CONVERGENCE #5: Deimos has captured Brainiac and not only threatens to unleash him, he also claims to know Telos’ real name. He came from a world that was also captured by Brainiac and he was transformed and forced to serve while Brainiac prepared his world for the convergence. Machiste fights back and has his heart torn out by Deimos, while Warlord and Tara fight the lizard creatures, resulting in her death. He races off to the castle to help the Earth 2 heroes only to battle Deimos and be aged to the point of turning to dust. The castle collapses and everyone escapes except for Yolanda and Telos. Dick Grayson finds a batarang and removes the bat crest from Thomas Wayne’s body. In the catacombs under the remains of the castle, Deimos, with Yolanda in his possession, makes an announcement to all the cities: he will protect them all, for a price.
Jeff King kills off the protectors of Skartaris and that makes me sad, as a portion of my childhood has gone with it. Travis Morgan had many adventures and I truly enjoyed by youth riding on them with him. That having been said, this issue is full of twists and turns and really sets things in motion for the final three issues-to the point that I don’t know where this book is heading and who will be left standing when it is all done. And Andy Kubert’s art is rocking! I wish he could have done the work on the entire series, instead of each issue being done by someone different. I mean, DC had plenty of time to ramp up for this event. Do you think they could have gotten an 8-issue commitment from ONE ARTIST?
CONVERGENCE: THE ATOM #2: The Atom is battling Barracuda from the Extremists when the late Ryan Choi arrives thanks to matter displacement. It turns out the voice that Ray Palmer has been hearing in his head all these months was actually Ryan form “the other place”. But the battle isn’t done yet as Barracuda chops Ray’s elongated hand, from which Ryan springs forth fully alive again. Ryan climbs inside Barracuda’s body and does something to his rotator cuff that cripples the amphibian. Later, ray wakes in a hospital bed, missing a hand and wondering where Ryan is while countless people are in the street thanking him for saving their city. That night, Deathstroke shows up to kill Ray when Ryan pops out of The Atom’s belt and takes out Deathstroke. He ties the belt around Deathstroke’s wrists and exchanges matter, causing Deathstroke to have baby hands and Ray to have two hands once again. We end with Maria, Ray and Ryan celebrating the day and reflecting on a world without Gotham.
We also get an 8-page taste of the post Convergence GREEN LANTERN by Robert Venditti and Billy Tan. The space police in Sector 2813 try to arrest Hal Jordan with no luck. Hal takes one of the cops with him as a hostage and then lets him go, as he explains that the universe needs hired guns like them.
Okay, so we have brought back Ryan Choi and still have Ray Palmer. So we have two Atoms in a Gotham that may not survive when it’s all said and done. Thanks to Tom Peyer and Steve Yeowell for giving us an average story that doesn’t seem to do much until we get past Convergence. We may end up with two Atoms and we may end up with no Atoms. I guess we’ll just have to wait. Regarding the GREEN LANTERN tale: interesting. When did Hal grow his hair long and starts dressing like The Spectre
CONVERGENCE: BATGIRL #2: Stephanie, Tim, and Cassandra continue their battle with Grodd in between flashbacks of Tim and Stephanie’s love tryst and Catman’s encounter with Grodd. Catman asks Stephanie to help him kill Grodd and that brings us back to the present where Grodd smashes Casandra even at Stephanie begs him to take her instead. During the battle, Grodd possesses Tim, forcing Stephanie to knock him out. Catman offers himself up to lose so the portal will open and they can go home. Catman and Grodd end up transporting out as do Tim, Stephanie and Cassandra. Later, Cassandra finally wakes from her coma and Tim and Stephanie get busy on a couch.
We also get an 8-page look at PREZ by Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell. The plane carrying the first teenage president crashes somewhere in the South Pacific and all sorts of confusion and chaos occurs.
