GREEN LANTERN/NEW GODS GODHEAD #1. Act 1, Part 1 of the Godhead Saga. In the beginning, there was The Void and then there was life. First there were the Old Gods and then there were the New Gods. And over the centuries, a feud existed between Highfather of New Genesis and Darkseid of Apokolips. Highfather and Metron examine The Source Wall and realize that Kyle Rayner had breached it during the Relic Wars. They return to the rest of New Genesis to announce that, by combining all of the colors from the Lanterns rings, it creates White Light and that produces the Life Equation. So their goal is to gather a ring of each color and create the Life Equation. On New Korugar, one of the Yellow Lanterns is the first to fall, losing his fingers and his ring. On Okaara, Larfleeze quickly loses his Orange Lantern ring. On Zamaron, Lightray arrives and leaves almost as fast. On Nok, another New God arrives are takes a ring off of an Indigo Lantern. On Earth, the last of the Red Lanterns from when corrupted Earthlings still has her ring which she willing gives up after freeing some trapped sex slaves. Orion and Metron head to Mogo, taking Mogo and Saint Walker’s rings. With all the rings in one place, Highfather unleashes the power of the Life Equation on the planet Aydin but it only wounds and corrupts the inhabits, leading Highfather to have the everyone and everything destroyed. They need to find the White Lantern because he is thew weapon that will destroy Darkseid.
This is the opening chapter in a long epic that will redefine not only the Lanterns but the New Gods and the denizens of Apokolips. Brought to you by the multi-talented team of Van Jensen, Justin Jordan, Robert Venditti, Charles Soule and Cullen Bunn with art by Ethan Van Sciver, Martin Coccolo, Goran Sudzuka, Chriscross and Pete Woods, this has the making of being another classic Green Lantern tale. Either that or a disaster that will cause fans to have to read titles they normally wouldn’t read…fans like me. .
GREEN LANTERN #35: Act 1, Part 2 of the Godhead Saga. The integrity of Planet Mogo is shutting down and the 84.6 billion on Aydin are in a load of trouble. At the Source Wall, Highfather demands that Metron figure out what went wrong on Aydin and how to make use of the Lantern Rings and find the Life Equation. Metron begins hacking the Green Lantern’s servers through the Green Lantern Ring. That leads to a confrontation between the Green Lanterns and Orion, Metron and a small army from New Genesis, with the Lanterns taking quite the beating. Orion opens a Boom Tube and Hal is determined to follow them. That is until he sees the army awaiting them on New Genesis. He orders Kilowog to evacuate Mogo. Meanwhile, Sinestro prepares for visitors.
In Part 2, Robert Venditti and Billy Tan do a nice job of moving the story along. So, it looks like Mogo is dying and Hal Jordan, finally, seems to have grown a set of testicles. My biggest complaint about Hal Jordan is that he has been so terribly whiny that I wanted anyone back in the driver’s seat of the Corps…ANYONE besides Hal. But Hal finally seems to have mustered some intelligence and some needed leadership. Let’s see what happens next. In other words: this is probably the BEST GREEN LANTERN issue in a long time.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #35: Act 1, Part 3 of the Godhead Saga. The Green Lantern Corps are investigating the planet Aydin that the New Gods tried to transform into Paradise but failed because they didn’t have the key to the Life Equation. The Corps gets attacked by the transformed inhabitants of Aydin and get rescued by Uggha of the New Gods, who demands they turn over their rings. The Corps refuses and that leads to a deadly battle with the New Gods. One of the Nox warriors arrives and transports them away from the battle. Meanwhile, Metron brings good news to Highfather that he has found the White Lantern and Highfather plans to save him from himself.
Okay, so here’s the reason I don’t read this book: it is a huge fight scene with a lot of dialogue. Oh, and we find out that Kyle lives, something most followers of the NEW 52 already new. Van Jensen’s story is action filled but could have been summed up in about three pages. And Bernard Chang’s art is a weak take on Ben Templesmith’s. Not a fan of this chapter at all.
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #35: Act 1, Part 4 of the Godhead Saga.
The Guardians inform Kyle Rayner that he was the first to ever pass through the Source Wall and returned. They also admit that they allowed the Corps to think that Kyle was dead. He tries to fly off in anger but the Guardians hold him back. At one point he even believes that Carol is his dead girlfriend Alex. Highfather arrives and tells them his job has always been to protect the universe. Then he convinces Kyle and Carol to come with him to New Genesis to make the best use of the Life Equation he possesses.
Justin Jordan and Brad Walker provide one of the best chapters in this saga to date. Here we finally learn that this generation of Guardians are no better or trustworthy than the last group was. They have let the world think that Kyle was dead and claim it was to protect the Life Equation. “Meet the new boss…same as the old boss.” So Kyle and Carol (still can’t get used to her being with him instead of Hal) get ready to split when Highfather shows up, acting like the great savior. In actuality, he has his own agenda. This is like watching a reality show where the machinations of the players are more interesting than the actual show. Nice job, guys!
RED LANTERNS #35: Act 1, Part 5 of the Godhead Saga. Guy Gardner and Tora are getting some sun on the beach in Dubai before he suits up and handles a despot in Qurac by vomiting burning blood on Shahkavat’s face. Suddenly members of the The Wheel arrive via Boom Tube to take away Guy’s ring. Simon Baz arrives to save Guy’s life and fill him in on what has been happening regarding the New Gods. The pair get beat on by The Wheel before the trio head back to New genesis, leaving Guy confused and determined to continue the battle elsewhere.
I love Charles Soule’s writing and I have become a huge fan of J. Calafiore’s art, even more so after getting to mean him and see him in action. And this is a beautiful looking issue. But I found the plot dragging and wasn’t excited by it at all. Who is this guy in Qurac and why do I even care that he wants to be Black Adam? And it just so happens that these fighters from New Genesis arrive to get guy’s ring. Don’t they already HAVE a Red Ring? Yeah, I am a bit confused.
SINESTRO #6: Act 1, Part 6 of the Godhead Saga. Sinestro learns through Lyssa (along with the spy within Arkillo’s ring known as Despotellis) about the attacks by the New Gods that is decimating the other Lanterns in the universe. His daughter convinces him that they should go out and help the Green Lanterns and the Indigos; even Arkillo who Sinestro provides a new hand and a ring for. They launch an assault against the New Gods that are attacking the Indigos. Sinestro and some of his key players watch the battle as he prepares to “trim the fat” and initiates a self destruct protocol that kills most of the Sinestro Corps as well as Indigos and New Gods. Bekka remains alive and swears revenge.
Cullen Bunn just made Sinestro cross that line between anti-hero and villain by killing off most of his weaker teammates. Of course, we had to go through almost an entire issue of lame dialogue and some equally yawnable plot points to get there. On the plus side, as always, there IS the art of Dale Eaglesham. Come to think of it: that IS the plus side as the rest of this title is pretty bad.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
The NEW 52: FUTURE'S END, Part 2
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED: FUTURE’S END #1: Equinox has defeated a perverted animal trapper called Polargeist when she receives a call from the Martian Manhunter. En route, she stops in San Diego and visits Buddy Baker and his daughter Maxine. Dismissing Maxine, Buddy tells Equinox that he too got J'onn's message, but can’t go as he retired after Green Arrow was killed. She goes to the Justice League's headquarters and tells Cyborg and Vostok-X of J’onn’s message. There is a prison built on Mars to hold the most dangerous villains and that is where they need to go. Arriving there, Equinox learns from J'onn that a powerful telepath has set the villains free and are soon attacked by the freed inmates. Stormguard takes Dawnstar and Equinox to find J’onn, who has been captured by Grodd. Grodd explains that this wasn’t his plan, it was Captain Atom’s plan. This story continues in JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURE’S END #1.
