Requiescat in pace, Mysta!

GOT IT! Based on the way Mysta swung that sledgehammer and took out that tombstone, her secret identity is TOAD SPENCER! Kid grew up to be quite a looker, ’eh? A real “home run” to be sure!

meh

I guess I will have to wait for Monday to know who she originally was before the transformation. This was a surprise! You know what my first question will be when i get to Comic Con today! LOL

No, I doubt that it’s Little Orphan Annie. The Syndicate has indicated that it still has a lot of market potential with that character.

I feel the same way. Like I’m mourning Mysta all over again. This reveal is leaving me feeling pretty empty inside, to tell you the truth. I’m going to have to process this for a few days.

I never saw that coming…but where is the missing space coupe heading with the three criminals?

And what isn’t Diet Smith telling Tracy and company?

I remember the scene of Honeymoon on the Space Coupe. She was sure her mother was still alive and was determined to prove it. How did we get from there to here? It feels like the wool has been pulled out.

Like Terry McGuiness is a son of Mr. McGuiness. His DNA was altered to Bruce Wayne. So legaly he is Mr. McGuiness’ son but biologically he is the son of Bruce Wayne.

Interesting. So hmm, why are her horns scarred if they aren’t real and were surgically implanted? Sounds like we have a lot more to learn, or was Dr. Ghote even telling the truth?

sisyphos: Agreed. It is very possible that Ghote was lost before he told that last bit of information. But for now, I’d be very surprised if Willy007 and Franken-Mindy were wrong..While Tracy and crew may not know who she is, I think we do..PatrickDC202: Others have shared that comment from Mike – no clone – “it’s worse than that.” Indeed, it is..Now, a couple thoughts of my own:.Dietrich seems to be “clearing” his name with us readers by finally telling Tracy and company that he has had contact with the Ghote. But it also seems as if Smith is also telling us that Ghote was trying to clear his name, as well – inasmuch as the agreement to hire the Ghote was to “bury” his secrets..While I am not yet ready to consider Diet Smith as having gone over to the “dark side,” I’m still having a problem with some of his dealings still appearing to be “shady.”.Back to, “it’s worse than that”: After all the hoopla for well over a year now, this is certainly not the ending many (if not most) of us were looking for..Methinks that, if ever a character deserved a “comic book death,” perhaps it was Mysta – especially after all of this buildup..Most of all, we are now stuck with an imposter who doesn’t even know who she really is!.Which is probably a good enough reason to never reveal who she really is…

Congrats, Willy! I’ll take my winning ticket up to the cashier and send you half!

And of course, Diet isn’t going to admit sending the good doctors to an “outta this world” medical convention…. that would be Murder One! He had best brush up on the Fifth Amendment, just in case!

Who is she? And who WAS she?

What an incredibly joyful and entertaining tale this has been. it doesn’t seem to be ending the way I thought it would, but still, I’ve loved every minute of it. Thank you, Team Tracy!

Who is she? Well… she is Mindy, ain’t she?

Let the story unfold Mike & Joe…..InshAllah…I Love You Moon Maid…

Yeah, I’m re-reading this after a triple-espresso and a good night’s sleep and I’m just feeling overall VERY disappointed. I dunno, if you’re a writer and you’re gonna go down the science fiction rabbit-hole, I say do it properly, go all the way.

My takeaway is that this “Mysta” is really just an impostor and not at all a re-creation and I don’t understand Diet even referring to her as a recreation or as Mysta. She’s not Mysta. In fact, she’s NOT a recreation at all. They took a grown female, injected Lunarian DNA, implanted horns (plastic? where’d they get the horns?) added Fembot internal wiring to operate zapping gloves…and surgically altered some woman’s face. And brainwashing? Seriously? Brainwashing? But WHY? Why go through all that trouble?

Having read up on the Chimera angle, it still doesn’t ring true regarding a motivation to steal the space coupe. I mean, they go through all this trouble to simply steal a space coupe to launch rogue satellites? One doesn’t need a space coupe to do that one can simply pay a visit to N. Korea’s Kim Il Jung whats-his-crazy and they can do it. Satellites are launched all the time.

