Infinite Crisis #5 – summary and review

Back on pace now with my home PC repaired. Infinite Crisis #5 promises the big showdown between Kal-L and Kal-El, the Superman of the main earth.

The book starts off with some nice character work, something that Johns is good at, but didn’t have enough space for in much of this series. Mr. Terrific and Ragman are standing around outside a big mass for all of the superheroes. They talk about why they are not in there, and Ragman revels he isn’t inside because he is Jewish, and Mr. Terrific says he isn’t in there because he is an atheist. Ragman questions how anyone as intelligent as Mr. Terrific could be an atheist in a world with the Spectre, Deadman, the angel Zauriel (who is, incidentally leading the mass) and even Ragman’s own suit, composed of corrupted souls. Mr. Terrific’s answer is not satisfying to me, but it set up the following line:

Ragman: So you don’t believe in anything? You don’t have any faith?

Mr. Terrific: Of course I do, Ragman. Got faith in my team.

Ragman replies that he wishes he could say the same about his own team – seems like the Shadowpact are off to a rocky beginning.

We see Hal Jordan leave the mass early. It seems like something Zauriel said got him thinking. We also see the Blue Devil smoking and burning. Turns out whenever he sets foot in a church, he burns, but the Irish Catholic boy inside of him felt it was worth it.

Next, the scene is set on Earth-2. The members of the JSA (and Flamebird from the Titans I believe she is the daughter of Earth-2’s Batwoman) who were originally from there reappeared there, along with Kal-L and Lois, when it was created. Kal-L is so happy – Lois is saved, by bringing her back to the “right” earth.

Meanwhile, on Earth-1, Booster Gold and a blindfolded Jaime Reyes (the kid with the Blue Beetle Scarab) are trying to make their way through a cave. They are captured by snares, and Booster says that this is perfectly normal. Turns out, they were trying to get into the Batcave. Booster slaps Jaime and the Scarab springs to action, coating Jaime in a bug-like carapace to protect him. Booster tells Batman that he knows that Batman is going to try to take down Brother Eye. He even reveals that he knows who Batman was going to invite, and has already done so. He explains that the historical record from his time in the future shows who went, and that they failed, but that with the Beetle, they can succeed. He is the only one who can see Brother Eye in its current cloaked mode.

We then see Superboy getting healed in a vat by Lex Luthor, and getting ready to unleash Superboy on Superboy-Prime and Alex. He still calls Superboy “My son.” Lex actually may have some kind of emotional attachment to the kid.

Back to Earth-2. Lois likes the re-created Earth-2, but that doesn’t stop her from collapsing. Her ailment, it seems, had nothing to do with the Earth or with the “heaven” they were in – it was entirely natural. She dies in Kal-L’s arms, time being about the only opponent that this Superman cannot beat. Kal-L’s cry of anguish shatters even the sidewalk below his feet. The cry is so lout that Kal-El hears it on Earth-1, and flies off to investigate.

In Boston on Earth-1, Wonder Woman tries to intervene in some looting, but is confronted by the effects of her killing Maxwell Lord. The crowd turns on her, calling her a murderer and hypocrite. The Wonder Woman of Earth-2 appears to her, saying that the fate of the universe is at hand.

Kal-El arrives on Earth-2 to see what is going on, after hearing Kal-L’s scream of “Lois.” As is his nature, he offers to help. Kal-L is beyond hearing him. He is blaming him for having brought the “corruption” of Earth-1 to Earth-2, and causing Lois’s death. In a nice full page spread reminiscent of the cover of Superman’s first comic appearance, he attacks Kal-El with a car. There battle wages, a battle of the most powerful men on two earths.

At Alex’s tower, Alex observes this. Psycho-Pirate asks, “The Lois Lane of Earth-two has died?” Alex’s response: “She was never going to survive. A price for the future. I will miss her,” to which Psycho-Pirate says “I sense very little sorrow in you, Alex.” They continue to talk and Alex reveals that he is prepared to write off Superboy-Prime as well, as having “served his purpose. I have everything I need.”