Jeff Lemire and Jed Dougherty give us a great first part of a two-part tale filled with unexpected twists. While it started out rather slow with the whole Polargeist piece and the visiting with Buddy Baker. But once the League comes into play, with the addition of some new team members like Dawnstar(just how does she get into the League?) and the trip to Mars, it becomes a great comic story with an unexpected ending. I can’t wait to see how things turn out in Part 2.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURE’S END #1: It seems Captain Atom is blaming the Justice League for his turning to evil. The League believes he is responsible for the deaths of millions but he believes that what he did saved billions. He demands that he be set free or everyone on the planet will die and he destroys the prison in the process. Wildfire and all of the former members of Justice League United arrive to lend a hand as Equinox has managed to use her ice power to save all the prisoners. Captain Atom decides he will destroy himself and that the energy will kill everyone. Equinox distracts Captain Atom just long enough to allow J’onn to take over his mind and makes him believe he is Nathaniel Adam again. J’onn thanks Equinox for bringing the help and insists he will rebuild the prison.
What had so much promise to start with ended up being just an average comic story. Again, I understand that we need to experience the five years that lead up to this story, but I really wanted to know what Captain Atom did that caused the deaths of so many. Jeff Lemire and Jed Dougherty conclude this tale and find me wanting more. I still like the idea of seeing members of the Legion show up as members and ex-members of the various Leagues. So, for that alone, this ends up being an okay story that could have been a bit of a classic.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: FUTURE’S END #1: Zatanna has spent a long time trying to free the residents of the House of Mystery from the nothingness she put them into. While Zatanna and Etrigan have sex, Cassandra tries to find the future of each of the Justice League Dark members but only sees darkness. She does finally discover a man floating in the nothingness. After Etrigan retrieves the body and, surprised to find him alive, Zatanna goes into his subconscious to reveal his story. His name is Eric Maitland Augustine and he was a member of the Order of the Golden Age. He inherited a book that allowed him to open a doorway to other dimensions and eventually here in the Nameless. He finally awakens and they all spend the next two weeks finding their way to a dimensional portal that will set them free. Zatanna grabs Eric, the two of them enter the portal, and he attacks her with dark magic. She sees a giant stone head that explains that he is called Non and that Eric had actually died with the rest of the Order of the Golden Age. His body was absorbed to lure other visitors. Suddenly, the rest of Justice League Dark arrives and focus their magic at Non. Zatanna wonders why the others came back for her and Asa reminds her how she saved her from The Between. She orders Eric be killed to keep Non from returning.
J. M. DeMatteis, Len Wein and Andres Guinaldo give us a decent conclusion to this two part tale. The nice thing about it is that, with the exception of some key plot points, this could easily have dropped into current continuity. This was not the best of the FUTURE’S END tale and it certainly wasn’t the worst.
NEW 52 FUTURE’S END#17-21: In issue #17, John Constantine tells his companions, Midge and Tommy, that an entire village was murdered by someone or something seeking the same man they are seeking. There is a rumbling from under the ground and a geyser comes forth. Out steps a bearded Kal-El from with it. On Cadmus Island, Hawkgirl is about to be experimented on by Doctor Sook when the OMAC who broguht her here crushes his head. Elsewhere, Slade Wilson has Cole examine all the Earth 2 when the prisoners step out their cells and escape. Over on Vancouver Island, Emiko and Barda head towards a meeting with John Diggle. Emiko’s plan is to use a Queen Foundation owned freighter to get to Cadmus Island, kill Deathstroke and free the remaining Earth 2 refugees. In Metropolis, Lois Lane's watches Superman and Rampage battle.In the midst of it, he utters the word "Shazam!", bringing down the lightning and knocking Rampage out. Lois rushes to his side to find Superman gone and replaced by Billy Batson.
In issue #18, Constantine tries to convince Clark that they need Superman, tells them to go to the NEW Superman and finishes by saying he won’t be lectured to by a drunk. Constantine tells him that Brainiac is responsible. In Metropolis, Lois is crouched over Billy Batson before Rampage returns and throws him through the air. Luckily, Stormguard, who takes down Rampage and promises to get her the help she needs, catches him. Stormguard teleports Lois and Billy to the Justice League Satellite where he asks Lois not to report the story of who Superman is. Meanwhile, Emiko and Barda meet with John Diggle, who explains that this island they are on is the same one where Oliver became the Green Arrow. And that is when Oliver emerges from the jungle to greet them. On Cadmus Island, Faraday complains to the mysterious voice about the escape and soon realizes he needs to follow orders or many will die. Slade, Lana, and Cole Cash are hiding while Fifty Sue has gone with a list of demands " to see the wizard”, who is actually Brother Eye." At the same time, Power Girl is watching the three of them. Under Terrifitech building, Terry McGinnis and company plan their break-in.
In issue #19, Terry uses A.L.F.R.E.D. to track the Brother Eye satellite's orbit. He then trips the alarms and betrays Key and Coil. Plastique sneaks into the lab where her cyborg self is being kept. Terry finds her and, since the experience has shaken her, helps her escape. In Metropolis, Lois Lane decides to wait on publishing her story although Ty tells her she must. Billy arrives and explains that revealing to the world that Superman is not who they thought he is will destroy the meaning of the symbol. As he flies off, Lois makes her decision. Off in the Huron System, Ray Palmer is surprised when one of the Storm Lords appears on the remains of the Carrier and claims that Ray must lead Stormwatch. He explains that the rest of the team aren’t missing, but are at the mercy of Brainiac, who killed the last Stormwatch team. On Cadmus Island, Deathstroke and Lana are attacked by a possessed Power Girl. Fifty Sue reminds her that Deathstroke and Lana are under her protection and Power Girl leaves. Sue tells Slade that Brother Eye has possessed most of the Earth 2 prisoners and Cole. In New York City, Calvin closes up his bar and sees the newspaper headline where Lois has revealed that Shazam is now Superman.
In issue #20, Tim Drake breaks into the The Fast Lane only to find Lois waiting for him. He explains to her that he didn’t fake his own death. He was almost killed by a Paradmon when Red Arrow saved his life and paid for it with his life. That was when he gave up the world of tights. She tells him he needs to explain who he is to Madison Young. She shows him the box of items and he recognizes the arrow as the one that saved him. He guesses the map coordinates are for him, but he insists he is done with that life and leaves. Jumping ahead thirty years, Michael Holt learns that Brother Eye has opened Batman’s skull and learned how to travel through. It plans to have the Joker travel back in time and stop Terry McGinnis. Back on Cadmus Island, Fifty Sue, Slade, Cole, and Lana make their way to Faraday's office where they find him there waiting. He explains that he is also trapped by Brother Eye and Sue suggests they go to her secret bunker. At Terrifitech, Key and Coil get a visit from Mr. Terrific who tries to get them to tell him who they are working for. They reveal it to be Bruce Wayne. Finally, Tim confesses about who he really is and, feeling betrayed, Madison walks out on him.
In issue #21, Oliver welcomes Big Barda to his army. Red Arrow of Earth 2 explains that
Mister Miracle had put him in charge to make certain the refugees made it to Earth safely. Oliver explains how Earth Cards were issued to keep an eye on the refugees of Earth 2, who most blamed for the Apokolips war and how he had tried to keep Seattle Earth Card free. What he and Red Arrow discovered was that many of the Earth 2 heroes had been kidnapped by Deathstroke. They also discovered that Maxwell Payne had compromised defense codes days before the invasion. In doing so, Brother Eye transported the occupants thought dead by Barda, including Mister Miracle, away from the exploding ship. The Global Peace Agency wasn’t hunting the Earth 2 heroes, but Cadmus was. To work best, Oliver faked his own death and returned to his island where he built an army with the Outsiders. Barda agrees to join and help wipe out Cadmus.
So, now we all know that Oliver faked his own death, that Superman is really Billy Batson and that Lois Lane will do anything to make a headline. Never really trusted this version of that woman! Anyway, I find this another monster run of issues by Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Lemire with art by Patrick Zircher, Georges Jeanty, Scot Eaton, Aaron Lopresti, and Cully Hamner. So many fans and critics have dropped this title, spit on this title and totally disrespected it. But, with the creative team at the helm that is in place, I can’t see DC totally doing this without allowing consequences to be put in place. Remember: rumor has all things related to a CRISIS happening about the time this mini-series is set to end. Let'’ see what happens!