I think it would’ve served the storyline better if they had simply cloned Mysta somehow. They lost me with the brainwashing explanation. Sorry to be so critical but I am a writer and have viewed this story through that prism, really critically dissecting every plot angle.

@Pequod77 – lovely comment!

This is where I saw sadness in this scenario. Sailghote basically “killed” whoever they used for this experiment. It appears she had an identity before, which they “removed”. At least, that person experienced nothing since then, having been overwritten by the Mysta identity. Horrible already. But Mysta is also finding out that she isn’t real, but a product of implanted memories. How awful would that be? Telling her her previous name wouldn’t necessarily bring her old memories back. Even if they did, she’d then know Sailghote stole however many years from her during their experiment. Sad for her all around. Maybe the space coupe containing Sailghote should take a turn into the sun.

Everyone is worried about what the horns are made of. I have been reading lately about how digital printers infused with DNA can actually print body parts. In a recent experiment, scientists were able to print an ear. This technology is in its infancy but all Team Tracy are asking us to believe is that Ghote made breakthroughs in this type of science and research (a breakthrough that is in reality not far off).

Now that we know what Mysta is the question becomes, “What do we do with her?” There are many questions. She is obviously here and not dead. Does she have any rights? Should she be imprisoned? Is she a danger?

I think at this point Mysta needs a medical examination by unbiased scientists to prove or disprove the truth of Ghote’s assertions to Diet.

Moon Maid is back but definitely not the Moon Maid many wanted. There are still unanswered questions about the Moon People, what happened to Ghote, Sail and Flash, what happens now? As typical in Mike’s writing, I believe these answers may not come immediately but in future stories.

Which DNA will become dominate in Mysta? Will she become the sweet Moon Maid from the past or turn into a villain as Cheapskate0 predicted some time ago? This version of Mysta is now a member of the Tracyverse. Time will tell.

Quite an interesting turn of events, gentlemen. This story, and technique that brought about Mysta was a true Frankenstein monster Not only for poor Mysta, but the entire strip. Extremely well done!

This would also explain one aspect. If I remember correctly, Mysta not only had bio-electrical abilities, but she could generate cold and/or heat, and had a magnetic attraction ability (her animal magnetism, which many males showed, she still had it, from all these years notwithstanding (giggle) ) She was also quite intolerant of heat.

So this explains why she never showed those other abilities; or the intolerance. The two antagonists never added it to her.

It seems many of us, had our own theories. I, for one, felt she was indeed a synthetic being for I thought she was a humioform robot.

I also feel a bit of shame. I should have started to suspect some sort of genetic chimera myself. I write about uplifted animals in my science fiction framework, which are a form of chimera.

Perhaps I was unconsciously hoping for more. I still have a great deal of empathy for Mysta. She reminds me of myself before a life-changing event in collage. I grew up as a teen, unsure of what I was, since I was different. Rudderless, drifting in a sea of doubt. I hope Mysta will find her identity and accept it as I did ultimately.

I have been lurking with great enjoyment of the strip and the comments. Now that we seem to have a partial solution of lunarian DNA added to a human host, I will add my 2 cents. Remember several weeks ago the bad guys were surprised that MM could drive. This suggests that the human host was under the legal driving age or from a geographic location where the host had no access to driving. More importantly, however, this suggests that the lunarian DNA is overcoming the host DNA and thus creating a “real” MM.