Folks, take it from me, when the Psycho-Pirate is acting as the conscience of a group, there is an issue. Alex is well around the bend by this point.

Wonder Woman of Earth-1 and Wonder Woman of Earth-2 are talking. Diana Prince, Earth-2’s Wonder Woman explains that Superman needs WW’s help, regardless of whether or not he wants it. She also tells her to accept what might be her most challenging role of all, not ambassador, not warrior, not goddess, but human being. After the conversation, Wonder Woman ends up over Metropolis on Earth-2. She watches the battle between the Supermen, and eventually intervenes by lassoing Kal-L. He settles down enough to talk, and removes the lasso, explaining that it isn’t needed for him to tell the truth, “That’s what people from my earth do.”

They debate the flaws in the new earth, and Kal-L explains that they had to bring back the perfect earth, HIS earth. Kal-El cuts through that argument by pointing out that a perfect earth doesn’t need a Superman. Kal-L takes off.

Back at Alex’s tower, he discusses the different people he has captured and why. One of them is Breach, the Captain Atom of Earth-8 which would have also been home to Green Lantern Kyle Rainer, and the current Firestorm and Huntress. This explains why Breach’s origin struck me as being such a lame retread of Captain Atom’s – it was a retread of Captain Atom’s origin.

Batman’s crew to take down Brother Eye come together, and Alex begins to sift through the realities. Kal-L comes to a realization – Alex has been playing him. Alex reveals the reason he has kept up the disguise of what he is doing because he needed him alive. “Everything comes from Superman.” They show Kal-L in various incarnations of Superman, from Stan Lee’s Just Imagine, to Red Son, to the Arthurian Knight version and even his brief identity of “Nova” from back when he lost his powers and decided to fight crime anyway. All of the infinite earths are back.

Meanwhile, Nightwing tries to gather heroes at Titan’s Tower for an assault on Alex at his tower. While he does this, we see scenes of heroes all over on the verge of being overwhelmed and unable to answer his call. No one answers the call. Nightwing stands alone in Titan’s Tower, and looks, for a moment, defeated. Then, Superboy shows up. Nightwing and Superboy – just the two of them, are off to defeat the greatest threat to the universe.

Next, in Japan, Flash emerges from the speed force. But it is Barry Allen’s costume. He is a herald of bad news. They couldn’t hold him… Superboy-Prime is back, and wearing a costume in some ways reminiscent of the Anti-Monitor’s body armor. I have a feeling that last fight with the Titans, Doom Patrol and JSA was just the start… Now things are going to get UGLY.

Overall, this was a decent episode. The two Supermen realize they are on the same side, Alex reveals the depths of his lack of caring about human life, even those who are close to him, and Superboy-Prime returns, looking like he is ready to kick more ass and take names. The series really feels like it is heading towards its climax now.

I still think that the series could have benefited from more space to tell the more human sides of the story in more detail, but there is one thing for sure, it doesn’t have that decompressed feeling that some people complain about in today’s comics.

Something that is interesting here is that the theme of the corruption of the “Post-Crisis Earth” is just waved away here with a “well, your world isn’t perfect either.” I would have liked a little more examination of why things went the way they did. It might be Geoff Johns’ way of saying that we live in darker times now, and the things that faced the Golden Age heroes were just as serious then (some of these guys were fighting Nazis, after all) as questions of personal freedom, identity theft and such are now. The problems they are facing may have changed, but that is natural.

Anyhow, stay tuned for the recap of issue #6, coming up shortly.

Infinite Crisis #4 – review and summary

Sorry for the delay on this one – computer crashus maximus.

Okay, we’ve made it to the half-way point. This issue has three before it, and three after it. Judging by the Perez cover, the group that Wonder Girl/Troia/Donna Troy/Whatever-Her-Name-Is put together is finally going to do something. From the look of the Jim Lee cover, Superboy-Prime is about to lay the smack down on Conner Kent (looks like Krypto is on Conner’s side, though). Let’s look inside and see if either of these is true.