Ugh: that was a mess from top to bottom, kind of like recent issues of BATGIRL have been anyway. Alisa Kwitney story causes the book to jump around way too much from past to present and from timeline to timeline. And Rick Leonardi’s art just doesn’t seem to fit. As far as the backup goes, I was pretty excited to hear about a PREZ comic. And then I got real interested when I learned it was a girl Prez. But, after reading this, I have my concerns. Are we REALLY trying THAT hard to appeal to the female reader? This is the kind of book that can only TURN AWAY the female reader who will think it’s just plain dumb.
CONVERGENCE: BATMAN & ROBIN #2: Red Hood, Scarlet, and Robin fight a bunch of crazy dolls while Batman goes after the remainder of The Extremists. This eventually leads to an all out battle with the good guys winning in the end. The story closes with Superman meeting with Batman and wishing each other luck, no matter what happens.
We also get an 8-page preview of the new OMEGA MEN by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda. We get what seems to be an intergalactic broadcast where one of the Omega Men gives a long speech while a prisoner sits in a chair. Very much like many of the terrorist vdieos we have seen over the years, we are led to understand this is all about religion and the man in the chair is Kyle Rayner: the White Lantern. Tigorr is called in, Kyle tells Carol that he will be home late and the two disappear as Tigorr executes Rayner.
The main story was an excuse for a full-length fight scene. I can do without full length fight scenes that lead nowhere. The story was by Ron Marz with art by Denys Cowan and inks by Klaus Janson and Joe Rubinstein. But the back-up, the preview, was worth the price of the book. Based on this alone, I find this title to be high on my “I cannot wait to read this” list. Tom King gives us just enough to make us start to drool on our shoes. And did we REALLY just witness the death of Kyle Rayner? I REALLY, REALLY cannot wait for this book!
CONVERGENCE: HARLEY QUINN #2: Pig-Iron lands on Earth looking for Captain Carrot only to run into a crazy clown with a big hammer. Captain Carrot arrives on the scene too late to help, but finds the words RABBIT SEASON scrawled on a wall by our favorite crazy. An hour before, Captain Carrot and Harley were engaged in a wild and crazy battle throughout the abandoned amusement park. Pig Iron showed up and so did some robots, that Harley slew as Pig-Iron disappeared back to his own city. Later, Captain Carrot and Harley share a carrot that may or may not be poisoned. In the end, the three girls go out for food as earthquakes rattle the city and Harley’s boyfriend is left with her fish.
We also get an 8-page preview of the new SECTION EIGHT series by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. Meet the craziest heroes this side of the asylum: Grapplah, Guts, Powertool and Dogwelder. And rumor has it, the band is getting put back together. So what does someone named Dogwelder do? He welds dogs to people.
Steve Pugh’s story was funny, even if it did start with a red herring. Phil Winslade’s art looked great and brought back my best memories of the old CAPTAIN CARROT comic. So, it was fun and dumb and just what you would expect from a HARLEY QUINN comic. But, did Captain Carrot get poisoned and does that mean their world dies? Wait: I’m confused, especially because I just finished reading MULTIVERSITY and SPEED FORCE and…I’m confused! Anyway, check out that back-up. Dogwelder? REALLY! Prepare for a wile ride which I am SO SURE the DC Universe, you know…that place that we want women to visit, is NOT ready for this!
CONVERGENCE: JUSTICE LEAGUE #2: The Justice League continues to battle the Flashpoint Aquaman while Mera is held captive and appealing to Vulko’s sense of fairness. In actuality, Aquaman is not Aquaman but is actually Ocean Master in disguise. While most of the team battle Orm and the creatures of the deep, Vixen sneaks into the throne room to rescue Mera. She uses her power to control marine life and that leads him to control her and makes her shoot herself in the head, permanently disfiguring her. The team gets captured by the Atlantean forces, but Supergirl arrives to save the day, but Aquaman turns the table on her with a Kryptonite trident. Mera stabs him and tells him to die slowly. As they leave, he crawls into his throne and waits for the sharks to come.
