THE MOVEMENT #10: As the team is taking pictures of a captured Batgirl and preparing to unmask her, she wakes, flashes back to the incident with The Joker that crippled her and then proceeds to take down all members of The Movement and makes her escape. A meeting is set up between Virtue and Batgirl and they come to terms. At the same time, Katharsis finds Horizon and they have sex on a rooftop. Believing that he only killed in self-defense, she promises to protect him. Meanwhile, Tremor tells Mouse their relationship could never work because she is asexual. Batgirl meets up with Katharis and promises that there will be no trouble as long as he goes peacefully. She also reveals that he killed two cops a few hours before, causing Kartharsis to feel betrayed by Horizon. He claims he would rather die than go to Arkham and she draws her sword to kill him, but is halted by Batgirl, who promises to look after Horizon while he is incarcerated..
Ten down and two more to go for this series. Gail Simone and Freddie Williams II tie up some of the dangling plots and prepare for the end two months from now. Unfortunately, this title just didn’t catch on with readers. And I can understand that. Gail Simone introduced an entire team of teen superheroes that not only took several months for readers to understand, not to mention multiple plots running through a DC Universe title that seemed far removed from the DC Universe until recently. Factor in Williams’ artwork, which tended to be a wonderful distraction with his quirky style, and this book was doomed from the start. I will miss it. Of the two titles that were introduced simultaneously, the other being THE GREEN TEAM, this was by far the one better deserving of a chance at success.
NIGHTWING #29: As we recall, a little girl named Jen, whose parents were just murdered, has decided to go out on her own to seek their killer- Victor Zsasz. She arrives at Zsasz apartment and tries to attack him with the Eskrima sticks that she had stolen from Dick, to no avail. Nightwing arrives just in time to knock the murderer unconscious, tasking Jen to the roof and explaining his life story to her. He touches on all aspects of his life from his parents’ death to the Court of Owls and the recent issues with the Amusement Mile debacle and the hunt for Tony Zucco. He gives her the bracelet he had bought for his mother on the day she died. He says that this should remind her that there is always light and hope. As she leaves to return back to the house, preparing to leave to go to her Aunt’s, Dick texts Sonia Branch and invites her to dinner when he returns to Gotham.
And thus, Nightwing wraps up his career and his title and rides off to Gotham City where he found himself captured by the Crime Syndicate, tortured and possibly killed. Of course, we don’t KNOW THIS because FOREVER EVIL is running late. Kyle Higgins and Russell Dauterman spend very little time resolving the whole Jen knows who Dick is and the revenge for her parents’ deaths. This issue serves as a coda to the career of Dick Grayson by bringing us moments of his past and preparing him for the future…as a secret agent? Well, that’s the rumor.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #29: A ship of alien mercenaries heads to Earth to claim Starfire. While she and Jason relax after their recent storyline, Roy finds himself trapped in Starfire's old ship, which has begun to move on its’ own. Actually, those mercenaries have hijacked it, one of whom is taken out by a stray smart bomb Roy was tinkering with. The aliens are planning to sell Earth in the war between the Green Lantern Corps and the Khunds. As the ship takes off without them, a drunk alien attacks Jason and Starfire. Defeated and tortured, the alien tells all. But without a ship, his information is useless…unless Jason can hijack his own ship from S.H.A.D.E.
Well, this is taking the title into a new direction, I see! In an effort to tie in this book, the remaining (or soon to be) title in the collection of “Young Justice” oriented titles, with a slowly declining readership of the Lantern titles, a minor cross-over is engaged. Will Pfeifer and Rafael Sandoval provide the action and intrigue as the strangest love triangle in comics (?) heads off on a new adventure. I’m not sure how I feel about this issue, especially after the last few with Jason learning about his past and all. This issue seems a bit weak on actual story, so we’ll see where the next part goes next month.