While I was hoping for a more completely satisfying and audacious close to this chapter in Mysta’s story, the bottom line is that Mysta is back in the world of Dick Tracy. This was a bold move on the part of Team Tracy. Whatever my quibbles with some of the particulars, there is no denying the fact that this is the best Dick Tracy story I have read in over 40 years.For all intents and purposes, the subject used for the doctors’ procedures no longer exists. With her memories wiped, Ghote and Sail used her body as a host for Mysta’s DNA, personality and partial memory implants. Shades of Frankenstein, indeed. Her scarred horns (Why? Might they be the originals?), while not possessing the powers of the Moon-born Mysta, are quite formidable. We don’t know what the long-term effects of Mysta’s “superimposed” DNA will be. It seems likely that the changes wrought by the many procedures performed by Ghote and Sail will be somewhat unpredictable and possibly ongoing.We don’t know when or if Mysta will be reunited with her Lunarian family. Would contact with her parents, given their telepathy and powers, make further changes possible? This is a reunion I would very much like to see. We don’t know where the Lunarians are living, or if the Space Coupe is headed their way. Ghote, Sail and Flash had better hope that it is, although they may not get a friendly greeting.While I’m disappointed that Honeymoon’s early role as junior detective determined to find her mother was allowed to wither on the vine, I’m confident that these two will develop a close and important relationship in the future. I suspect we haven’t seen that last of Honeymoon’s sleuthing. Honeymoon is one of the many successful transformations of the strip brought to us by the excellent Team Tracy.The longer Mysta has been back in the strip the more she has behaved like the Mysta of old. I like Jerry’s notion that " the lunarian DNA is overcoming the host DNA and thus creating a ‘real’ MM." We’ve been treated to a riveting return of one of Gould’s best creations. This is but the first chapter in her return. I’ll be looking forward to the next chapter in Mysta’s story, whenever that occurs. In the meantime, I’m a big fan of the creativity of Team Tracy and look forward to more of their award-winning work.Thanks to Gweedo, Neil Wick and Kay Kirscht for the kind words. Much appreciated.

Just before Diet took the Space Coupe to the Wheaton Farm, he said something about setting things right. I’d be willing to bet that has something to do with Moon Maid’s real identity and it will likely prove this whole affair is “worse than cloning”.

Random thoughts:(1) If science fiction could be totally explained using our present knowledge, as some posters seem to do, it wouldn’t be fiction.(2) Throughout this story, Tracy has been rightly skeptical, and has done his job tracking down criminals.(3) Are all of the two gangs now dead or in custody?(4) Was the original host-subject for MM murdered or does she still live behind this façade? Does she have family that cares about her?(5) One poster stated that Honeymoon, Junior, and many of us hoped MM was for real. Honeymoon, yes; not so sure about Junior since it would present a dilemma for him; for me, I didn’t care(6) Why did Diet want to hire Stelluna and Retik? Perhaps he wants to create a home for MM with them continuing in the care-taker role. They wanted to get to the moon, but Diet seems to be ending that project. The mystery of what happened to the moon people remains, perhaps to be dealt with at some future date.

TraderJoe said earlier: " It feels like the wool has been pulled out." I have no idea what that means… but it sounds painful!

In case anybody has noticed, I changed my postage stamp once again. Mysta is dead..What may become Mike’s famous last words: “It’s worse than that.”.So, Mysta, probably Franken-Mindy, is a fake. But, “it’s worse than that,” she’s not even a good fake. For all the hoopla about Lunarian physiology, Sail and Ghote were not able to produce the salient features of the Moon Maid: If I read correctly, not only were the “powers” in her hands, but her “horns,” as well, are fake!.Not only does she fail the test of an extra-terrestrial, but she no longer resembles an earthling. But “it’s worse than that.”.She was never Junior’s wife, she was never Honey’s mother. Continued association with these people, especially with “implanted” memories, is not healthy for all concerned. But “it’s worse than that.”.We already saw how this Franken-Moon Maid failed the mommy test, in her meeting (can no longer call it a reunion) with Honey. Quite likely, she failed yet another test, this one “off stage,” if you will: The wife test..The only interaction we saw between Junior and his now alleged previous wife was when he tried to prevent her from killing Hy Pressure. Where was the emotion?.But, “it’s worse than that.”.One reason I did not dismiss the rants of tsull2121 is that, deep down, I really believed that the emotions he showed would actually mirror those of the characters, especially Sparkle, if Moon Maid turned out to be “real.”.Other than “cold shoulders” in a car ride from the radio station, I don’t recall any emotions at all, other than Junior’s words to Tracy, about being able to “cut it with a knife.”.But, “it’s worse than that.”.In some ways, this “ending” seems even more cruel than the one that Collins served us on 07 Aug 1978. In 1978, Mysta was “thrown under the bus.”.Wump-wump..This time, it feels as if she was thrown down at the garage door of East Metro, just before rush hour, to be hit by each and every bus coming out to service Denver’s morning commute!.Wump-wump. Wump-wump. Wump-wump. Wump-wump..You get the picture. While I may have been a bit graphic, it’s still a gross understatement of what has happened to this character..And we still don’t know if we can trust Dietrich to be telling the whole truth. Heck, we still don’t know if Ghote had told him the whole truth!.For the life of me, I still can’t figure out why the sam hill, if Ghote wanted to make a “clone,” or whatever it is that he made, why was it so important to infuse an otherwise neutral body with the memories and personality of the person he was “cloning”?.But, “it’s worse than that.”.If Willy007 is correct, Mindy Ermine was a petty criminal, to boot. If not Mindy, then perhaps she was another criminal from Dick Tracy past. Ghote has never been known to hang out with anyone who wasn’t a crook..Just like he has never been known to tell the truth..Probably another good reason not to tell Moon Maid who she really is. (The other is that Dietrich may not know who she is in the first place).Moon Maid foes, congratulations! You have what you wish. This is not the original Moon Maid. Heck, she isn’t even a Moon Maid! Even her horns and powers are fake!.Thus clearing the way for more Kadavers, Doubleups, BB Eyes, Mumbles, Mordreds, and even a new moon-faced villain..We’re back to a new era of Dick Tracy grotesques..But, it’s worse than that..As tsull2121 and others have said, Sparkle and Junior made a better couple than Mysta and Junior. Right now, we may be witnessing that – in spades!.The worst part of this scenario, for me, is that perhaps, at no time, was Mysta ever Junior’s “love of his life.” There was no joy, even for a moment, when he might have believed he had seen his previous wife and mother of his child..This, I think, was the worst of it all..But, hey, this is Dick Tracy!.What? Was I expecting a happy ending?