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD: FUTURE’S END #1: A one armed Deadshot along with Black Manta, who has had his brain scrambled by the government, are rescued from Belle Reve by Amanda Waller. They find and free Harley Quinn who has been kept in isolation because of her use of Venom. With her team back together, she explains that she suspects the government is using cloning technology to create their own super army. They break into the compound and find a nursery full of babies that Amanda believes have had the Squad's personalities downloaded. They soon encounter a pair of teenage boys that look like the Joker and Harley attacks them, getting a face full of acid for her trouble. Black Manta gets stabbed and Harley has a bomb stuck to her. Amanda grabs Deadshot and they flee before Harley explodes. A Deathstroke arrives and begins shooting at Floyd and Amanda. In a duel with swords, Floyd is seriously wounded, but manages to turn the table on the clone and blow his face off. As he dies, Deadshot hears that Amanda succeeded in shutting the project down.
Sean Ryan and Andre Coelho give us a rather depressing end to the legendary Suicide Squad. Of course this story makes me think how all these FUTURE’S END tales are connected. If Harley was in prison, then how could she have ended up on an island with The Joker in her own one shot? Both stories are set five years in the future, so how do we explain that? Does the Harley Special come first and then, somehow, she juices on Venom, gets caught and this story occurs? Or did the editors at DC just forget things like…continuity? Yeah: that’s it!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, police and S.W.A.T. in Central City have surrounded a building where Jason Todd is holed up. Todd manages to distract them by blowing up the building and escapes. Back in the day, Todd was teamed up with Roy and Kori and fighting against the bad guys. But Kori went back to her homeworld and Roy replaced Green Arrow in the Justice League. On their last meeting, Roy shot Jason and vowed to capture him if he continued to hunt “villains”. Jason’s current target is Morgan Edge, the former owner of Galaxy Broadcasting. After sending on ominous message to Edge, the Metropolis Police Department surrounds his building to protect him. Jason arrives with a well-armed blimp and takes out all of the police before finally confronting Edge. One week later, someone in Vostok Russia receives an ominous message in the form of a red hood.
Scott Lobdell and Scott Kolins give us a decent issue this time. Kolins art looks great, if you like his style of art, which I do. And Lobdell’s tale, while it is filled with a number of unexplained plot holes, stands up well. So how did Jason Todd become such a violent vigilante, killing police officers in the process of taking out villains? What went on over a five year period that caused Jason to decide who was the most guilty? Again, I would like to have had more answers, but it ended up being a much better story than I had expected.
RED LANTERNS: FUTURE’S END #1: Bleez and Guy Gardner, who is now a Blue Lantern, are out to purge the universe of all Red Lanterns. They reflect on their mission, as they bring survivors to Ysmault. Meanwhile, King Jack, the Red Lantern known as Rankorr, plans his final assault and begins a battle with Bleez and Guy. Ultimately, Bleez draws his ring from him, as she has with all of the other Red Lantern rings in the universe. The power nearly drives her insane but words of wisdom from Guy Gardner allows him to draw away all the rings and destroy them, allowing a normal Bleez and a normal Jack to be together forever.
A great tale from Charles Soule and J. Calafiore, who I had to honor to meet at this year’s Rhode Island Comic Con(and thanks to my daughter for buying a beautiful piece of Harley Quinn art from him). I expected this to be just a fill-in issue to get us to the next month, but this was fun. Gardner is touched and obviously converted by the Blue Lantern energy and everyone gets a happy ending out of it. Thanks for this, guys: I thoroughly enjoyed it!
SINESTRO: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Sinestro and the “worst sentients” in the universe are imprisoned in the penitentiary known as Tartaros. There was a time when he was being followed by those who saw his means as villainous and that forced he and Lyssa to flee New Korugar. In his prison cell, Lyssa visits him and soon he leads a breakout with a newly crafted ring. He and a handful of prisoners escape the planet and head into empty space. Once there, he retrieves Lyssa’s skull and brings it on board the ship, before killing all and landing on Necropolis-what was later renamed New Korugar. The Apex League arrives to apprehend him, as he notes that everything and everyone on the planet died because he wasn’t there to keep Parallax from breaking free and eating everyone. He smashes Kyssa’s skull and it yields a black ring. Sinestro now leads the Black Lanterns.
Cullen Bunn and Igor Lima turn in one of the best single Sinestro stories since the first issue of this series. Sinestro has developed into one of those villains that tend to walk a very strange line. He’s part evil conqueror and part anti-hero. But his book hasn’t really lived up to his reputation. This issue does, as he gets imprisoned, breaks out, ends up on his reconstructed and now dead homeworld and eventually gains a modicum of revenge by becoming a Black Lantern. All in all, a really good issue! They should all be like this one!
STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES: FUTURE’S END #1: In the future, a virus called "Black Ice" is infecting thousands including G.I. Zombie's partner, Carmen King. While a cure is still being created, he ends up being deployed to aircraft carrier that has been over run by virus infected zombies. While he attacks them, a helicopter fires a missile that cuts him in half and destroys the boat’s own missile system. G.I. Zombie puts his body back together as zombies attack Gotham City. The vaccine kills Carmen and then revives her. They end up going to Codsville and secure a crop-duster to deploy it. Jared and Carmen deploy the antivirus but gets shot at by an enemy chopper. Jared crashes into the enemy chopper and finds Gravedigger flying it. Jared demands to know why he is betraying his country and his told that the orders CAME from this country. Landing on the ground below, the two zombies battle, with Jared ripping off the head of his enemy and stuffing it in a bag. The antivirus is dropped as Jared promises to reconnect the head to the body so Gravedigger can stand trial for treason. In the end, Jared and Carmen have dinner as she reveals that she is retiring from duty. They agree to get drunk and say goodbye.
Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Scott Hampton deliver a great, action filled, zombieriffic issue! This one has it all and even gives us a semi-romantic ending. I truly love the monthly title and this just has that same vibe. Unfortunately, this title is going to end up going the way of much of DC’s “low hanging fruit”-rotting on the vine and going away sooner than later, I’m afraid.
SUPERBOY: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Superboy and his friends Roxy, Rose and Guardian have been hunting down the last remaining Superboy clones. When the last three clones arrive, they all battle. After absorbing the other two, the last one battles the team and is defeated. Fireworks erupt and the foursome leaves happy.
Yeah…this is why I stopped reading this title. Frank J. Barbiere gives us a lackluster and confusing story not helped at all by Ben Caldwell’s art. In some panels, Superboy has a Don Johnson two day old beard and on the next page, he’s completely clean shaven. This is the worst thing I read all month, hands down.
SUPERGIRL: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, the Cyborg Superman and Supergirl, also now a cyborg, return to Earth. Dr. Veritas tries to talk to her, but Supergirl will have nothing of it. Then Captain Comet intervenes and tries to make her remember that they were once part of a team. And they were also lovers until the Cyborg Superman took her away and turned her into a cyborg. When he orders her to kill Captain Comet, she revolts, turning against him and removing her cyborg arm in the process. The rest of the Wanderers arrive as the Cyborg Superman departs, leaving Supergirl, now somewhat back to her old self, to reunite with her team and her lover.
This counts as the SECOND WORST issue I read this month. Tony Bedard and Emanuela Lupacchino fill this book with lame, poorly crafted characters and a sad little love story featuring more cardboard heroes. I got nothing else to say except…I want my three bucks back!
SUPERMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Superman arrives at a fire and saves two children. Unfortunately, the police and firefighters do not thank him. He is vilified because he is not Kal-El. Later, Billy Batson arrives at Lois Lane’s apartment and tells her how he became Superman. During the war, he was betrayed by Black Adam and, just when Adam was about to kill him and steal the lightning, Superman arrived, sending Black Adam into the Phantom Zone. He then proceeds to explain that he has a mission to do alone, because “he” says so. While he and Lois talk, Ibac returns, forcing the two of them into battle. Defeating him at last, Shazam decides it’s time to walk away from the ruse and shed the Superman guise.
