JUSTICE LEAGUE #37: Batman and Superman have found that Armen Ikarus is Patient Zero and they need a blood sample. But he is fighting back against them and it looks like he can mimic super powers, as he blasts Superman with heat vision. Meanwhile, Lena Luthor wonders why anyone would attack Lex and he admits to having done some bad things. Lena wonders why Lex would create something like that. Captain Cold is confused, as it seems that Lex is truly worried about the League and wonders if he created the Virus to kill the League. Luthor reacts angrily, warning Cold that he is only an employee. Just then, Bullet arrives saying that he is here to collect the bounty that has been placed on Lex. Batman and Superman follow Ikarus to LexCorp and are attacked. Wonder Woman arrives and, with her Lasso of Truth, asks Ikarus how he got sick. He claims he is not sick. Superman and Wonder Woman hold him down so Batman can takes a sample. But Ikarus fights back, causing him to drop the sample and now he has been exposed to the Amazo Virus.
Not for nothing, as they say, but can we just get Amazo and not the Amazo Virus? Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok give us another average issue, but the whole saga with Luthor, captain Cold, Lena and a bunch of dying Justice Leaguers is getting a bit boring for me. Although I do have to give two thumbs up” one for Fabok’s art and one for having Batman get infected. There are some folks that think he should have been infected with something years ago, especially being a playboy and all.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #37: Zatanna is still looking for a way home and gets lucky enough to find a doorway inside a tree. Madame Xanadu, Deadman and Black Orchid are trapped in a hall of broken mirrors and at least two thirds of them are going insane seeing all these shattered visions of themselves. Zanadu casts out magic nets to pull the pair to freedom. A man on a throne introduces himself as Arif, the lord of Now. He takes them to his palace and has Orchid look through a giant telescope. She sees a ribbon that he calls the Beyond Beyond. Deadman and Orchid go to check out the Beyond Beyond where they get stopped by Makkaria, the Guardian of the Beyond, who says the ribbon is extinction. When Xanadu finds out those magic rules don’t apply here and she can’t send them back home. She goes off with Arif where she meditates in an effort to connect with the mind behind the magic in the tree. As Arif’ request, she kisses him and he ages to the point of dying, but says not to weep for him as he knows the glory of transience. As he dies, the ribbon approaches Now.
Again, another less than spectacular issue as J.M. DeMatteis and Andres Guinaldo continue this tale of the lost Dark members. While the book looks great, the story is just a little boring for me. The writing is fine, it’s just the PLOT I hate! Can we get everyone back home soon? Oh yeah: March...just in time for CONVERGENCE!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #7: The Infinity Wraiths have arrived through a rift in reality created by Ultra, which will cause Ultra to become Infinitus. In the midst of the battle against the Legion of Super-Heroes, Black Mass teleports Hawkman, Ultra, and Byth away.
The Legionnaires and Justice League United get transported back to Rann. Animal Man tells Martian Manhunter how Ultra was transported away and he is able to reach across space to mentally convince Ultra to resist Byth. Byth invades the telepathic link and severs, surprising J’onn who realizes Byth is more powerful than he thought he was. Saturn Girl gives everyone a Legion Flight Ring as they head off to save Ultra and the others. The Legionnaires catch up to the ship but it enters the rift with Ultra on board. Does this mean the future cannot be altered?
What is it with most of the Justice League titles lately? The only one that I look forward to reading is JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000. Why are we trying to resurrect the Legion of Superheroes this way? While I am a fan of Jeff Lemire’s writing and Neil Edwards art, I am not a fan of this title. Bring back JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL and send these posers(wait-this was JUSTICE LEAGUE CANADA…would that make them HOSERS?) packing.
KLARION #3: After Klarion kissed Zell, Rasputin has a new girl in a Nanobot that is called Contessa. Klarion calls Beelzebub to get a shave and they arrange to meet. Later, Klarion fights with Coal, but Klarion gets away when Beelzebub arrives. The book ends with Noah and Piper engaging in some post sex cuddling.
I really don’t know what this book is about, what is happening in it or even why I am buying it. This has to be one of the worst books ever created! Ann Nocenti gives us a story that is so confusing that I can’t even stand to read it. Trevor McCarthy’s art is nice but is wasted here. God, this is a mess!