We also get a 8-page preview of the post Convergence DETECTIVE COMICS by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. In it, Bullock, Montoya and Yip are following a speeding craft when they get into an accident and get saved by the new Batman. Montoya and Bullock get out, leaving Yip behind, as Bullock lights his cigarette lighter and blows up their vehicle with Yip inside. Later we see Bullokc meeting with the new Jim Gordon and asking him to help him kill his partner.
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Frank Tieri and Vicente Cifuentes bring us a grisly end to the evil Aquaman from Flashpoint. Actually, I remember both he and Wonder Woman being evil, so we can only hope that this timelime ends as part of CONVERGENCE because it was responsible for the NEW 52, which is now going away anyway. Does that mean I have wasted three and a half years on a story that doesn’t matter? Not quite sure about that. And the new DETECTIVE COMICS? Well, this could be a fun ride once we figure out the mechanics of it all.
CONVERGENCE: NIGHTWING/ORACLE #2: Nightwing battles Flashpoint’s Hawkman and Hawkgirl while Oracle monitors the situation before heading out in a Bat Copter. At the right time, she has Black Canary take down the Thangarian’s with her Canary Cry. Down, but not out as Hawkgirl crashes into the copter and brings it down, leading to a short fight between Hawkgirl and the former Batgirl. Hawkgirl radios to the Absorbascons to burn Gotham down but Canary hacks into the alien drones and they defeat the Absorbascons. Barbara offers to let the Thangarians live in Gotham and set up shop there for their culture. In then end, Dick and Barbara get married and live happily ever after…as long as their city survives.
We also get an 8-page preview of the new MIDNIGHTER series by Steve Orlando and Aco. Midnighter gets a call and leaves his current boyfriend behind to go to Boston and take down some alien body snatchers.
Gail Simone and Jan Duursema turn in a great story. It was a fun read and it looks fantastic, with some of Duursema’s most amazing art in years! So, it seems like the Pre-Flashpoint DCU is going to come out of this okay, unless something crazy happens in the last three issues of CONVERGENCE that sends it all away…kind of like FUTURE’S END meant nothing! The real story here is the MIDNIGHTER preview. Do we REALLY think the comics world, pardon me-the DC comics world, is ready to see our hero hop out of bed and leave his latest conquest behind. Political correctness aside: some people are gonna be upset!
CONVERGENCE: THE QUESTION #2: Renee Montoya’s father is dying and he wants to see her again. But she is out fighting for her city, alongside her roommate The Huntress and her ex girlfriend Batwoman. They are out searching for Harvey Dent, now Two Face, who is looking for a way to die. In the meantime, he confronts the OTHER Harvey Dent and orders him to pass judgment on him, even if his coin won’t let him. The Question steps between and stops the bullet herself, causing the other Harvey to go back to his own city. Luckily, her suit is made out of Kevlar and she and Batwoman reconcile, as does Renee and her dad before he dies. In the end, it looks like The Question may be dead and be reborn as the new Two Face, as Renee takes possession of the coin.
We get an 8-page preview of the new STARFIRE series by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Emanuela Lupacchino. Starfire asks all of her superhero friends what she should do with her life and where should she go. She finally has a heart to heart with Superman. She decides to head to Key West and shows up at the Key West police department and asks the sheriff to help her live here.
Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner gives us a nice story about life, death and redemption. Harvey and Renee face their demons and come through it better people. For once, an issue in these mini-series within a mini-series is not about fighting bad guys; it’s about people. This book provides closure on this version of Renee Montoya and will allow what we called the NEW 52 Renee to live on. Regarding the Starfire preview: meh! It looks absolutely wonderful, but I don’t know how thrilled I’m going to be with this character trotted out and the comical stuff that you know Palmiotti and Conner are going to give us with the “new alien in town”.