This was awesome! I really had some issues with Superman being revealed to be Billy Batson when it occurred in the pages of NEW 52 FUTURE’S END #17 and had even more issues when Lois turned around and shared the story with the world. But now getting the back story from Dan Jurgens, with some amazing art from Lee Weeks, I feel better about it. Seeing Black Adam betray the Earth for his own personal gains is typical and makes me want to see The Rock portray him even less than I did before. This was a wild read and it not only read great it looked AMAZING! Thanks guys!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: In the second part of a story that began in WONDER WOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1, Wonder Woman believes that Superman may be possessed by Nemesis, although he claims otherwise, saying that it is she herself being controlled. He has her Lasso of Truth around his neck, so she realizes that she has been infected by Nemesis and is actually in Tartarus. Clark helps her find the exit, telling her that he is Clark from four years ago who was sent here by Diana's generals. As they arrive in Themyscira, she learns that sees Nemesis' army has taken everything, including the League. Ordering her sisters to hold the city for as long as they can, she and Clark go to Mount Olympus and beg Apollo to let them use the scrying pool. Diana became possessed because Nemesis had started the war by killing the Goddess of Peace. With no Peace, there could only be war. She enters the tomb of the Goddess of Peace where she will convince her spirit that she was always meant to be that Goddess.
Okay, I am truly confused. Nemesis started the war? Is this the same war with Apokolips that resulted in the destruction of Earth 2? Is this even the same universe? And how is it that Apollo is still on the throne of Mount Olympus? Does this ruin the story that Brian Azzarello is trying to wrap up. Again-totally confused. With that out of the way, let’s just say that Charles Soule’s story is touching and typical Soule and art by the legendary Bart Sears makes it that much better. Maybe I need to go back and read this AGAIN to make sure I know who is fighting who.
SWAMP THING: FUTURE’S END #1: Swamp Thing, ruler of the Green Kingdom, has spent the last five years preparing for his final battle and needs the help of the rulers of the other kingdoms. He visits the Grey, reminding the Avatar that if he brought a photo of a certain woman, the Avatar would do something for him in return. He agrees to join him and Alec goes to The Red, where the Avatar attacks him with a three-headed bear. Defeating the bear, he calls the Avatar an idiot and goes to the realm of the Divided, home to the bacteria of the universe. Alec presents the Avatar with the body of the bear as a gift and reminds here that her had promised her that he would help her expand her territory and, if she joins him, he will see that happens. In the realm of metal, the Processor quickly agrees to join him. He finally goes to the The Black, where he encounters the throne of Anton Arcane. Alec begs him to release his daughter-bride, Abigail, which he refuses to do. While Arcane plans to kill Alec, he tells him that he has brought the Swamp thing with him and he once possessed the White Lantern Ring, so Abigail is released. He plans on defeating The Rot and allowing the Grey, the Divided, and the Metal to take over for him. The light from the White Lantern Ring destroys Arcane and Abigail's body as Alec dies.
And thus the saga of this Swamp Thing comes to an end, at the hands of Charles Soule and Jesús Saíz. The long, rambling tale has a satisfying ending, although the whole trip to the various realms was a bit on the long side. In the end, we knew that Alec would have to battle Arcane. It was just interesting to see how Abby and the White Lantern Ring would result in his death. Overall, this is a great story and one of Soule’s best free-standing issues on this character.
TEEN TITANS: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Archimedes Grant is throwing a party at sea where laws do not apply to him. He is also trying to gain the influence of Senator Peter Strutz. He also has Earth 2’s Tempest in a glass tank and being chased by a shark. Suddenly he disappears, thanks to Klarion: the Earth 2 version who also makes a quick exit. Soon a female Kid Flash, joins him, also from Earth 2, and The Heretic, who wants in as part of this team to take down Grant. Two days later, Grant is hosting a party in New York City when the foursome arrives and engages Grant’s security team. Grant is soon escorted away by Alexia Santos, who battles with him. When she discovers he cloned a woolly mammoth only to kill it five years later and have it stuffed, Animal Girl knocks him through a wall. When all is said and done, Grant lives on through an Earth 2 immigration act named after him, thanks to the Senator. Unfortunately for the Senator, he receives a visit from the Teen Titans to discuss his future.
Will Pfeifer and Andy Smith present this tale of the new, new, NEW Teen Titans(I think that’s right, when you take into account this is the THIRD Teen Titans team since the NEW 52 debuted). And, with the exception of Heretic and possibly Animal Girl, they are Earth 2 refugees. Pfeifer’s story is fun if not a little confusing (the whole Teen Titans run by Earth 2’s Klarion makes me wonder if the Klarion in the forthcoming series is from Earth 2 or not) but Andy Smith’s art shines. At times, he crosses into that George Perez meets Phil Jimenez space and it really shows! Again, this was fun: probably more fun than the monthly title is!
TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA: FUTURE’S END #1: Pandora had figured out that the infamous box is actually a portal between worlds and it has taken her five years to put it back together and try to make it open for her. What comes out is what she once thought was the Seven Deadly Sins but are only versions of herself from another dimension. Each one has been responsible for the ending of their universes and now they attack Pandora. She brings all the others pieces of her back into herself so she can keep the Multiverse alive and subsequently explodes. This beckons a new day the Multiverse.
What Ray Fawkes has done here, at least what I BELIEVE he was doing here, is suggest that the infamous moment in FLASHPOINT was actually one of these alternate Pandoras trying to end another Multiverse in the hopes that the one that replaces it would be better. Let’s not forget that all those moments from the alternate FLASHPOINT timeline came together and only parts of it survived in the NEW 52, just like parts of the continuity from the OLD DCU survived here as well. Or…I could be totally reading into this when there is nothing to read into. All in all, this was a cool tale from Fawkes and artist Tom Derenick.
TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, the Phantom Stranger pays the ferryman his last silver coin and is taken to the Rock of Eternity for his final judgment. There is a new council of seven to decide his fate: Trigon, Mister E, Neron, Eclipso, Sin Eater, Blight and Zauriel. Trigon plans on entering the Gates of Paradise but needs the Amulet of Origins to get in, which the Stranger possesses. Zauriel, now Trigon’s beloved, steals the amulet but, before she can give it to Trigon, is sent to Heaven by The Presence, who prepares to deal punishment to the seven. He sets The Stranger free, bringing him back to the boat he used to reach the Rock of Eternity. The ferryman is revealed to be Elena: his “wife” from a previous life. She gives him back the final coin and the Amulet as The Presence returns and the boat begins to sink, sending The Stranger off to help a world that needs him.
Dan Didio, J. M. DeMatteis and Phil Winslade send The Stranger off to a title that no longer exists, as he joins Pandora and The Question on the new TRINITY OF SIN title launching next month. This was a fitting, if not somewhat predictable ending as the stacked deck of seven meant SOMETHING GOOD was going to happen and since that little dog has been running around this title for MOST of this title, I sort of expected the Divine Puppy would save the day. The high point of the book? Phil Winslade.
WONDER WOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Wonder Woman, God of War battle an entire enemy army on the fields of Korondor. Later, as she walks with her friend Hessia, she learns that the enemy has made its’ way through Swan Gate and she calls the council to plan a way to stop Nemesis. Drawing her sword and facing her men, the Army of the Dead, she asks why they fight for her. They respond that if they can help the living continue to live, their sacrifices are worth it. She channels her energy into a blast of energy to destroy Nemesis' army. And then she hears Superman’s voice and realizes he has been possessed by Nemesis.