LOBO #3: The issue begins with a flashback to Czarnia where Lobo has been charged with protecting the Emperor. We discover that anyone who drinks of the Holy Sacrament gains the power to have Life Eternal. Despite knowing that the Emperor is diseased, Lobo does his job and defends the Emperor from the Rebel Czarnians. Currently our hero and his new found friends are hunting Double-Zero, but Lobo has gotten his arm phased into a wall by Double-Zero. So he whips out his blade and cuts his arm off. Double-Zero is tough to catch because he is faster than Lobo and can phase through walls. The rest of the team tricks Double-Zero into phasing through a wall as they shut down his hardware which means he is stuck there. Lobo arrives and, while Double-Zero is still frozen in time and space, Lobo buries a blade in him, killing him. Their next mission is to find Snake Omega, who may go looking for a new time of ammo. Unfortunately, that ammo is in Metropolis.
When I first read this issue, it made little sense to me. And then I discovered that four pages were in the wrong place in the book. So, I took the book apart and fixed it, reassembled it and read it again. It didn’t help! This title by Cullen Bunn, Reilly Brown and Alisson Borges may read well, and look good, but it features a character I could care less about and therefore it’s a drain on my wallet and my enthusiasm. But it could be worse: it could be KLARION!
NEW 52: FUTURE’S END #31-35: In issue #31, Lois holds a press conference to talk about what occurred on Cadmus and how the Earth 2 refugees were being subjected to horrible experiments and was responsible for the murder of Oliver Queen. On his island, Oliver gets a visit from Buddy Baker and his family. Admitting Emiko is a better Green Arrow than him they toast to retirement. In Siberia, Clark Kent wonders why Constantine has taken him to the forests of Tunguska. Before he can say, Midge explains that there is a bear here with Brainiac's intelligence and it welcomes Superman to the harvest before exploding. On Cadmus Island, Faraday discovers the DNA storage vault is lost at sea. In Pittsburgh, Jason tries to explain to Madison how they ended up fused as Firestorm. At the same time, Jason’s father is giving the eulogy at Ronnie's funeral.
In issue #32, Plastique begs Terry to get Batman to help stop the rise of Brother Eye, but he refuses as his time’s Batman told him not to contact him. Bruce Wayne warns Mister Terrific against making the uSphere available to everyone. Instead, he announces, thanks to advice from brother Eye, that he will make the uSpheres available to New York earlier than everywhere else. In Oakland, the Earth Registration Authority refers to Cole Cash as Lana Lang's husband from Earth 2 and he agrees so he can get an Earth-Card. On Cadmus Island, Fifty Sue takes Deathstroke’s helmet and, putting it on, vows to destroy Brother Eye for not letting it kill him herself. In New York, Dr. Yamazake has survived the explosion and has built a suit to take on Firestorm and the Justice League. Jason can’t get Madison to concentrate well enough to get them out of the Firestorm Matrix. So he tells her they must go back to Yamazake's lab to find an answer. In space, the Ant Farm attaches to the ship containing Ray Palmer and his companions. Father Time and S.H.A.D.E. explain that they need to turn over The Engineer or else they will attack with every monster they have.
In issue #33, The Engineer refuses to go with Father Time and a battle begins. Ray shrinks down and enters Father Time's brain, where he finds the true nature of Father Time. In Las Vegas, King Faraday plans to have Ethan Boyer join in with Sgt. Rock or else he will have Fifty Sue make sure he does. She brings him to Faraday and later screams at Cole for not calling her. In New York City, Terry continues to search for Brother Eye, who has secretly made its’ way off Cadmus Island in Lois Lane’s cell phone and hooked up into the power grid for the entire United States. Jason and Madison make it back to Columbia University but so does Dr. Yamazake, who is now known as Doctor Polaris.
In issue #34, Doctor Polaris, who plans on killing Firestorm, has attacked Madison and Jason. He throws a cement truck at them and Madison uses her mind to turn it into a teddy. Meanwhile, Ray Palmer finds a creature with many tentacles is really Father Time. The creature says Brainiac is coming, that The Engineer has been compromised and must be destroyed. Ray shrinks Father Time down to a puddle and emerges with the creature. Frankenstein is shot by S.H.A.D.E. and begins to die.
