THE MOVEMENT #8: The issue begins with Officer Yee trying to keep an angry group of policemen, led by Officer Whitt, from going after The Movement. Whitt is bigger and stronger and takes Yee out. But Whitt's partner Officer Pena and Officer Fricks, who has warned Captain Meers of the situation, stand with Yee to stop the rogue officers from going to the Sweatshop. At the Sweatshop, Vengeance Moth has gotten Burden to release his demon and defend against the Graveyard Faction. Vengeance Moth picks out Anguish as the leader and singles her out, knocking her out. When she awakes, she realizes the battle is weakening the foundations and they could be buried alive. Vengeance Moth has sent a message to Virtue, who had cancelled her date with Rainmaker to look after Mouse. She remembers how she had once been diagnosed her with a fear of being buried alive. At Mouse's bedside, he kisses Tremor and expresses his undying love for her. She leaves and joins Virtue in attempts to keep the roof up and defeat the Faction. Virtue takes some of Vengeance Moth's fear and sends it to Anguish who collapses in dread. She tells the rest of the Faction that if they ever return, she will bury them. At the precinct, Meers arrives and fires Whitt. As Yee is being taken to the hospital for his injuries, he reveals that Virtue can't exist, as she has been dead for six years. Overlooking Coral City is Batgirl.
Did I miss the fact that Rainmaker and Virtue were lesbians? Did I? I thought I read these issues thoroughly but, I guess not. Okay: so they do not get the date they planned and Sarah is especially disappointed as she wore a skirt for the occasion. What? Instead of Doc Martens? Maybe I'm reading more into that line than I should, but I find that a little offensive! Lesbians can't wear dresses? Anyway, it doesn't much matter anymore because this title will get the axe with issue #12. Gail Simone and Freddie Williams II do their usual job on the title that, like GREEN TEAM, just didn't catch on with readers who didn't KNOW what the agenda of this title was. There may be hope for fans, as few as there may be, as there have been references to The Movement in episodes of ARROW. Until then, enjoy the last four issues and keep your fingers crossed that we see a double date with Rainmaker/Virtue and Tremor/Mouse.
NIGHTWING #27: When last we were here, Nightwing discovered Mad Hatter had made Mali his new Alice and has mind controlled his roommate. So he and Marionette team up against the Hatter. Bullets fly and one of them hits Michael's cell phone, destroying it and that releases control over Michael. The pair grab Michael and Detective Maxwell and escape. Mali explains how the Mad Hatter kidnapped her and tried to make her into his Alice. When that failed, he shot her and left her for dead. She developed a condition called "personality slipping" and isn't even certain that Mali is her real name. She has also developed the ability to mimic the behavior of others and has been taking Kanium Carbonate to keep her abilities in control. She also believes that Hatter broke her and can fix her. Dick returns home and gets into an argument with Joey about her "decluttering" the house and she suggests he find a new place to stay. In the meantime, Jen, a girl Joey baby sits, discovers his Nightwing uniform in his closet. Later, Nightwing and Mali track Dick and Mali go after Hatter, who is holed up in Drexler Chemical. Dick finds Hatter and realizes all his tea is gone. She didn't want revenge; she just wanted the Kanium. Later, Michael gets dumped by the Detetcive and Dick goes home to apologize to Joey. Jen's parents come to pick her up and she gives a glance to Dick and promises that they'll see each other tomorrow, raising his suspicions.
So, even though Dick Grayson is now known to the world as Nightwing, in the continuity that is running through FOREVER EVIL, this is PRE-FOREVER EVIL and now ONE LITTLE GIRL knows that secret. Dick gets to defeat the Mad Hatter, actually that was Mali, and gets to stay in his apartment as he and Joey have patched things up. But all of this comes to a crashing end with issue #30 when Nightwing has to morph into something else because of his being outed. This was another great looking issue for Will Conrad and Kyle Higgins knows his character well. Since the move to Chicago, Dick has gotten out of the shadow of the Bat (pun intended).
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #27: We discover that Ducra knew that Ra's al ghul planned to take over The Untitled. And therefore she arranged for Jason's memory dump to assure that he would be The One to battle Ra's . But jason has gotten his memory back too son and it looks like that may cause Ducra's plan to fail. He gets tormented by ghosts from the Well of Sins attack Jason. Jason fights back even as ghosts of Talia attack Ra's. Cheshire decides to lend a hand and help Roy take out. Jason strikes at the right time, strips Ra's power away, and gives it to Essence. She converts it to light, inherits the All-Caste and tells Ra's to let the Outlaws go or she will destroy all of the Lazarus Pits throughout the world. Bronze Tiger leads his Master away and Essence invites Jason to join the new All-Caste, and invites him to join her, but he declines. It's time for the Outlaws to go do some good for a change.