As you already know, this story concludes in SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN FUTURE’S END #1. This first part, by Charles Soule and Rags Morales, is a nice set-up to that concluding chapter. We see Diana as the troubled God of War trying to make sense of everything that has happened. Soule’s writing continues to be at its’ best and it will surely suck for the NEW 52 Universe when he finally leaves here to his new exclusive home at Marvel. Until then, just enjoy his work and hope that the successors on his titles will be as good as he was.
WORLDS’ FINEST: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, we see Power Girl breaking into Cadmus Island. She steals a uniform from the laundry room and sneaks through the facility. Using her X-Ray vision, she discovers that Cadmus is studying super-humans in the cruelest of ways. Deathstroke, who quickly learns that conventional weapons like guns and knives are ineffective, attacks her and seems to be ready for a horrendous beating when Fifty Sue arrives. Karen’s protégé Tanya enters the scene but that battle is short lived and many innocents in the area are vaporized in the process. Collapsing, both are brought to a prison cell where Helena is also waiting. She now realizes that all hope is lost.
Or is it? If you have been reading recent issues of NEW 52 FUTURE’S END, you know that Power Girl has been corrupted by Brother Eye, as have many of the other heroes on Cadmus Island. Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen(who is credited as “advisor”) and Yildiray Cinar are responsible for this issue which only gets a thumbs up from me for illustrating, in a less than graphic way, how Cadmus “studies” it’s super-human captives. If this is studying five years from now, then the heroes of Earth 2 may be doomed.
Jeff Lemire and Jed Dougherty give us a great first part of a two-part tale filled with unexpected twists. While it started out rather slow with the whole Polargeist piece and the visiting with Buddy Baker. But once the League comes into play, with the addition of some new team members like Dawnstar(just how does she get into the League?) and the trip to Mars, it becomes a great comic story with an unexpected ending. I can’t wait to see how things turn out in Part 2.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURE’S END #1: It seems Captain Atom is blaming the Justice League for his turning to evil. The League believes he is responsible for the deaths of millions but he believes that what he did saved billions. He demands that he be set free or everyone on the planet will die and he destroys the prison in the process. Wildfire and all of the former members of Justice League United arrive to lend a hand as Equinox has managed to use her ice power to save all the prisoners. Captain Atom decides he will destroy himself and that the energy will kill everyone. Equinox distracts Captain Atom just long enough to allow J’onn to take over his mind and makes him believe he is Nathaniel Adam again. J’onn thanks Equinox for bringing the help and insists he will rebuild the prison.
What had so much promise to start with ended up being just an average comic story. Again, I understand that we need to experience the five years that lead up to this story, but I really wanted to know what Captain Atom did that caused the deaths of so many. Jeff Lemire and Jed Dougherty conclude this tale and find me wanting more. I still like the idea of seeing members of the Legion show up as members and ex-members of the various Leagues. So, for that alone, this ends up being an okay story that could have been a bit of a classic.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: FUTURE’S END #1: Zatanna has spent a long time trying to free the residents of the House of Mystery from the nothingness she put them into. While Zatanna and Etrigan have sex, Cassandra tries to find the future of each of the Justice League Dark members but only sees darkness. She does finally discover a man floating in the nothingness. After Etrigan retrieves the body and, surprised to find him alive, Zatanna goes into his subconscious to reveal his story. His name is Eric Maitland Augustine and he was a member of the Order of the Golden Age. He inherited a book that allowed him to open a doorway to other dimensions and eventually here in the Nameless. He finally awakens and they all spend the next two weeks finding their way to a dimensional portal that will set them free. Zatanna grabs Eric, the two of them enter the portal, and he attacks her with dark magic. She sees a giant stone head that explains that he is called Non and that Eric had actually died with the rest of the Order of the Golden Age. His body was absorbed to lure other visitors. Suddenly, the rest of Justice League Dark arrives and focus their magic at Non. Zatanna wonders why the others came back for her and Asa reminds her how she saved her from The Between. She orders Eric be killed to keep Non from returning.
J. M. DeMatteis, Len Wein and Andres Guinaldo give us a decent conclusion to this two part tale. The nice thing about it is that, with the exception of some key plot points, this could easily have dropped into current continuity. This was not the best of the FUTURE’S END tale and it certainly wasn’t the worst.
NEW 52 FUTURE’S END#17-21: In issue #17, John Constantine tells his companions, Midge and Tommy, that an entire village was murdered by someone or something seeking the same man they are seeking. There is a rumbling from under the ground and a geyser comes forth. Out steps a bearded Kal-El from with it. On Cadmus Island, Hawkgirl is about to be experimented on by Doctor Sook when the OMAC who broguht her here crushes his head. Elsewhere, Slade Wilson has Cole examine all the Earth 2 when the prisoners step out their cells and escape. Over on Vancouver Island, Emiko and Barda head towards a meeting with John Diggle. Emiko’s plan is to use a Queen Foundation owned freighter to get to Cadmus Island, kill Deathstroke and free the remaining Earth 2 refugees. In Metropolis, Lois Lane's watches Superman and Rampage battle.In the midst of it, he utters the word "Shazam!", bringing down the lightning and knocking Rampage out. Lois rushes to his side to find Superman gone and replaced by Billy Batson.
In issue #18, Constantine tries to convince Clark that they need Superman, tells them to go to the NEW Superman and finishes by saying he won’t be lectured to by a drunk. Constantine tells him that Brainiac is responsible. In Metropolis, Lois is crouched over Billy Batson before Rampage returns and throws him through the air. Luckily, Stormguard, who takes down Rampage and promises to get her the help she needs, catches him. Stormguard teleports Lois and Billy to the Justice League Satellite where he asks Lois not to report the story of who Superman is. Meanwhile, Emiko and Barda meet with John Diggle, who explains that this island they are on is the same one where Oliver became the Green Arrow. And that is when Oliver emerges from the jungle to greet them. On Cadmus Island, Faraday complains to the mysterious voice about the escape and soon realizes he needs to follow orders or many will die. Slade, Lana, and Cole Cash are hiding while Fifty Sue has gone with a list of demands " to see the wizard”, who is actually Brother Eye." At the same time, Power Girl is watching the three of them. Under Terrifitech building, Terry McGinnis and company plan their break-in.
In issue #19, Terry uses A.L.F.R.E.D. to track the Brother Eye satellite's orbit. He then trips the alarms and betrays Key and Coil. Plastique sneaks into the lab where her cyborg self is being kept. Terry finds her and, since the experience has shaken her, helps her escape. In Metropolis, Lois Lane decides to wait on publishing her story although Ty tells her she must. Billy arrives and explains that revealing to the world that Superman is not who they thought he is will destroy the meaning of the symbol. As he flies off, Lois makes her decision. Off in the Huron System, Ray Palmer is surprised when one of the Storm Lords appears on the remains of the Carrier and claims that Ray must lead Stormwatch. He explains that the rest of the team aren’t missing, but are at the mercy of Brainiac, who killed the last Stormwatch team. On Cadmus Island, Deathstroke and Lana are attacked by a possessed Power Girl. Fifty Sue reminds her that Deathstroke and Lana are under her protection and Power Girl leaves. Sue tells Slade that Brother Eye has possessed most of the Earth 2 prisoners and Cole. In New York City, Calvin closes up his bar and sees the newspaper headline where Lois has revealed that Shazam is now Superman.
In issue #20, Tim Drake breaks into the The Fast Lane only to find Lois waiting for him. He explains to her that he didn’t fake his own death. He was almost killed by a Paradmon when Red Arrow saved his life and paid for it with his life. That was when he gave up the world of tights. She tells him he needs to explain who he is to Madison Young. She shows him the box of items and he recognizes the arrow as the one that saved him. He guesses the map coordinates are for him, but he insists he is done with that life and leaves. Jumping ahead thirty years, Michael Holt learns that Brother Eye has opened Batman’s skull and learned how to travel through. It plans to have the Joker travel back in time and stop Terry McGinnis. Back on Cadmus Island, Fifty Sue, Slade, Cole, and Lana make their way to Faraday's office where they find him there waiting. He explains that he is also trapped by Brother Eye and Sue suggests they go to her secret bunker. At Terrifitech, Key and Coil get a visit from Mr. Terrific who tries to get them to tell him who they are working for. They reveal it to be Bruce Wayne. Finally, Tim confesses about who he really is and, feeling betrayed, Madison walks out on him.