CONVERGENCE: SPEED FORCE #2: Wally, Iris, Jai and Fastback face off against the Flashpoint Wonder Woman and her Amazons in hope of saving the Pre-Flashpoint Gotham. Realizing the danger his kids are in, he orders Fastback to take the kids out of the city, which he does and the turns around and brings them right back. They observe Wally and Wonder Woman battle, Fastback, and the kids take out the Amazons and that allows Wally to wrap up Wonder Woman in her own lasso. Gotham suffers an earthquake, the Flashpoint characters disappear and Fastback heads off, leaving the West family to relish in their victory.
We also get an 8-page preview of the post Convergence GREEN ARROW by Benjamin Percy and Patrick Zircher. Green Arrow finds himself out on the road, ending up in a town called Drown. Thee, he drinks from a tank containing a dead man. While there, he hits on the bartender, who gets attack by a crazy wearing a clown mask, forcing Oliver to take action. Meanwhile, his sister is in Seattle and could sure use some help.
Tony Bedard’s story was fun but Tom Grummett's art was the absolute highlight. This is what a great comic should look like and that is enough to save a mediocre comic any day of the week. All these earthquakes though are starting to be a concern. Does this mean that Gotham is getting placed where it came from, as the teams have seemingly won the day, or does it signal the potential end to their city thanks to Deimos dicking around? Regarding GREEN ARROW: drinking from a tank with a preserved dead man in it? EWWWW!
CONVERGENCE: SUPERMAN #2: Flashpoint Batman observes the battle between Pre Flashpoint Superman, Abin Sur, Captain Thunder and Cyborg while Jimmy Olsen tries his best to help his best pal. Subject One arrives in the Batcave with a very pregnant Lois Lane and insists that Thomas Wayne help deliver her child. Freeing himself from the battle, Superman goes back to find Lois, only to find Abin Sur waiting. Sur explains that he knows Superman is not the enemy and then tells the tale of Subject One, whose Lois died in his arms. Superman flies off to the Batcave where he delivers his son, Jonathan
We also get an 8-page preview of the new DOOMED series by Scott Lobdell and Javi Fernandez. We meet the Metropolis University student who has the power to transform into Doomsday and saves the day without destroying the city or giving in to the hate brought about by an ignorant cop.
It’s the Dan Jurgens show as he writes and draws this issue, with inking from Norm Rapmund. It was a fun read and it looked great! And we had no earthquakes that I noticed. But, can this Superman timeline truly exist, considering we have already seen a glimpse of the future SUPERMAN story where our hero has been outed by Lois herself? Regarding DOOMED: yeah, this doesn’t work for me. I disliked the character right away, and that was only 8-pages of exposure to him. And the art did nothing for me either. I’ll give it a first issue read and then probably cut it loose.
CONVERGENCE: TITANS #2: Roy Harper is smart enough to battle against the Extremists and NOT have to kill Donna Troy or Starfire and grabs his daughter, taking her to a specially constructed safehouse. Cyborg and Changeling arrive to lend a hand in the fight. Dreamslayer breaks into the safe house and convinces Roy to betray his friends again to save his daughter. He does so, but that is only a ruse designed to get his daughter back in his arms and allow the rest of the team to defeat the Extremists. In the end, Roy is left with Liam and the rest of the team head off to CONVERGENCE #6 to continue the fight.
We also get an 8-page preview of the new RED HOOD/ARSENAL series from Scott Lobdell and Denis Medri. Kobra is back in business and it’s up to Roy and Jason to take them down.
Fabian Nicieza and Ron Wagner give us what I feel is a confusing and unsatisfying end to this story. So, Liam lives, even though she died. Does someone want to explain how she got reborn? Not a dream, not a hoax, not an imaginary story? Wagner’s art is always too blocky for me, unless he has the right inker and Nicieza literally left us with a cliffhanger that I hope CONVERGENCE #6 works out. The RED HOOD /ARSENAL preview left me so uncaring. I am psyched that Kobra is back but they look like another similarly named, but spelled different team, from a G.I. JOE comic.
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