The scene opens on the Brotherhood of Evil, a group of villains who traditionally opposed the Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans, acting on orders from Deathstroke – orders to drop the extremely caustic Chemo on Blüdhaven. Blüdhaven is Nightwing’s base of operations. Deathstroke has a personal vendetta against Nightwing, and as has been mentioned previously, there is much in this series about Nightwing. I was predicting for months before the series started that Dick Grayson would not be making it out the other side of this one.

We are treated to scenes of Blüdhaven’s utter corruption as Chemo falls towards the city, and then we see his toxic waste spread throughout the city. In the words of Alex Luthor, he and Superboy-Prime are “erasing everything that’s bad.” Power Girl takes exception to this, and again, Superboy-Prime reveals his spoiled brat temper, yelling at her and calling her a traitor.

Alex Luthor now reveals the depths of his involvement in the lead-up to Infinite Crisis. He and Superboy had broken out of their pocket dimension before Superman (Kal-L) broke them all out at then end of IC #1. He had Superboy find the Anti-Monitor’s corpse, and used that as the basis for the tower he now has several heroes strapped to. He posed as Lex Luthor to create the Society, and used them to capture many of those very heroes. He used Psycho-Pirate, who was key to the Anti-Monitor’s plans in the original Crisis, to manipulate Eclipso into seducing the Spectre. Using the Spectre to destroy all the Lords of Order and Chaos to end the current age of magic allowed the magic to become a raw, unshaped energy, which Alex planned to use the power of Shazam to tap into. Alex also was responsible for Brother Eye gaining sentience, although I don’t know if he was the one who taught it to use “Eye” instead of “I” when referring to itself. Either way, just for this transgression, I am rooting for anyone who isn’t Alex Luthor in this one already. And Superboy-Prime was the one who started moving planets towards each other (yeah, that’s right, I said moving planets) to change the center of the universe away from Oa (which only existed in the Earth-1 universe) to where it was in the Earth-2 universe. He was then able to open a rift in the center of the universe, and use his tower, powers, Brother Eye, the magical energies, and the rift to create a new earth – one that is “perfect.” Alex also reveals that Earth-2 is not his perfect earth – he is using Kal-L too.

Power Girl concludes that it was all this manipulation, and the effects of the Psycho Pirate that have contributed to the darkening of the DC Universe. Alex assures her that it was falling apart before he got involved. Luthor also explains that in all the universes, when a Superman and a Luthor stand next to each other, “…They will always be at odds.” Is this perhaps foreshadowing of conflict between Alex and Superboy? Or did the writers overlook that part of the story?

Next, we see Batman and Nightwing. Nightwing is going to risk life and limb to head back into Blüdhaven to help, and Batman asks him not to. Batman is there just to make sure that Nightwing is all right. The un-Batman-likeness of this is lost on Nightwing in the face of the tragedy. I think it is driven home when Batman looks him in the eye and says “I need your help, Dick.” What? Calling him by his given name in costume? Asking for help rather than barking orders? Something has definitely changed in this man.

Next, we see Kal-L and Alex talking at Lois’ bedside. Superman confirms that Batman wasn’t willing to join him. He mentions that Batman pointed out this world’s Dick Grayson is better than Earth-2’s. He grew out of Batman’s shadow – even stopped calling himself Robin, unlike the Dick Grayson of Earth-2. He is a good and strong man. Superman’s conviction is starting to waver, so Alex uses Lois’ health to distract him.

Next, Superboy-Prime confronts Conner Kent on the Kent farm. Even at his lowest ebb, Conner Kent has more confidence, more charisma than Superboy-Prime can muster, even for a confrontation he has been waiting years for. As usual, Superboy-Prime is acting like a petulant child, and he throws the first punch, right there in the doorway of the farm house.

Over to El Paso Texas. Jaime Reyes, who found the Blue Beetle Scarab last issue, awakens to find Booster Gold in his bedroom. Booster discovers that the Scarab, which he has plans for, has grafted itself to Jaime’s spine. There is a hitch in Booster’s plan. Booster ponders the next step.