In issue #21, Oliver welcomes Big Barda to his army. Red Arrow of Earth 2 explains that
Mister Miracle had put him in charge to make certain the refugees made it to Earth safely. Oliver explains how Earth Cards were issued to keep an eye on the refugees of Earth 2, who most blamed for the Apokolips war and how he had tried to keep Seattle Earth Card free. What he and Red Arrow discovered was that many of the Earth 2 heroes had been kidnapped by Deathstroke. They also discovered that Maxwell Payne had compromised defense codes days before the invasion. In doing so, Brother Eye transported the occupants thought dead by Barda, including Mister Miracle, away from the exploding ship. The Global Peace Agency wasn’t hunting the Earth 2 heroes, but Cadmus was. To work best, Oliver faked his own death and returned to his island where he built an army with the Outsiders. Barda agrees to join and help wipe out Cadmus.
So, now we all know that Oliver faked his own death, that Superman is really Billy Batson and that Lois Lane will do anything to make a headline. Never really trusted this version of that woman! Anyway, I find this another monster run of issues by Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Lemire with art by Patrick Zircher, Georges Jeanty, Scot Eaton, Aaron Lopresti, and Cully Hamner. So many fans and critics have dropped this title, spit on this title and totally disrespected it. But, with the creative team at the helm that is in place, I can’t see DC totally doing this without allowing consequences to be put in place. Remember: rumor has all things related to a CRISIS happening about the time this mini-series is set to end. Let'’ see what happens!
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD: FUTURE’S END #1: A one armed Deadshot along with Black Manta, who has had his brain scrambled by the government, are rescued from Belle Reve by Amanda Waller. They find and free Harley Quinn who has been kept in isolation because of her use of Venom. With her team back together, she explains that she suspects the government is using cloning technology to create their own super army. They break into the compound and find a nursery full of babies that Amanda believes have had the Squad's personalities downloaded. They soon encounter a pair of teenage boys that look like the Joker and Harley attacks them, getting a face full of acid for her trouble. Black Manta gets stabbed and Harley has a bomb stuck to her. Amanda grabs Deadshot and they flee before Harley explodes. A Deathstroke arrives and begins shooting at Floyd and Amanda. In a duel with swords, Floyd is seriously wounded, but manages to turn the table on the clone and blow his face off. As he dies, Deadshot hears that Amanda succeeded in shutting the project down.
Sean Ryan and Andre Coelho give us a rather depressing end to the legendary Suicide Squad. Of course this story makes me think how all these FUTURE’S END tales are connected. If Harley was in prison, then how could she have ended up on an island with The Joker in her own one shot? Both stories are set five years in the future, so how do we explain that? Does the Harley Special come first and then, somehow, she juices on Venom, gets caught and this story occurs? Or did the editors at DC just forget things like…continuity? Yeah: that’s it!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, police and S.W.A.T. in Central City have surrounded a building where Jason Todd is holed up. Todd manages to distract them by blowing up the building and escapes. Back in the day, Todd was teamed up with Roy and Kori and fighting against the bad guys. But Kori went back to her homeworld and Roy replaced Green Arrow in the Justice League. On their last meeting, Roy shot Jason and vowed to capture him if he continued to hunt “villains”. Jason’s current target is Morgan Edge, the former owner of Galaxy Broadcasting. After sending on ominous message to Edge, the Metropolis Police Department surrounds his building to protect him. Jason arrives with a well-armed blimp and takes out all of the police before finally confronting Edge. One week later, someone in Vostok Russia receives an ominous message in the form of a red hood.
Scott Lobdell and Scott Kolins give us a decent issue this time. Kolins art looks great, if you like his style of art, which I do. And Lobdell’s tale, while it is filled with a number of unexplained plot holes, stands up well. So how did Jason Todd become such a violent vigilante, killing police officers in the process of taking out villains? What went on over a five year period that caused Jason to decide who was the most guilty? Again, I would like to have had more answers, but it ended up being a much better story than I had expected.
RED LANTERNS: FUTURE’S END #1: Bleez and Guy Gardner, who is now a Blue Lantern, are out to purge the universe of all Red Lanterns. They reflect on their mission, as they bring survivors to Ysmault. Meanwhile, King Jack, the Red Lantern known as Rankorr, plans his final assault and begins a battle with Bleez and Guy. Ultimately, Bleez draws his ring from him, as she has with all of the other Red Lantern rings in the universe. The power nearly drives her insane but words of wisdom from Guy Gardner allows him to draw away all the rings and destroy them, allowing a normal Bleez and a normal Jack to be together forever.
A great tale from Charles Soule and J. Calafiore, who I had to honor to meet at this year’s Rhode Island Comic Con(and thanks to my daughter for buying a beautiful piece of Harley Quinn art from him). I expected this to be just a fill-in issue to get us to the next month, but this was fun. Gardner is touched and obviously converted by the Blue Lantern energy and everyone gets a happy ending out of it. Thanks for this, guys: I thoroughly enjoyed it!
SINESTRO: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Sinestro and the “worst sentients” in the universe are imprisoned in the penitentiary known as Tartaros. There was a time when he was being followed by those who saw his means as villainous and that forced he and Lyssa to flee New Korugar. In his prison cell, Lyssa visits him and soon he leads a breakout with a newly crafted ring. He and a handful of prisoners escape the planet and head into empty space. Once there, he retrieves Lyssa’s skull and brings it on board the ship, before killing all and landing on Necropolis-what was later renamed New Korugar. The Apex League arrives to apprehend him, as he notes that everything and everyone on the planet died because he wasn’t there to keep Parallax from breaking free and eating everyone. He smashes Kyssa’s skull and it yields a black ring. Sinestro now leads the Black Lanterns.
Cullen Bunn and Igor Lima turn in one of the best single Sinestro stories since the first issue of this series. Sinestro has developed into one of those villains that tend to walk a very strange line. He’s part evil conqueror and part anti-hero. But his book hasn’t really lived up to his reputation. This issue does, as he gets imprisoned, breaks out, ends up on his reconstructed and now dead homeworld and eventually gains a modicum of revenge by becoming a Black Lantern. All in all, a really good issue! They should all be like this one!
STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES: FUTURE’S END #1: In the future, a virus called "Black Ice" is infecting thousands including G.I. Zombie's partner, Carmen King. While a cure is still being created, he ends up being deployed to aircraft carrier that has been over run by virus infected zombies. While he attacks them, a helicopter fires a missile that cuts him in half and destroys the boat’s own missile system. G.I. Zombie puts his body back together as zombies attack Gotham City. The vaccine kills Carmen and then revives her. They end up going to Codsville and secure a crop-duster to deploy it. Jared and Carmen deploy the antivirus but gets shot at by an enemy chopper. Jared crashes into the enemy chopper and finds Gravedigger flying it. Jared demands to know why he is betraying his country and his told that the orders CAME from this country. Landing on the ground below, the two zombies battle, with Jared ripping off the head of his enemy and stuffing it in a bag. The antivirus is dropped as Jared promises to reconnect the head to the body so Gravedigger can stand trial for treason. In the end, Jared and Carmen have dinner as she reveals that she is retiring from duty. They agree to get drunk and say goodbye.
Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Scott Hampton deliver a great, action filled, zombieriffic issue! This one has it all and even gives us a semi-romantic ending. I truly love the monthly title and this just has that same vibe. Unfortunately, this title is going to end up going the way of much of DC’s “low hanging fruit”-rotting on the vine and going away sooner than later, I’m afraid.
SUPERBOY: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Superboy and his friends Roxy, Rose and Guardian have been hunting down the last remaining Superboy clones. When the last three clones arrive, they all battle. After absorbing the other two, the last one battles the team and is defeated. Fireworks erupt and the foursome leaves happy.