So, with TALON ending soon, I won't feel guilty not reading more of James Tynion IV's body of work and can relish in the fact that I really enjoy his direction with this title. He has taken two former Teen Titans and a resurrected Robin and turned them from sex starved characters, as they were in the first few issues, to a dynamic triumvirate that will fill the hole left by the other teen books which no longer exist in the NEW 52. Julius Gopez and Noel Rodriguez handle the artwork with help from a ton of inkers including Sandu Florea, Walden Wong and Dan Green. Now that Jason is poisd to become a key player outside of batman's corner of the world, it will be interesting to see where Tynion takes him.
RED LANTERNS #27: Guy Gardner and the other Red Lanterns, minus their late teammate Ratchet, are back on their home planet and marveling at the giant statues made by those who were recently liberated by the Lanterns. Bleez and Rankorr head out to find the owner of Ratchet's ring while Guy, Zox and Skallox head to Earth. Guy gives the others a list of sights to go see while he goes off to visit his old girls friend, ice, who is less than pleased to see him. Meanwhile, Skallox and Zox visit encounter Shadow Thief and starts a fight with the pair. They call for assistance and guy and ice head out. In space, . Shadow Thief is a human who hates aliens, despite wearing a living alien suit for her ability (which Skallox quickly points out), and quickly starts a fight with the two Red Lanterns. In space, Bleez and Rankorr find that the new Red Lantern is actually three Lanterns: Atrocitus, Dex-Starr and a new "pet".
How much do you like a book where one of the main character's asks Shadow Thief: "What's a testicle". Okay...it IS a T+ book. I just thought that the Red Lantern who is a BIG ROUND BALL is asking the question. Charles Soule does another great job on this issue, as he has since he took over for the "legendary" Peter Milligan. Allessandro Vitti and J.Calafiore share the art this issue, with Vitti handling most of the sequences between Guy and Tara. Speaking of which, Guy has grown a full on beard since last issue and looks more like a Viking that a Lantern. But, another DC Editorial boo-boo, he is clean shaven on the cover. Okay-picky! Other than that, the issue smokes!
SUICIDE SQUAD #27: Power Girl and the "new Suicide Squad, Warrant, Deadshot, Steel, Unknown Soldier and Boomerang, fight to get out from under the avalanche they got buried under. Power Girl manages to hold up the mountainside. Steel smashes through a section and find a clear spot. The team splits up to find a true way out. Power Girl reflects on becoming a villain and how Amanda Waller will pay when it's over. The Unknown Soldier fights to get out because there is more work to be done and answers to be gotten. Steel reflects on how watching Superman made him know that he had the power to prevent conflict in places other than the United States. He plans to make sure Waller uses her resources to help when all is said and done. We learn that Captain Boomerang's mother was an aborigine who would tell him the tale about a snake called Bobbi-Bobbi. As a young boy he was given a boomerang and used it to kill everything from snakes to other boys. After a life of crime, he wound up at Belle Reve, and Waller had recruited him for the Suicide Squad. When he is free, he hopes to become the snake in the story, rather than the boy, and kill both Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller for what they did to him. Warrant is a former Israeli Special Forces agent with one target on his mind: Deadshot. Deadshot only want revenge on Harley Quinn, who buried him here. Warrant unexpectedly falls into a hidden waterway. Deadshot shoots away his handhold and Warrant is washed away. Back at belle Reve, Waller hacks into the Thinker's personal computer terminal and finds Kevin Kho on the network. He is desperate to be free of OMAC.
And DC rings another death knell for a cool comic, which finds itself ending with issue #30. This particular issue might be the reason why as this is the most uneven issue in the series. We all know that the Suicide Squad is trying to dig themselves out of an avalanche caused by Harley Quinn and OMAC. WE SAW Deadshot actually break the surface LAST ISSUE. Now we are back underground and everyone is dividing and telling their life stories in two pages or less. I don't care! Save this stuff for the forthcoming SECRET ORIGINS title. And who is this Warrant guy? He's an ex-Israeli Special Forces who took out the terrorists before the 2004 Olympics. But they had to drum him out of the service and set him up in America with a special hit list. Look: Dc's own version of The Punisher! Matt Kindt just fills a book with no real forward plot movement, except for the final page. Rafa Sandoval handles the main sequence art while Roger Robinson does the flashbacks. Oh boy-what a mess!
SUPERMAN #27: The Parasite is feeding off of Lois' psionic energy while security guards try to stop him. He kills the guards and attacks Superman, but Jonathan hits him with a gas tank allowing Superman to get he and Lois to safety. Superman realizes the Parasite acquired some of Lois' powers, so he allows him to reach Lois and absorb her power, which is so strong it overwhelms him and causes him to collapse. He explains to Jonathan and Lois, that he used the Parasite to get her out of her coma. In the process, Lois has forgotten his secret identity. Meanwhile, Morgan Edge offers Cat thirteen million dollars in cash to buy her website. And, in Washington D.C., General Lane talks to someone about the leak and is told not to worry about it. But a discussion with the Tower is needed. And, on another planet, Helspont is informed of a problem on Earth.