RED LANTERNS #29: Kara tries to fit in with the rest of the Lanterns, as they test her abilities and then end up drinking in “the bar” together. Eventually, the team heads to Earth to talk to Superman, which results in a major fight between Kal and Kara, especially after she learns that she is stuck as a Red lantern forever. When he finally calms her down, she accepts who she has become and Kal wishes her luck. Returning to their home planet, the Lanterns find a badly wounded Bleez on the surface and learn that Rankorr is missing and that Atrocitus is back.
Charles Soule and Alessandro Vitti continue to pave new ground on this title, which is filled with interesting characters and twists. On the previous run, you were pretty much looking at Rankorr, Atrocitus and Bleez being the prime players. With those characters out of the picture, or pushed to the background, this allows Skallox and Zox to shine, providing some of the best dialogue in this title. And not that Guy hasn’t always been a hero with a mouth that can’t be contained. I’m loving this book!
SUICIDE SQUAD #29: Amanda Waller is hard at work trying to remove The Thinker from O.M.A.C.'s body. But she has a time table: if Kevin Cho can’t get the Thinker out in the next 20 minutes, all three will die when Amanda transports them to a place called "The Toilet". It’s a trip to nowhere and is where the government sends meta humans it can’t imprison. Elsewhere, Deadshot and Harley Quinn shoot the Unknown Soldier with one of Amanda’s magic bullets that increases strength and agility. As the team battles O.M.A.C. and starts to suffer losses, Power Girl and Steel arrive. O.M.A.C. and the team drop through the floor, landing close to the Toilet. King Shark attacks O.M.A.C. and both drop into the toilet. Kevin gains control again, but Captain Boomerang kicks O.M.A.C. back into into the Toilet. Deciding not to destroy The Toilet, Amanda locks it down and informs the team, that was prepared to disband after this mission, that the "magic bullets" contained nano bombs. This means the team again belongs to the government.
And thus ends what I thought was one of the best, craziest series in the NEW 52. Matt Kindt and Jim Fern have done a great job on what they knew months ago was a slowly sinking ship. This book had all the adventure and silliness you want in a comic, from bizarre plot threads to the greatest pairing of oddball characters that you can imagine. Throw in a slimmed down Amanda Waller and James Gordon Jr. and you have a wild ride that, in my opinion, is ending too soon.
SUICIDE SQUAD: AMANDA WALLER #1: Set in the past, Amanda Waller meets with Dr. Algot Issen concerning his use of genetic testing to control supers. The jet they are in takes a hit and they crash into an ice-capped mountain range. What makes this unusual is that it is in New Mexico in July. She helps get out the living and the wounded and arranges a plan to move Northwest. That is when a second blast comes in their direction. A man, who Issen refers to as Kriger-3, appears and demands the survivor hand over Issen. Fleeing the area, Issen explains Kriger-3 was a failed genetic experiment who has the ability to absorb and emits heat energy. Krige-3 catches up with them and explains that the “volunteers” were actually kidnapped by Issen for his experiments. Amanda, Colonel Woodrow, Issen and his assistant Sheryl try to get away, with Woodrow dying in the process. As they continue to flee, Kriger-3 arrives and Amanda, wounds Issen so he cannot run away. She grabs a briefcase filled with grenades, pulls the pins, and knocks him over a cliff. The explosion is absorbed by him and the force knocks him unconscious. Wrestling with her own morals, she shoots Kriger through the head. Leaving Issen with the body of Kriger-3, she calls Belle Reve for an extraction team.
A somewhat wasted coda to the SUICIDE SQUAD series that only manages to show that deep within her rough exterior, Amanda Waller truly does have a heart. This was a five dollar “special” that looks like it may have been planned as an Annual at some point but, with the series getting the axe, they put it out as a One Shot. It was an okay read from Jim Zub and Andre Coelho, but would liked to have spent my five bucks somewhere with more substance.