Yeah…this is why I stopped reading this title. Frank J. Barbiere gives us a lackluster and confusing story not helped at all by Ben Caldwell’s art. In some panels, Superboy has a Don Johnson two day old beard and on the next page, he’s completely clean shaven. This is the worst thing I read all month, hands down.
SUPERGIRL: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, the Cyborg Superman and Supergirl, also now a cyborg, return to Earth. Dr. Veritas tries to talk to her, but Supergirl will have nothing of it. Then Captain Comet intervenes and tries to make her remember that they were once part of a team. And they were also lovers until the Cyborg Superman took her away and turned her into a cyborg. When he orders her to kill Captain Comet, she revolts, turning against him and removing her cyborg arm in the process. The rest of the Wanderers arrive as the Cyborg Superman departs, leaving Supergirl, now somewhat back to her old self, to reunite with her team and her lover.
This counts as the SECOND WORST issue I read this month. Tony Bedard and Emanuela Lupacchino fill this book with lame, poorly crafted characters and a sad little love story featuring more cardboard heroes. I got nothing else to say except…I want my three bucks back!
SUPERMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Superman arrives at a fire and saves two children. Unfortunately, the police and firefighters do not thank him. He is vilified because he is not Kal-El. Later, Billy Batson arrives at Lois Lane’s apartment and tells her how he became Superman. During the war, he was betrayed by Black Adam and, just when Adam was about to kill him and steal the lightning, Superman arrived, sending Black Adam into the Phantom Zone. He then proceeds to explain that he has a mission to do alone, because “he” says so. While he and Lois talk, Ibac returns, forcing the two of them into battle. Defeating him at last, Shazam decides it’s time to walk away from the ruse and shed the Superman guise.
This was awesome! I really had some issues with Superman being revealed to be Billy Batson when it occurred in the pages of NEW 52 FUTURE’S END #17 and had even more issues when Lois turned around and shared the story with the world. But now getting the back story from Dan Jurgens, with some amazing art from Lee Weeks, I feel better about it. Seeing Black Adam betray the Earth for his own personal gains is typical and makes me want to see The Rock portray him even less than I did before. This was a wild read and it not only read great it looked AMAZING! Thanks guys!
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: In the second part of a story that began in WONDER WOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1, Wonder Woman believes that Superman may be possessed by Nemesis, although he claims otherwise, saying that it is she herself being controlled. He has her Lasso of Truth around his neck, so she realizes that she has been infected by Nemesis and is actually in Tartarus. Clark helps her find the exit, telling her that he is Clark from four years ago who was sent here by Diana's generals. As they arrive in Themyscira, she learns that sees Nemesis' army has taken everything, including the League. Ordering her sisters to hold the city for as long as they can, she and Clark go to Mount Olympus and beg Apollo to let them use the scrying pool. Diana became possessed because Nemesis had started the war by killing the Goddess of Peace. With no Peace, there could only be war. She enters the tomb of the Goddess of Peace where she will convince her spirit that she was always meant to be that Goddess.
Okay, I am truly confused. Nemesis started the war? Is this the same war with Apokolips that resulted in the destruction of Earth 2? Is this even the same universe? And how is it that Apollo is still on the throne of Mount Olympus? Does this ruin the story that Brian Azzarello is trying to wrap up. Again-totally confused. With that out of the way, let’s just say that Charles Soule’s story is touching and typical Soule and art by the legendary Bart Sears makes it that much better. Maybe I need to go back and read this AGAIN to make sure I know who is fighting who.
SWAMP THING: FUTURE’S END #1: Swamp Thing, ruler of the Green Kingdom, has spent the last five years preparing for his final battle and needs the help of the rulers of the other kingdoms. He visits the Grey, reminding the Avatar that if he brought a photo of a certain woman, the Avatar would do something for him in return. He agrees to join him and Alec goes to The Red, where the Avatar attacks him with a three-headed bear. Defeating the bear, he calls the Avatar an idiot and goes to the realm of the Divided, home to the bacteria of the universe. Alec presents the Avatar with the body of the bear as a gift and reminds here that her had promised her that he would help her expand her territory and, if she joins him, he will see that happens. In the realm of metal, the Processor quickly agrees to join him. He finally goes to the The Black, where he encounters the throne of Anton Arcane. Alec begs him to release his daughter-bride, Abigail, which he refuses to do. While Arcane plans to kill Alec, he tells him that he has brought the Swamp thing with him and he once possessed the White Lantern Ring, so Abigail is released. He plans on defeating The Rot and allowing the Grey, the Divided, and the Metal to take over for him. The light from the White Lantern Ring destroys Arcane and Abigail's body as Alec dies.
And thus the saga of this Swamp Thing comes to an end, at the hands of Charles Soule and Jesús Saíz. The long, rambling tale has a satisfying ending, although the whole trip to the various realms was a bit on the long side. In the end, we knew that Alec would have to battle Arcane. It was just interesting to see how Abby and the White Lantern Ring would result in his death. Overall, this is a great story and one of Soule’s best free-standing issues on this character.
TEEN TITANS: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Archimedes Grant is throwing a party at sea where laws do not apply to him. He is also trying to gain the influence of Senator Peter Strutz. He also has Earth 2’s Tempest in a glass tank and being chased by a shark. Suddenly he disappears, thanks to Klarion: the Earth 2 version who also makes a quick exit. Soon a female Kid Flash, joins him, also from Earth 2, and The Heretic, who wants in as part of this team to take down Grant. Two days later, Grant is hosting a party in New York City when the foursome arrives and engages Grant’s security team. Grant is soon escorted away by Alexia Santos, who battles with him. When she discovers he cloned a woolly mammoth only to kill it five years later and have it stuffed, Animal Girl knocks him through a wall. When all is said and done, Grant lives on through an Earth 2 immigration act named after him, thanks to the Senator. Unfortunately for the Senator, he receives a visit from the Teen Titans to discuss his future.
Will Pfeifer and Andy Smith present this tale of the new, new, NEW Teen Titans(I think that’s right, when you take into account this is the THIRD Teen Titans team since the NEW 52 debuted). And, with the exception of Heretic and possibly Animal Girl, they are Earth 2 refugees. Pfeifer’s story is fun if not a little confusing (the whole Teen Titans run by Earth 2’s Klarion makes me wonder if the Klarion in the forthcoming series is from Earth 2 or not) but Andy Smith’s art shines. At times, he crosses into that George Perez meets Phil Jimenez space and it really shows! Again, this was fun: probably more fun than the monthly title is!
TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA: FUTURE’S END #1: Pandora had figured out that the infamous box is actually a portal between worlds and it has taken her five years to put it back together and try to make it open for her. What comes out is what she once thought was the Seven Deadly Sins but are only versions of herself from another dimension. Each one has been responsible for the ending of their universes and now they attack Pandora. She brings all the others pieces of her back into herself so she can keep the Multiverse alive and subsequently explodes. This beckons a new day the Multiverse.
What Ray Fawkes has done here, at least what I BELIEVE he was doing here, is suggest that the infamous moment in FLASHPOINT was actually one of these alternate Pandoras trying to end another Multiverse in the hopes that the one that replaces it would be better. Let’s not forget that all those moments from the alternate FLASHPOINT timeline came together and only parts of it survived in the NEW 52, just like parts of the continuity from the OLD DCU survived here as well. Or…I could be totally reading into this when there is nothing to read into. All in all, this was a cool tale from Fawkes and artist Tom Derenick.
TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, the Phantom Stranger pays the ferryman his last silver coin and is taken to the Rock of Eternity for his final judgment. There is a new council of seven to decide his fate: Trigon, Mister E, Neron, Eclipso, Sin Eater, Blight and Zauriel. Trigon plans on entering the Gates of Paradise but needs the Amulet of Origins to get in, which the Stranger possesses. Zauriel, now Trigon’s beloved, steals the amulet but, before she can give it to Trigon, is sent to Heaven by The Presence, who prepares to deal punishment to the seven. He sets The Stranger free, bringing him back to the boat he used to reach the Rock of Eternity. The ferryman is revealed to be Elena: his “wife” from a previous life. She gives him back the final coin and the Amulet as The Presence returns and the boat begins to sink, sending The Stranger off to help a world that needs him.