I really like Kenneth Rocafort's art in this issue, which is strange, as I usually don'' care for his style. Maybe that is because I see it as the HIGHLIGHT of the issue. There is so much going on in the Scott Lobdell script that you need to have a scorecard to keep track of the hand wringing and sorrow from the Big Blue Boy Scout. He feels so much guilt about using the Parasite to remove Lois' power because, in honesty, he does it to get her out of the coma but prays that she doesn't retain her memory of his secret identity. Then he also throws in Cat Grant and Morgan Edge, Sam Lane and a mysterious figure and even Helspont. What is this: The Eighties?
SWAMP THING #27: Alec Holland desperately wants to leave the Green and go after Woodrue, the new Avatar. But his teacher, The Wolf, reminds him he cannot leave. Wolf constructs plant versions of Abby and Capucine but Alec rejects them. Lady Weeds visits him and they go to the Parliament of Trees. She cuts off the retired avatars' connection to the trees and wakes them, as she wants to defeat the Parliamentarians. Alec and Lady Weeds must do this or they will die. Alec defeats the Parliamentartians and is able to return to Earth, but shuts the gateway before Lady Weeds can follow, as she would be detrimental to the planet. But he still has no power and Lady Weeds is trying to pull him back down into the Green. So he calls for help from Woodrue. He arrives and is furious to find that the Parliament is gone with the exception of Alec who drains the Seeder's power. Alec then proceeds to completely offset the balance between the Green and the Red, claiming he is the strongest champion to defend it. The Green returns his power to him. But Woodrue's human body is dying so Alec sends him to the Green to save his life. He then sends the other former Avatars back to the Green and again declares himself THE ONLY Avatar of the Green.
Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz restore the one TRUE Avatar of the Green back to his rightful place: as the main character in his own book. What a great end to a rambling storyline. Jason Woodrue, the once and future Floronic man(in the OLD Universe) comes to his final rest in The Green where he can roam with all the old Avatars and Lady Weeds. My question is when does Alec get to hook back up with Abby and Capucine because this is comics and dead doesn’t always mean dead.
TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #7: This has been reviewed previously as it is Part 9 of FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT. Go into a previous blog and find it now...
TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #15: This has been reviewed previously as it is Part 7 of FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT. Go into a previous blog and find it now...
WONDER WOMAN #27: We begin with the continuing torture of the First Born by Apollo. Diana has gone to Paradise Island which is nothing but devastation, snakes and what remains of her mother, who she speaks to. Then she and Hermes travel to London to discover that Hera is in the middle of an emotional breakdown, but offers to help find Zola and the baby. They are in Paris, where Zola is drinking wine with Dionysus. Some friends of his arrive to go truffles hunting. Diana meets with Artemis and asks for her help. She agrees to a battle to the death and, when she loses, Artemis allows her to submit instead. Back on Olympus, the First Born breaks free and attacks one of his captors. Meanwhile Cassandra is prepares to hunt Dionysus because she needs to capture a god to get her into Olympus and rescue The First Born. Dionysus's friends turn into pigs to hunt for truffles, just as Cassandra arrives with and her Minotaur.
Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang have made the decision to leave this title some time this summer, which will unleash a tremendous cheer from those who, dislike this title. Me: totally bummed about it. That having been said, the pair continue to shake up the status quo that once existed on this title. Steve Trevor’s gone, Wonder Woman now dates Superman and the Gods of Olympus are all in it for themselves. It’s a new day fans. Enjoy this ride for a while until the next creative team arrives.
WORLDS' FINEST #19: The issue begins with Power Girl mining for diamonds to pay her lawyers and keep her company in business. Once back at home, she tries to demonstrate to Helena that her powers are in control and flies her about while The Huntress is still in her pajamas. Unfortunately her powers are NOT in control and they crash. Later, during an incident with her lawyers, Karen's powers go out of control again and set her office on fire, forcing everyone including herself to flee. While watching children in the park, Helena decides she needs to go see this world's Batman. She sneaks into the Batcave, fairly unsuccessfully, and meets the Dark Knight, who proceeds to cage her up and demand an explanation.
Paul Levitz turns in another so-so issue where Karen's powers are all screwed up and Helena pines for a dad. So the blonde with the barely fitting costume decides to steal some diamonds and that does not really help her situation. And Helena: well she gets the great idea to break into the Batcave to meet the guy who was her daddy in another world. Moreover, he is no dummy...he is the Dark Knight for crying out loud! So you know she is easily caught. It's just a silly story with average art from R.B. Silva
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