SUPERMAN #29: Starfire and Superman battles, as she wants to kill a captured criminal that she believes is a threat to the planet. The criminal mutates into a monster and Starfire kills him, revealing he was a Daemonites hiding in human form. Then the pair fly to another part of the precinct where weapons are being used to inject Daemonite DNA. Superman freezes them until he can find a cure. At S.T.A.R. Labs, they examine the creatures and confirm they are infected with Daemonite DNA. But they also have no cure, as they don’t understand how the transformation worked. As they track a signal in the weapons to an old abandoned fairground, Starfire recounts her origin story to him. A small child meets them and asks for their help, but soon turns into a Daemonite and commits suicide. Up in space, Blackfire learns of the Daemonites' attacks and relates the information to her master: Helspont. Meanwhile, Cat informs Morgan Edge that her website is not for sale.
Well, this was a bit of a jumbled mess. So, we have a Daemonite invasion and Blackfire and Helspont are involved. I pretty much washed my hands of the Daemonites when GRIFTER went belly up. But, since he is appearing in the FUTURE’S END mega-series, maybe it’s time to bring them back into the forefront. Either way, the pacing was sloppy, I didn’t need a life history recap of Starfire’s tortured life and the dialogue was flat. Scott Lobdell and Ed Benes tried to keep me amused, but failed. How many issues until the new creative team? Oh…that’s a GOOD THING!
SUPERMAN: LOIS LANE #1: Our story begins with Lois and Lucy Lane playing in their home in Germany, where they observe a helicopter crash not too far from them. Reprimanded by their father, the girls continue to play, using a made-up language only they understand. Their mother Ella told her husband the girls were tougher than they looked. His concerned was about his wife, who was suffering from an unidentified illness. Over time, Ella grew weaker and Lois had to act as the mother figure in the family-something that didn’t sit well with Lucy. In the present day, Lois finds her sister standing in her living room, babbling their made-up language before collapsing. When she awakens, Lucy explains how her roommate had come down with an allegedly contagious illness for which she was given a prescription. The girl recovered but was transformed in some way. An hour ago, men from a group called The Cartel took Amanda away and were now after Lucy. Lois promises her sister to find Amanda on her own and NOT get Superman involved. Despite spending a day digging, Lois comes up virtually empty handed. So she gets a special hidden camera from James Olsen and goes undercover. It seems The Cartel isn't giving out the drugs, but following them. She attempts to make a drug deal and it is interrupted by The Cartel, who kidnaps her. The organization, really a government organization, has been trying to get rid of all traces of this alien fungus that contaminates the host that it is exposed to it and, in some cases, turns the host into a monster. Lois breaks free of her bonds, but the mutated victims attack the agents, leaving only one survivor. Together with Lois, they break out the other captives Lois and Amanda mount a flying mutant, which Amanda says is her cat, and head back to Metropolis. Amanda begs Lois not to break the story, as it will cause more harm than good to the mutants. Arriving back home, she sends Superman to investigate. She also receives a phone call from the last surviving agent, who explains the mutants have been detoxed and warms her not to publish her story or grave consequences will result for her and her family. When she checks in on Lucy, she only finds Simon the cat. And she realizes that the cat was actually Lucy, who had been using and abusing the drug that had been prescribed to Amanda. She asks for Lois’ help in getting clean.
This is probably the LONGEST synopsis I have written for a NEW 52 title to date. And, in the end, I could have shortened it to this: Lois’ sister Lucy is a drug addict and Lois needs to help her detox. But, we had to go through the entire Cartel, government conspiracy, alien agenda, flying cat story to discover that Lucy lane had a habit. Wow! With all of that having been said, this was an entertaining, extra large One Shot from Marguerite Bennett with art by Emanuela Lupacchino, Meghan Hetrick, Ig Guara and Diogenes Neves
SWAMP THING #29: The Sureen have arrived and their leader, Brother Jonah, explains how they can be of great help. As the Sureens perform a ritual that gives their members hallucinogenic illusions, Alec realizes that Wolf and Lady Weeds are missing. In fact, they have headed to New Orleans and are learning that the world has changed. The pair find a lawyer and convince him to work for them on spec. While they are out, Lady Weeds gets her first tattoo. Alec sends Capucine and Jonah to find the missing former Avatars. That night, Alec learns of the sacred ritual known as the Locum. In that ritual, Avatars can temporarily be put into the body of a member of the Sureen. If he agrees, one of the Sureen will allow Alec’s consciousness inside while the others protect his own body with their lives. The ritual commences and, when finished, Knot, the Sureen who has conducted the ritual, removes his false beard and tells the others they have little time to waste. As Alec awakens in the body of the Sureen known as Pistil, he realizes he has been poisoned and the others are burning down his house.