In Las Vegas, Voodoo and her companions have been hired to reclaim the vault at the bottom of the ocean. She also discovers that Cole Cash is still alive and working with Faraday and Rock. Faraday tells Cole that he must help Fifty Sue in getting that DNA Vault. Sue causes Boyer’s hand to dematerialize, which freaks out Lana who thinks of her as just a little girl. In New York City, Batman has breached A.L.F.R.E.D. and shuts down to protect Terry. We close 30 years in the future as Brother Eye sends his Batman/Joker back in time. Arriving in the past, it immediately attacks Plastique.
In issue #35, in New York City, the battle between Doctor Polaris and Firestorm. Cal gets involved when Firestorm is injured. When Cal gets injured, Madison blasts Doctor Polaris to find his armor empty. In Las Vegas, Lana and Sue bond and Sue tells her she wants Lana to be her mother. In space, Ray and Amethyst try to figure out how to save Frankenstein. Since he cannot and is determined to build an army to fight Brainiac, Amethyst decides to bring Frank back to Earth to use magic to save him. Back in New York City, Batman/Joker continues his attack on Plastiquue as Terry intervenes. Discovering that his mentor is part of this creation, it allows the creature to take control. The Batman half tells the Joker half to kill terry, although Joker knows it would keep them from existing.
Five more issues in the books as this series races towards a conclusion in March. Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, and Keith Giffen have provided us with this winding, meandering story while Jesús Merino, Scot Eaton, Aaron Lopresti, Stephen Thompson, Patrick Zircher and Scott Kolins handle the art. Is this TRULY going to result in what will become CONVERGENCE? Will all of this be worth nothing in the world of the NEW 52 when CONVERGENCE is done. Or will CONVERGENCE bring us the best of both worlds when it is all over? Wait until April and may and then, in June, all will be revealed.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #5: Amanda Waller checks on Deadshot who is still undergoing physical therapy. She lets him know that Captain Boomerang, Black Manta, Harley Quinn, the Reverse-Flash, and some of the Man-Bat Commandos will be going on the next mission to China. Once there, Waller contacts Manta, wishing him good luck while the Man-Bats take out the guards. Once the team enters the facility, they learn that the Chinese government is in the process of producing their own super-heroes in tubes. An intruder alarm goes off and Harley tries to shut it down by hitting a big red button that only manages to release the beings.
The new team continues to get into trouble across the world. It may be a new cast of characters, but they can’t seen to get through their mission without a pile of pain. With a movie in the works, this title by Sean Ryan, Tom Derenick, and Rob Hunter is hotter than ever. I don’t know how keen I am with Reverse-Flash on the team, but I do like the addition of the Man-Bat Commandos. Just like the last incarnation, this title is a barrel of fun!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #37: Roy Harper in convalescing in a hospital bed and relives old memories with his former mentor, Oliver Queen. He recalls the first time he saw Oliver at a lecture and immediately became enamored with him. Oliver arranged to have Roy bailed out of a drunk tank and had his record wiped clean. He began working at Queen Industries and soon discovered that Queen was the Green Arrow. Having that secret hidden from him causes Roy to feel like an employee and not a partner, causing the two of them to fight it out. Oliver fires Roy, claiming he doesn’t need career advice from a drunk. But that is in the past and now the two decide to move on
Scott Lobdell and RB Silva gives us a boring little slice of soap opera sappiness. After all this time, after so much animosity, a trip down Memory Lane makes it all better. Seriously? This was a lame, fill-in issue that manages to get Roy out of his hospital bed and on his way to the next adventure. By the way: no points for giving us a great looking cover of Arsenal in a bar, drink in front of him and being watched through the front window by Green Arrow. This is a great cover by Stephan Segovia and Romulo Fajardo Jr. Too bad it NEVER APPEARS IN THE BOOK! Thanks again, DC Editorial!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS ANNUAL #2: Kid versions of Red Hood, Arsenal and Starfire come upon Santa Claus only to find out it is Suzie Su in disguise. With guns blazing, Red Hood shoots her to pieces, leaving a candy cane behind for the victor. They end up in the Batcave, where they ride the giant dinosaur outside. Soon is disappears and is replaced by a candy cane. They find Santa’s sleigh and Roy pilots it to Santa’s Workshop, which is on fire. They go out to the barn and find rabid reindeer. After defeating the reindeer, a candy cane appears. That is when they discover Santa’s Bunker and make their way inside. After surviving an attack from a giant Gingerbread Cookie Mrs. Claus, they run into Santa, who dares Jason to shoot him. Jason refuses and we see that Santa is really a Psion who was trapped on this planet and begs to be put out of his misery. Jason obliges his wish, as Blackfire and Helspont.