Next, we are treated to a page of Superboy-Prime trashing Conner Kent. And much of Smallville in the process. He is ranting about being the real Superboy. Krypto intervenes, and gets kicked down the street for his trouble. Conner uses the moments this takes to recover, and mounts a counterattack, bloodied but unbowed.

Back to Batman and Dick. Batman asks Nightwing to gather people to assault Alex Luthor in his headquarters. When Nightwing asks, “Why come to me,” Batman replies, “Because everyone else trusts you. They always have.” Batman admits that he hasn’t spent as much time keeping up relationships with other heroes. As they part ways, Batman off to fix a “computer problem” (anyone else thinking Brother Eye here?) and Dick off to gather heroes for an assault, Batman stops him. He asks Dick, “The early years. I’ve forgotten if… they were good for you, weren’t they?” Faced with this very human question, Dick, Batman’s first Robin gives him an answer that is both honest, and what Batman needs to hear: “The best.”

Meanwhile, it turns out that Superboy’s counterattack was short lived. Superboy-Prime can move planets. And can wreck tons of private property throwing cars at Conner. One of the things that made me laugh at Prime here was his statement to Conner, “You don’t even have a cape!” Here, obviously, is a kid who understands what it means to wear the “S.” It means you wear a cape. And beat an opponent who is less powerful to you nearly to death. Conner is smiling, though, and when Prime asks him why, he reveals his Titans communicator device. The next page (and I think this should have taken two, but again – so much story so few pages) we see Beast Boy in dinosaur form yelling “Titans Together!” The Titans and there reserves are here, along with the JSA (minus Allan Scott, who is out in space, and Doctor Fate, who is dead) and the Doom Patrol. Prime’s feelings are hurt by being attacked by all these heroes, as he still sees himself as a hero.

The next two pages cover the creation of the new Spectre. He is bound to the suddenly-animated corpse of Crispus Allen, a cop from the now-defunct Gotham Central series. A cop killed by another cop, a corrupt one named James Corrigan, the same name as the man who was the Spectre’s original human host. In many of the original stories, that Corrigan wasn’t entirely clean either, though not for his own betterment. He was the kind of cop that tended to lose a lot of suspects who happened to be shot while “fleeing custody” or was more than happy to provide his own evidence if such was required.

Superboy-Prime is whining again. “I just wanted to talk to Superboy. You started this!” Pantha calls him a stupid kid as she leaps at him. Getting angry, he punches her head off. Literally. It rolls down the street, while Prime is horrified at his own actions. (Note: he started the Rann-Thanagar war, which has cost millions of lives. And he also at least knows of Alex’ creation of the Society, which just dropped Chemo on a densely populated city. He is okay with all of this, until he actually sees the blood on his own hands – literally.) The unified teams begin an all out assault on Superboy, and actually manage to draw blood. He is babbling like a child, “Please! I said I didn’t mean to!” But then his temper takes over – rather than face the consequences of his actions, he goes on to kill Wildebeest, cutting him in half with his heat vision. He freezes Red Star solid, and tears Risk’s arm off. Bushido, a character I liked, introduced in an annual a few years ago, when each comic was tasked with introducing a new hero from somewhere other than North America, is also burned in twain with heat vision. At this point, the Flashes arrive (Wally West Flash, Jay Garrick Flash, and Bart Allen, Kid Flash), and take Prime into the Speed Force with them. All except Jay Garrick, who simply isn’t fast enough to get there. He helps with the original attack, but drops out before they make that last step.

While running into the speed force, Wally stops by to see his wife Linda, and tells her that he has to give up everything he loves to save it. She says that he will not, and his family is going with him. Wally disappears off to the side, leaving just Bart to take Superboy into the speed force, and Bart says he can’t do it. Superboy agrees with him, and starts to call him a stupid little kid who has been left all alone. This pushes Bart’s buttons, and he begins to lay a Super-Speed Smackdown on Prime, all by himself, running the whole time. It’s not likely he could keep this up alone, but doesn’t need to. From the speed force emerge fallen speedsters. First Barry Allen, Bart’s grandfather, and Wally’s mentor and inspiration. Then Max Mercury, Bart’s guardian and father figure, and lastly Johnny Quick, father of Jesse Quick, and member of the All-Star Squadron. Bart helps them push Prime into the speed force, ending his threat – only Wally has ever emerged from the speed force.