I’m feeling both sad and hopeful.Sad that we now know, finally and forever, that the original Mysta is dead and gone. Several posters have mentioned how they’re mourning her loss all over again, and I’m feeling that way, too. Here I am with this big “theory” that may be proven right after all, but as I’ve said all along, my strong preference has always been to get the original Mysta back. And the fact that we didn’t leaves me feeling hollow inside. In my opinion the original Moon Maid was the sweetest and most sensational character in the history of of Dick Tracy. R.I.P. Mysta Tracy.Then again, I’m suddenly hopeful, too. Mysta’s DNA overtaking the human host DNA — I like that idea. She already has Mysta’s memories and mindset, the same beautiful body, the same lights out costume (let’s face it, the original Moon Maid never looked half as good as Joe Staton has made her), and we’ve already seen her character evolve from a selfish, scheming and demanding individual into one who wants to do right, a character we sympathize with (especially after all she’s gone through) and want to root for. Who’s to say her transformation is complete? What if she continues to evolve, and Mysta’s DNA becomes so dominant that physiologically she BECOMES Mysta, complete with all of her powers and sweet character? For all intents and purposes, we will have Moon Maid back with us, not the way we expected, but Moon Maid nonetheless. The more I think about this, the more I like it!

Trader Joe said the “wool” was pulled out – I think he meant the rug was pulled out!

I guess there will be no more giant escargot!

It appears to me that Team Tracy may or may not revisit this story, someday (since we don’t know the true status of Drs. Ghote/Sail — my guess is since there were no provisions on the Space Coupe, they likely perished). What this seems to be was a well thought-out “burial/sendoff” of the Moon Era — thanks for keeping us kids of the 60’s truly riveted, TT!

And take it away from the runner up? These situations are always lose-lose.

Also, smart athletes that want to cheat use their own blood, which they store until the competition. This is not detectable via genetic testing. Accusations are often based on “no normal athlete could possibly do that well”.

Not exactly Mysta, not exactly not

One thing is for certain, the lady is red hot.

Infused with Mysta’s memories, horns grafted to her head

Reprogramed personality, new life for one once dead.

A breakthrough in genetics, transformation still ongoing

Ghote’s word the only tale there is for what we think we’re knowing.

A Chimera is a rarity, ‘tis neither this nor that

Even her manipulators not sure what they begat.

Aunt Mysta to young Honeymoon, so much like her mother

Superimposed Lunar DNA, hard to tell one from the other.

One of a kind, she walks the earth, adding chapters to her story

She’s sui generis, exceptional, radiating unique glory.