As is often true, this was a ridiculous waste of five bucks Scott Lobdell gives us a silly story that, hopefully, sets up something down the road with Blackfire and Helspont. Tom Derenick’s art is nice but you can tell the book had a different inker on each chapter in the form of Wayne Faucher and Walden Wong. Plus, we have four colorists and three cover artists. If this was a Harly Quinn story, I could probably buy some of this. But Jason Todd and company as little kids? Nah-ain’t buying it!
RED LANTERN #37: Previously reviewed as part of GODHEAD ACT 3.
ROBIN RISES ALPHA #1: A Boom Tube opens in the Batcave and the Batman Family emerges, fresh from Apokolips, with Damian's sarcophagus. Bruce opens the sarcophagus, shoves the Chaos Crystal into Damian's chest, and brings him back to life. But there isn’t time to rejoice as Kalibak comes through the Boom Tube. As much as the collective members of the team attack him with their weapons. Damian launches an attack and suddenly discovers he has gained super-human strength and speed. After Damian hits him with the giant penny, Batman knocks Kalibak into the portal with the nose of the Batplane just as Cyborg closes the portal. With everyone safe, Alfred decides to have everyone go to the dining room to celebrate Damian’s rebirth. Later, Damian wonders why he can’t go out and use his powers and why his tombstone is broken and not his mother’s. Bruce explains that his powers haven’t been tested and his mission was to save Damian, not Talia. Damian starts to play ball with Titus but throws the ball super fast and far away. The Bat-Signal and the team of Batman and Robin are back in action. Meanwhile, near Nanda Parbat, an amnesic Talia attacks and kills a band of nomads.
So that’s it folks: Damian died and has risen. And he has super powers to boot. Well not only answers the question of who the next Robin would be, but also takes all those possible contenders, like Stephanie Brown and Harper Row, and eliminates them. So Robin with super-powers, huh. Does this mean we don’t need a Superboy, either one of them, now that we have a REAL SUPER BOY? Thanks to Peter Tomasi and Andy Kubert for a great, if not over-hyped and revealed ending (good old DC-you put the two page spread of Damian clocking Kalibak in every book the week BEFORE the book came out!)-even if the first half of the book appeared, in some form, in this month’s BATMAN AND ROBIN.
SECRET ORIGINS #8: In the first story, we learn how Matron nominated Dick Grayson as her new partner. He was a boy acrobat whose parents were murdered because C.C. Haly did not pay protection money to the Maroni Family. Taken in by Bruce Wayne, someone that Spyral was aware was Batman, he had become Robin. When he grew older, he was no longer Batman’s sidekick and went out on his own as Nightwing and even took over the job at one point. Kidnapped and unmasked in a worldwide broadcast by the Crime Syndicate, his death was revealed to the world. Since he was presumed dead, Helena thought he would make a good Spyral agent. Mr. Minos revealed he had captured Grayson and wanted Helena to kill him. To prove her loyalty, she shot a crossbow arrow into his head. Minos reveals that she had killed a dummy and allowed her to collaborate with Grayson, now known as Agent 37.
In the second story, we learn that Anton Arcane was responsible for murdering the avatar of The Red. But the successor to that avatar was too young so Buddy Baker was named the temporary protector. To get him there, he was told a tale that dying aliens had bestowed his animal powers upon him. He was so duped that he found it impossible to believe that his own four-year-old daughter was the true avatar of the Red. The agents of The Rot kidnapped her and soon our world became Rotworld. It took Buddy’s teaming up with the avatar of the Green to end Rotworld. He managed to get her to defeat the Rot, but her brother Cliff died in the process. Angry and distraught, he demanded the Parliament of Limbs remove her as the future avatar and they, in turn, made Brother Blood the new Avatar. He eventually defeated Brother Blood and restored the Red to what it was meant to be. It also allowed him to return to his family.