At this point, the speed force’s connection to earth is destroyed.

Next, we move back to Alex Luthor’s tower, where they use Black Adam to call down the power of Shazam from the magical morass that was once the ninth age of magic. This energy will power Alex’s tower.

Back into space, and we now see why those heroes are there. Alex’s hands appear in the great rift at the centre of the universe, and things start happening. Many heroes and buildings disappear from earth. In the sky… another earth. Earth-2 is back, and those things that belong to it are taken there. Kal-L thinks it’s all over. He and Lois are home. I suspect that since there are still 3 more issues to go, it cannot possibly be that simple.

Infinite Crisis number 3!

Infinite Crisis review and Summary – issue 3

Okay, the summary issues should more or less be over, and the action should be starting right now. Let’s look in and find out.

Opening scene: The Society has all the water-breathing villains attacking San Diego/Sub Diego (Aquaman’s underwater town) while storms pummel the world. Aquaman is proving to Black Manta, Ocean Master and their cohorts that he is capable of being just as vicious as the beasts who just bit Neptune Perkins in half. He runs one of them through with a spear, before moving on to the other. (I have to admit – most of Aquaman’s comics have been a blind spot of mine, other than the portion that Peter David wrote, so I don’t recognize a lot of the characters here. I think the one he stabs with the spear is The Shark, an old Green Lantern foe, though it could be King Shark, who was a Superboy foe.)

Cut to Atlantis, where the Atlantean mages are trying to cast some kind of spell. Tempest (the former Aqualad-turned-Atlantean-sorceror), Dolphin (his wife), Lori Lemaris (a mermaid who is a one-time Superman love interest), Vulko (long-time Aquaman supporting character), and Koryak (Aquaman’s son) are all seen here. The Spectre, still out to crush magic, decides this is a bad idea and steps on the city. Yes. The whole city. There are undoubtedly some survivors, but it is still messy.

Next we see the battle between the OMACs and the Amazons of Paradise Island. The OMACs, serving as Brother Eye’s, well, eyes are broadcasting the battle back to the rest of the world. The Amazons unleash a variant on their “purple healing ray,” the “purple death ray.”

Batman is in contact with Brother Eye and is trying to convince it to stop, but Brother Eye has determined that “Wonder Woman and the Amazons pose a threat that must be exposed.” Batman insists that Brother Eye shut the OMACs down, seeing both Amazons and OMAC-controlled people dying in this battle. This is made more poignant if you have read “Trinity” where one of the main things that comes from the story for Batman is knowledge that there is a perfect Paradise on earth, in the form of Paradise Island (and no, not just because it is full of hot women). Batman then loses his temper, throwing his chair at his main monitor, and essentially having a breakdown, where he realizes that his methods are failing. Collapsing to his knees, he flashes back to the most traumatic times of his life, and he says “…I just wish I could start over.” At that moment, Superman appears to him. He says “Bruce… You can start over.” This Superman is, of course, Kal-L.

Next we see Power Girl reacquainting herself with Lois, and with her regained memories. Superboy-Prime confronts Power Girl about whether or not she is going to help with the re-creation of Earth-2 to save Lois, and fix things. Power Girl is not ready to commit, and Superboy loses his temper. Every time someone disagrees with this kid, he loses his temper. He expresses his jealousy towards Conner Kent, the current Superboy. He then gives Power Girl a copy of Lois’ journal to help convince her.