Dan Didio, J. M. DeMatteis and Phil Winslade send The Stranger off to a title that no longer exists, as he joins Pandora and The Question on the new TRINITY OF SIN title launching next month. This was a fitting, if not somewhat predictable ending as the stacked deck of seven meant SOMETHING GOOD was going to happen and since that little dog has been running around this title for MOST of this title, I sort of expected the Divine Puppy would save the day. The high point of the book? Phil Winslade.
WONDER WOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Wonder Woman, God of War battle an entire enemy army on the fields of Korondor. Later, as she walks with her friend Hessia, she learns that the enemy has made its’ way through Swan Gate and she calls the council to plan a way to stop Nemesis. Drawing her sword and facing her men, the Army of the Dead, she asks why they fight for her. They respond that if they can help the living continue to live, their sacrifices are worth it. She channels her energy into a blast of energy to destroy Nemesis' army. And then she hears Superman’s voice and realizes he has been possessed by Nemesis.
As you already know, this story concludes in SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN FUTURE’S END #1. This first part, by Charles Soule and Rags Morales, is a nice set-up to that concluding chapter. We see Diana as the troubled God of War trying to make sense of everything that has happened. Soule’s writing continues to be at its’ best and it will surely suck for the NEW 52 Universe when he finally leaves here to his new exclusive home at Marvel. Until then, just enjoy his work and hope that the successors on his titles will be as good as he was.
WORLDS’ FINEST: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, we see Power Girl breaking into Cadmus Island. She steals a uniform from the laundry room and sneaks through the facility. Using her X-Ray vision, she discovers that Cadmus is studying super-humans in the cruelest of ways. Deathstroke, who quickly learns that conventional weapons like guns and knives are ineffective, attacks her and seems to be ready for a horrendous beating when Fifty Sue arrives. Karen’s protégé Tanya enters the scene but that battle is short lived and many innocents in the area are vaporized in the process. Collapsing, both are brought to a prison cell where Helena is also waiting. She now realizes that all hope is lost.
Or is it? If you have been reading recent issues of NEW 52 FUTURE’S END, you know that Power Girl has been corrupted by Brother Eye, as have many of the other heroes on Cadmus Island. Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen(who is credited as “advisor”) and Yildiray Cinar are responsible for this issue which only gets a thumbs up from me for illustrating, in a less than graphic way, how Cadmus “studies” it’s super-human captives. If this is studying five years from now, then the heroes of Earth 2 may be doomed.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
MULTIVERSITY: SOCIETY OF SUPER HEROES CONQUERORS FROM THE COUNTER WORLD #1
Immortal Man has returned to New York City and proceeds to answer a distress call from the skyscraper of Doc Fate. Once inside, he is greeted by Lady Blackhawk and her Blackhawks Squadron. He is then introduced to 18 year old Al Pratt. He is The Atom and the only person to ever complete the Iron Munroe Bodypower course. He is also soon warned to stop reading a comic book that Fate claims is the most dangerous thing in the room. It seems that Doctor Fate has managed to get all worldwide conflict to end. He notes that a parallel Earth on the edge of Bleed Space is on a collision course with their Earth. They form the Society of Super-Heroes and prepare to protect their Earth. On the other Earth, Vandal Savage learns from Felix Faust that the two Earths crossing paths only happens once every hundred thousand years. The cursed comic book has told him that they are all part of a Multiverse. Vandal Savage decides this allows him to conquer each one, leading him to conquer the United States of America. Five years pass and the battle between worlds rages. Green Lantern is dead and a creature called a Makara has burned The Atom. Doctor Fate tries to heal him as he shows him his Transmatter Cube and explains how the Monitor Race died and Nix Uotan became the protector of the Multiverse, making every super-hero his child.
Blockbuster bursts into the temple to try and kill The Atom. Al promises to hold the creature back while Fate continues to work on the Transmatter Cube. Al, uses the forbidden martial arts move known as the Deadly Atom Punch to kill Blockbuster. Vandal Savage battles the Immortal Man when the Blackhawk Squadron arrives to distract him long enough to continue to buy time for Doctor Fate. Faust and his Necro-Men break into the temple and Fate pistol whips him until he passes out. That is when Parallax attacks and eventually killed. Lady Blackhawk and Lady Shiva battle and Shiva is knocked into an alligator filled-infested swamp. He cuts then to pieces with her sword only to be shot to death by the Blackhawk Squadron. Meanwhile, Immortal Man and Vandal Savage, two enemies given eternal life by a meteorite, begin their dance of death. Green Lantern returns to destroy the entity of fear. He tells Al that using the Makara Plasma from Parallax will produce the energy they need to run the Transmatter Cube, which has the ability to bridge worlds. Fate believes that they can use the cub to contact others and recruit them to their cause. Vandal Savage attacks but is impaled on a spear Immortal Man has created. His death summons the god Niczhuotan and has caused the heroes of this world to become killers. This all led to a five-year war which also awakened Nix Uotan, the last remaining Monitor, who cannot be stopped by the Society of Super-Heroes. And hopefully, the heroes of the other worlds Uotan will go to can stop him.
Remember a great book by Rick Veitch called 1963? Well, picture that title with bits of the NEW 52 Universe thrown in and not as humorous and you have this book. Grant Morrison and Chris Sprouse have thrown characters into a blender and shot them out into a weird world with the 52 Universes. Morrison has dug into comicdom and twisted things together with bits from classic literature and world religions to turn out this bizarre tale which is designed to be connected with the rest of the series. You will find your head in a whirl if you try to make sense of this in the here and now. I believe each title needs to stand on their own and then it will all come together in the end. Will this effect the NEW 52 Universe? We’ll have to wait and see. Somehow, I believe it will.
Blockbuster bursts into the temple to try and kill The Atom. Al promises to hold the creature back while Fate continues to work on the Transmatter Cube. Al, uses the forbidden martial arts move known as the Deadly Atom Punch to kill Blockbuster. Vandal Savage battles the Immortal Man when the Blackhawk Squadron arrives to distract him long enough to continue to buy time for Doctor Fate. Faust and his Necro-Men break into the temple and Fate pistol whips him until he passes out. That is when Parallax attacks and eventually killed. Lady Blackhawk and Lady Shiva battle and Shiva is knocked into an alligator filled-infested swamp. He cuts then to pieces with her sword only to be shot to death by the Blackhawk Squadron. Meanwhile, Immortal Man and Vandal Savage, two enemies given eternal life by a meteorite, begin their dance of death. Green Lantern returns to destroy the entity of fear. He tells Al that using the Makara Plasma from Parallax will produce the energy they need to run the Transmatter Cube, which has the ability to bridge worlds. Fate believes that they can use the cub to contact others and recruit them to their cause. Vandal Savage attacks but is impaled on a spear Immortal Man has created. His death summons the god Niczhuotan and has caused the heroes of this world to become killers. This all led to a five-year war which also awakened Nix Uotan, the last remaining Monitor, who cannot be stopped by the Society of Super-Heroes. And hopefully, the heroes of the other worlds Uotan will go to can stop him.
Remember a great book by Rick Veitch called 1963? Well, picture that title with bits of the NEW 52 Universe thrown in and not as humorous and you have this book. Grant Morrison and Chris Sprouse have thrown characters into a blender and shot them out into a weird world with the 52 Universes. Morrison has dug into comicdom and twisted things together with bits from classic literature and world religions to turn out this bizarre tale which is designed to be connected with the rest of the series. You will find your head in a whirl if you try to make sense of this in the here and now. I believe each title needs to stand on their own and then it will all come together in the end. Will this effect the NEW 52 Universe? We’ll have to wait and see. Somehow, I believe it will.
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