Well, this is a twist I did not see coming. Alec is trapped in another man’s body (Pistil? REALLY! A flower reference?), dying and watching his house burn down. And there is no one here to help him as he has sent off Capucine and Jonah, like HE is one to trust, to find Wolf and Weeds, who are doing a bang-up job of whooping it up in New Orleans. Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz give us another fun and totally unpredictable issue of our favorite plant man. And I cannot wait to see how he paints them out of this corner.
TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #9: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #17: Previously reviewed as part of the FOREVER EVIL: THE BLIGHT review.
WONDER WOMAN #29: While dining at Dionysus', a ball of pure energy heads towards an unsuspecting Hera while Artemis continues to search for Zola and Zeke. She sees a bright explosion in the sky and, realizing that Apollo is in trouble, asks Hermes to send her to Mount Olympus. The explosion is because Cassandra’s ship has crashed on Mount Olympus. The First Born arrives, claiming that Olympus now belongs to him and that Apollo committed suicide. Artemis battles with him and is wounded in the process. Wonder Woman steps in to battle and she too falls to the First Born, until a blast of lightning from Hera frees her. The ball of energy that came towards her at the beginning of the book was Apollo’s final gift and it was to restore her powers to her, making her Queen of Olympus once more. She sends Diana and her allies to Paradise Island to find an army to assist her. Finding Zola and Zeke safe, Diana addresses her sisters and asks them to help her fight to reclaim Mount Olympus. And she declares herself the Goddess of War.
Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang race towards the end of their run on this amazing title some time this summer, they continue to fill this book with plenty of plot twists and great looking art! This book still manages to divide fans. Die-hard fans want to burn Azzarello at the stake for messing with the legend of Olympus while others are claiming they plan to bail from this book when the creative team does. And now that Diana has claimed the mantle of Goddess of War, can her relationship with Superman remain? After all, he may appear like a God among men on this planet, but she is truly a God. In the end, this is just a book that you never expect to go where you expected it to go.
WORLDS' FINEST #21: FIRST CONTACT PART 4. Kaizen Gamorra has opened a portal back home to Earth 2. Power Girl realizes that this is not the same Ken she loved back on Earth 2, that she was certain died before the end of the war with Darkseid. He tries to toss The Huntress in, but Superman makes the save with Power Girl throwing Kaizen in instead. The girls make the decision to leave for home, just as a transformed Gamorra reappears through the portal with Earth 2”s Superman in tow. The evil Superman begs Kara to come home and, although tempted, she refuses, giving The Huntress enough time to blast the gateway and seal it forever. The girls find themselves trapped on our Earth while Gamorra suffers the wrath of Superman on Earth 2.
This was all a little confusing here, as timing is truly everything. Issues #19, #20 and #21 had the Prelude, Part 2 and Part 4 while BATMAN/SUPERMAN #8 and #9 had Part 1 and Part 3. And if you didn’t read those books, you were a bit lost. And if you DID read them, you were a bit pissed off as PART THREE came out AFTER PART FOUR. So, here’s what we do know: this planet’s version of Superman and Batman met their other world’s counterparts and Power Girl found out that love hurts. Paul Levitz, along with R. B. Silva, bring this arc to a close and does so with a small cliffhanger that I am sure will be worked out over the next few issues: how DO the girl’s get back home.
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