In El Paso, Texas, the Shadowpact, a team of mystically-based heroes, are collecting the pieces of the Rock of Eternity and trying to protect innocents from the fallout. The nature of the Rock of Eternity allows the explosion to appear to happen over Gotham, yet rain down shards all over the world. As they look on, a skyscraper begins to fall. None of them have the power to stop it, but suddenly, Superman is there. Kal-El. The Superman of this world. He fixes the skyscraper, and explains he has to go to California to save more lives. The Shadowpact say they think they have things covered, and Superman says to them, “Keep up the good work.” From Ragman’s reaction, it is clear – Superman is becoming a figure of inspiration again. Not far away, we see that a kid named Jaime picks up the Blue Beetle’s scarab.

At the center of the universe, not much happens, except Firestorm is hearing more voices in his head than he should be, and Animal Man is shooting lightning out of his face.

We see a moment of the Flash’s home life before it is interrupted by a broadcast of the carnage at Paradise Island, the newsman wondering if Wonder Woman’s preaching of peace has been a lie all along. The next news story is about super tornadoes in Kansas, and Flash runs out to be a Superhero. Even as the story changes to describe the tornado’s dissolving with a red blur and streak of lightning within them, Linda, his wife, is obviously scared for him in this time of great trouble.

Back to Kal-L and Batman. Batman seems to be considering Kal-L’s pitch. Kal-L finishes his pitch by telling Batman, the man who was mindwiped by his own teammates in the JLA and has since had them turn their backs on him for the actions he took as a result, “I will always stand at your side.”

Wonder Woman realizes that while the Amazons might win this battle, they do so at the cost of the war – that if they are seen as a violent threat, which Brother Eye has managed to arrange, that more armies will come. She suggests that the Amazons ask their gods to move them to another plane of existence, away from “man’s world.” The gods hear the prayers of the Amazons, and Wonder Woman leaves the island, saying her destiny is not on the island, but is instead to stay. The gods move the island elsewhere.

Next, green-eyed battle-suited Lex Luthor watches as the Society, led by blue-eyed, business suited Lex turns on Black Adam. There are some serious heavy hitters sent to take him down – Amazo, the android with the powers of the entire JLA, the General, a military man in the body of the powerful and indestructible Shaggy Man, Gorilla Grodd, the super-strong and savage master of the mind who has fought Flash on many occasions, Silver Banshee, who has gone toe-to-toe with Superman, and someone who I do not recognize named Sudden Death. The more physical among even this crowd aren’t having much luck against Black Adam (the dude is hard core), but Psycho Pirate is there, and intends to use his power to mollify Adam. Luthor’s gloating is interrupted by the other Lex, green eyed and wearing a battle suit. The presence of the other Lex so close makes it hard for green eyes to think, and it degenerates to a fight. A blast of the battle suit that makes Lex able to play with Superman doesn’t even ruffle blue-eyes’ suit. He returns the favor with a dark energy blast.

Back to Kal-L and Batman. Kal-L tries to give Bruce an easy way out. He says that none of this is Batman’s fault, but Batman insists that it is his fault. Batman asks what will happen to all the people of his world if Kal-L is successful, and Kal says they’ll be replaced, but with better people. Bruce asks about Dick Grayson. If he is better on Earth-2. Superman has to admit that he is not. Batman expected that answer – after all how could Dick be any better than he is? Saying he believes that Kal-L can reshape the world, and cannot let him do that, he confronts Batman with the Kryptonite ring that Kal-El gave him. Kal-L explains that the Kryptonite being from a different reality has no effect on him, and says that he ring is a symbol of all that is wrong in this world. That it represents the flawed relationships that the heroes have in this world that will destroy it if it is allowed to. He then flies off, seeming to truly regret Batman’s decision.

The two Luthors continue their battle. Green eyes acts unpredictably – he destroys the computers masking blue eyes’ appearance. It turns out that blue eyes, the leader of the Society, is Alex Luthor. At this point, we se the hands of a Super type tear open Lex’s battle armor like a crab’s shell, and Alex gives the order to “erase him.” A blast of heat vision threatens to do just that, but Lex teleports away. The Super type wants to go find him, but Alex says no. “Not until the tower is ready.”