In the final story, Katana is escorting Mona Shard, currently possessing a little girl, to Gallowstown. Along the way, she tells her how she came to be who she is. As a child, Tatsu Toro and her friends collected weapon-themed cards. Tatsu only needed one card to complete her collection. One night, she and her friends visited a ghost train and got the Soultaker Sword card she needed from the Weapon Freaks. Finding out she stole the card, her parents sent her to a dojo where she was advised to train and look to become a part of some outlaw sword masters called the Outsiders. In the present, the ghost train arrives and Katana puts Mona Shard into it, leaving the girl she had possessed behind. Katana decides to take her on as a possible protégé. We have another mixed bag again with this title. The GRAYSON story by Tim Seeley, Tom King and Stephen Mooney didn’t fill in a lot that we didn’t already know about Dick Grayson, but it was nice to see the test of loyalty that Minos put Helena through. The ANIMAL MAN story by Jeff Lemire, Duffy Boudreau and Travel Foreman gave us a nicely written, nicely illustrated story that gave us even less than we knew before. And the Katana tale by Ann Nocenti and Roger Robinson? Did we really have to have this story just to introduce a potential protégé for Katana? I didn’t and maybe that was why I dropped KATANA after the first issue!
SECRET SIX #1: We begin with a meeting at a bar in Redemption Flats, New Mexico between Agent Robbins and Thomas Blake from the ATF. Robbins is here with some State Troopers to arrest Blake, who notices they all have the same badge number. As Blake and Robbins brawl, the woman who was on stage singing tasers Blake and has him cuffed. When he eventually wakes, he finds himself in a room with several others. A light shines in the room with a voice saying that "the subjects will not attempt to leave the experiment" and then the floor gets electrified. The question “what is the secret” is shown on the wall and they are told they have fifteen minutes to answer it. They open a container in the room and find six masks. When they open the other, they find what’s left of Agent Robbins. They others introduce themselves. Kani, known as Porcelain, makes things brittle. There is Shauna Belzer the Ventriloquist. Damon Wells, the Big Shot is a private investigator who can grow in size. Black Alice can use the powers of others. And there is also Strix. With five minutes left, the mystery voice says someone will be terminated if the answer is not found. Big Shot shoves Thomas into a wall which cracks and leaks, telling them that they are buried at sea. Shanua reveals that there are seven of them and the voice orders them to choose the subject for termination.
I was eight years old when I read the first SECRET SIX series, which only lasted for seven issues. But it blew me away and was very disappointed when it ended without revealing who the mysterious Mockingbird, the person who gave the orders to the team. When DC resurrected this series in ACTION COMICS WEEKLY back in 1988, I was thrilled. The 20-year mystery was solved and the run was a blast. It wasn’t as cool as the original series, but part of what made it suffer was getting small chapters dragged out through the weekly. In 2006, Gail Simone got involved with the team and it started to feel like The Suicide Squad, as the team was filled with villains. But it was a neat twist. Well, Gail Simone is involved again, this time with art by Ken Lashley. And once again, she turns the concept on its’ ear. I don’t know where it’s going, but I love it!
SINESTRO #8: Previously reviewed as part of GODHEAD ACT 3.
STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #5: The military has set up a perimeter around Sutterville, Tennessee after a missile caused a zombie outbreak hit it. G.I. Zombie not only fears that it can’t be contained, he’s getting hungry and needs to feed soon. Holder, a convicted murderer who has promised to serve his country, gets to be Jared’s meal. Gravedigger informs him that Carmen has been sighted heading west. Carmen is still undercover at the Rinaldi Spa. She had learned that the spa provides enough funds to maintain the facility underneath it. The group plans to take down the existing government and cause general anarchy. Jared arrives at the gas station where Carmen was last seen and meets with his old friend Elliot. Elliot shows satellite images of Carmen heading into the Rinaldi Spa with another woman. Jared has booked himself there so he can secretly meet with Carmen. Once there, under the assumed identity of Blake Ashman, he checks into his room where a woman who seeks to hide from a pair of crooks interrupts him. They demand he stays out of it and he knocks them out. The girl, Libby, claims she was at the bar and the men were hassling her. She then produces a gun and shoot Jared in the head and then the two men. She then calls Forrest and promises him to bring the bodies. She leaves for supplies and Jared continues to play possum in order to ride to the Spa.
Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Scott Hampton sure know how to turn out a cleaver tale! And what of the poor convicted murderer who gets to serve his country-LITERALLY! That was such a great sequence that made the whole book for me! Gray and Palmiotti are known for the ability to drop black humor into their work and this one is filled with subtle bits of it. I regret that this book is cancelled in March. It’s another example of a cool concept that just didn’t catch on with readers.
SWAMP THING #37: Lady Weeds agrees to be the avatar of the Metal, but has no idea that this would include Calculus sending wires into her eyes and her brain. The avatar decides that her followers will now be known as The Rithm and promises to have the first Kingdom within the day. The Machine Queen goes to India to meet Miki, who hates Alec Holland almost as much as she does. She promises that if Miki joins her, she will deliver Guarev to her. Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Alec begins to train for the upcoming battle, unaware that the Metal has an avatar. Constantine arrives and warns him that the Metal plans on doing whatever it can to win the upcoming war. Back from India, the Machine Queen insists the Calculus search for the man who hates Alec Holland more than anyone else does. They find Anton Arcane eating a dead cat in a Philadelphia alley, but insists he can be of use to her. He has taken possession of the earthly remains of Alec Holland.
As this book races towards its’ conclusion, Charles Soule and Jesús Saíz throw in a turn I never expected: the return of Alec Holland. Of course THIS Alec Holland is a corpse only and it is now inhabited by Anton Arcane. This can’t be good for anyone involved, except for Arcane himself. Chomping on a dead cat in a Philadelphia alley-yeah: that’s how I will always remember Anton Arcane. This book is coming to an end soon and Soule will make certain it’s going to be a wild ride from here on out!
SUPERMAN #37: Superman has been captured and brought to Great World's ship over Boston. Kleric arrives and Heil argues with him, saying he will not do what he is told because Superman is his friend. After being punched in the face, Neil explains that Kleric is his adoptive father and they fought on Earth only to earn Superman’s trust. When they reach the Fourth Dimension, Neil explains that five million lives are enough to repower the energies of the Great World. Although Superman calls this mass murder, Neil claims that the Great World will die without it. Superman sees Neil's parents on the ship and promises to save everyone if Neil helps him. Neil uses his power to activate the transport cells as the five million are sent back to Earth. The ship crashes and the core of the planet detonates as Superman grabs Neil in time to get him away. Unfortunately, Neil believes that Superman planned to destroy the Great World and kill everyone on it.
Okay, like I didn’t see this coming! I come from the era of TWILIGHT ZONE where one of the classic moments is TO SERVE MAN, so I have seen the idea of the aliens wanting to eat as opposed to help. Great looking art from John Romita Jr. with a so-so story from Geoff Johns. This now reads like a wrestling storyline: best friends and now bitter enemies. C’mon Geoff: you need to write a better conclusion to this chapter than where this is going.
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #14: A woman who insists that Diana must pay for Hippolyta’s crimes has captured the Amazons. Meanwhile, Wonderstar has managed to defeat Major Disaster and The Atomic Skull, saving Superman and Wonder Woman in the process. He takes them to a crater where he says he woke up with powers. Sensing trouble, he heads to the New York Federal Reserve, where a trio of crooks has broken in and is wreaking havoc. The three of them team up to defeat the villains as Wonder Woman saves him by pulling him out of the battle with her Lasso of Truth. Later, the trio searches for in vain for clues to Wonderstar's identity as he mentions that Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship will be the death of them. A portal opens and a spear pierces Superman's back. Wonderstar blasts Wonder Woman in the face as he retrieves the spear. He remembers who he is now. He is Magog.
MAGOG!? REALLY!? AWESOME! So, anyone who doesn’t know is that Magog. He was introduced in the old ELSEWORLDS tale KINGDOM COME. Then he showed up in the DCU in JUSTICE SOCIETY. He is one of the most amazing bad guys ever! And that fact that Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke have put him into their creative pool is…nothing less than awesome! I so look forward to the next issue to see where this goes. And to be honest, I don’t care about the love story between Clark and Diana. I WANT MORE OF MAGOG!
