FCBD DIVERGENCE #1 is reviewed

DIVERGENCE #1: In our first story, we discover that two months have passed since the ENDGAME ended and still no sign of either Batman or The Joker. Power CEO Geri Powers declares that there is no way to replace Batman but her company is in the process of creating something to assist the police force in his absence. She then meets with someone who she has picked to be the next Batman-Commissioner Jim Gordon. Climbing into a mecha inspired suit, he declares it’s time to “go have some fun”.

In the second story, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are enjoying a quite lunch. Clark has seen better days and Jimmy asks him if he needs money. Suddenly a would-be super villain picks up a food truck and hauls it towards them, leading Clark to jump into action. The villain rips open Clark’s hoodie to reveal the S symbol, causing Superman to flee. But the damage has been done and the whole world, be it news broadcasts, You Tube, or Twitter, know Clark Kent is Superman and they all have their opinions about having an alien living among them. Later, Lois visits Clark at a rundown motel to apologize for what she has done. Slamming the door in her face, he says goodbye.

In the final tale, while Hippolyta is giving birth to Diana, Myrina is giving birth to her own daughter, who the oracle Menalippe declares is the daughter of the Dark God and that she will one day start a war. The war will be between the Dark God and the Antigod and she sees more than that. She sees Hal Jordan make a “horrific sacrifice”, Batman become a New God, and Superman be missing and needed. She sees Aquaman drown, the deaths of Cyborg and Shazam and Mister Miracle unable to free himself. Among it all, she sees Wonder Woman in the center of it. The decision is made to slay the child, but her mother slays Penelope and Menalippe, even as the seer claims the universe will die and the anti-god will be reborn. The child is named Grail and she is prepared to kill her father, Darkseid. And thus begins the Darkseid War.

So, the book was free, but you really needed it, like the DC FCBD books of the last few years, to know where the future of the DC Universe is going. Maybe from here on out, I’ll be referring to the Divergent Universe as opposed to the NEW 52, since DC has decided to end that reference. We get the NEW Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, which is Jim Gordon in a Robocop suit. But is this OUR Jim Gordon? He sure has gotten awful beefy, lost his glasses and stache and carved a mohawk in his head. Secondly, we have the first taste of Gene Luen Yang’s work on SUPERMAN, with art by John Romita Jr. Man-what did Lois do over the last two months that led to Clark being an outcast? He has truly become a Stranger in a Strange Land. And our final tale, by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok, sets up the war the promises to change everything. So, my question is: with all the CONVERGENCE stuff and the FUTURE’S END bit, IS THIS the war that led to FUTURE’S END? Or was that all just a puff of smoke?