TEEN TITANS #5: We begin with a bunch of well dressed teens trying something called Red K which is designed to give “mind-blowing” powers. Meanwhile, Tim Drake tries to convince the rest of the team that working for S.T.A.R. Labs is a good thing while Wonder Girl and her mom deal with the over abundance of Wonder Girl clones floating around as some strange fan group.Back at the scene of the Red K teens, the girl who brought the drugs to the party, falls off of a building where she is saved by Wonder Girl. The results in the rest of the teens use their new powers to attack Wonder Girl, causing her to call for back-up and gets it in the form of the rest of the team, minus Beast Boy who is snooping around S.T.A.R. Labs. The strong purple bad guy lifts a garbage truck and launches it towards Cassie’s mom, causing one of her “fans” to step in and push mom out of the way, crushing her. Or not, as the girl lifts the truck up and offers to join in.
You wouldn’t know it unless you read WORLDS’ FINEST, but the girl at the end is the new Power Girl, who was bestowed with her powers when the original Power Girl headed off to Earth 2. So, readers of this title are going “wow-who’s the powered chick?” and now you know. And is Tim Drake really this dumb? That would explain how he ended up where he did in the FUTURE’S END storyline. Thanks to Will Pfeifer for dropping a confusing, boring script on us and Scott Hepburn for giving us some great looking art! This is still not a great book, just like the previous version of this title.
TRINITY OF SIN #3: Nimraa has managed to reshape out world into a desolate, nightmarish place. Phantom Stranger tries to commit suicide so he can keep Nimraa’s spell from being completed, but she steals his memories and decides to make him her slave. Pandora is also going to be a slave and The Question will be tortured for all time. Despite having her memory wiped, Pandora had actually cast a spell that would allow her to get her memory back and saves the other two/thirds of her team. Reunited, the team realizes that the monsters on Earth are transformed humans, not people from Nimraa’s world. As the team is almost about to get their hands on the solution to save Earth, we find that The Question died during his torture and this soulless being betrays Pandora and Phantom Stranger.
What could possibly be worse than the previous TRINITY OF SIN series? This disaster from J.M. DeMatteis and Yvel Guichet. Just horrible.
WONDER WOMAN #37: Needing some dark magic done, Hippolyta's sister has her daughter give up her child to be sacrificed by an old sorceress. Instead, she kills the daughter, as Hippolyta's remains cook in her cauldron. Meanwhile, Diana tells Superman about her mother’s death and is sure she is past what should have been her breaking point. Diana returns to Themyscira to face the Amazonian council. She is tod to either remian on Paradise Island permanently or give up her place on the throne. The hearing is interrupted by an attack of Ares’ Stymphalian Birds. Before she can make a final decision, she is forced to leave to go to a Justice League emergency call. With this entire drama going on, the sorceress calls up Donna Troy to take her place among the Amazons.
We get another great looking issue from David Finch with a slightly better story from his wife, Meredith. She is certainly no Brian Azzarello and not even a J. Michael Strazinski. I like that we now have a Donna Troy and she has been “created”, which kind of ties in with some of her old origin. But I don’t care for the way our Amazonian Queen is being tortured through all of this. She is the premiere heroine of the DC Universe and deserves better than this.
WORLDS’ FINEST #29: In the early days of their his crime fighting career, Lois Lane meets Batman as he tries to gather some jewels it seems she has purloined from some common thugs. Meanwhile, Superman and an alien object crash land on an island of Amazons where he is treated less than warmly by the once and future Wonder Woman. Back in Gotham City, Batman finally catches up with Ctawoman, with an assist from Superman. Here we discover that the jewels actually belong to her later ego, Selina Kyle. And Selina knows Batman is Bruce Wayne. Intri of Apokolips intervenes and, reminding Superman that they met once before, before she takes the alien object and heads off in a Boom Tube. In the end, Lois and Superman share a tender moment where he promises they will always have each other.
Paul Levitz and Jed Dougherty continue to give us the early days of Earth 2’s Batman and Superman, since Power Girl and The Huntress have vacated the title. Levitz is still a quality writer and I love Dougherty’s art. But I found a couple of issues here. Specifically: why is the alien object that was left on Paradise Island appearing on the rooftop later in the story?. Do we REALLY think the Amazons would allow Superman back, especially after Diana cut him ever so slightly with her sword. Just one or two plot holes to put a damper on an otherwise nice issue.
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