Power Girl finishes reading Lois’ journal with tears in her eyes. She goes to find Alex and Superboy-Prime, to try and convince them that if they work with the heroes of this earth, maybe they can find a win-win solution. At the same time, interspersed, we see Batman reviewing the last moments during which anyone saw the Martian Manhunter, his computers having finally finished downloading and recovering the information on the black box from the Watchtower. At the same moment, Power Girl sees the tower, topped by the corpse of the Anti-Monitor, and goes to see if the Martian Manhunter is okay, and Batman sees that it is a Super-type who surprised the Manhunter. Power Girl is knocked unconscious even as Batman watches the same fate visited on the Manhunter in both cases, it is revealed to be Superboy-Prime, acting on the orders of Alex Luthor.

Okay, so at the end of the first issue, it looked like Kal-L could be the hero of the piece. At the end of the second issue, it looked like he could be the villain of the piece, and at the end of this issue, it looks like he is a well-intentioned foil.

I’m not sure how I feel about this issue. I am not sure if I like the idea of Alex Luthor being the villain. I certainly like it more than Kal-L being the villain, though, so I will let it go.

The problem with these comics so far is that with so much story to tell, there haven’t been enough moments for action. This one is the same. We see some scenes involving a little action between the Luthors, but that is more of a beating than a fight, and it is there just to reveal that the Lex Luthor behind the Society is in fact Alex. The fights between the OMACs and the Amazons are one-panel affairs, not doing the Amazon fighting style justice. The exception to this is the beating of the Freedom Fighters, and it is one of the moments that stands out. The scene here with the Shadowpact and Superman would have benefited from being longer. I think showing the Shadowpact struggling heroically, but gradually being overwhelmed, only to have the collapsing skyscraper be the proverbial last straw would have been more effective. I’m sure there simply wasn’t space, but the “nick of time” save thing didn’t have much impact because we only saw the nick of time, without seeing the build up to it, and being invested in the situation. Maybe this needed to be a twelve-issue series, with about the same number of pages total devoted to the main story, but more used to develop interest and investment in the other things going on. Maybe that would have been too much, but I would have loved to see more than one panel of Black Adam’s fight against the most powerful the Society had to offer. I would have loved to see the Freedom Fighters in issue #1 beat down some of the less-powerful members of the Society with teamwork and style to find the location of the warehouse where they eventually got decimated.

I really do hope to see more straight-ahead action in further installments, and more time to make me care about what is happening to those less directly involved in the story line.

Other major plot points in this issue: Batman finally admits he isn’t perfect, and takes responsibility for his mistakes. Superman inspires hope and wonder in other heroes. Wonder Woman chooses to avoid battle rather than straight ahead destroy those who oppose her. The Society starts showing cracks. Superboy-Prime is shown to a jealous punk very much under Alex Luthor’s control, and is shown to have no problem with the ends justifying the means.

Infinite Crisis #2 – summary and review.

After the first issue, I was expecting more plot movement and less summary from this one. I’d say more action, but the truth is that between the Freedom Fighters having their asses handed to them and Mongul’s attack on the Big Three, there was action in the first issue.

This issue opens showing the home life of Animal Man, as he prepares to head out into space, discussing that the animals all over the world are having flight reactions. As he puts it, “I tried to borrow speed from a rabbit yesterday and I ended up thumping my foot against the ground for an hour.”

Next, we see Donna Troy’s space-bound heroes. Air Wave is having a breakdown from the sounds of all the deaths in the Rann-Thanagar war. This is a particularly human couple of pages, just showing how some of the heroes get along, or deal with each other.

Superman of Earth-2 revealed last issue to be the narrator says he can hear Supergirl’s heart beating (from space? Dude’s some kind of powerful) in perfect synch with Power Girl’s. This might help explain why when they were close to each other their powers got a little haywire. This leads to Power Girl’s scene. She is under attack by members of the Society, who say they have instructions to take her alive. She fights, but starts to take a little bit of a beating. To be fair, she is facing enemies of Captain Marvel and Superman, for the most part. Then he steps in. Kal-L. The Superman of Earth-2. He makes short (VERY short) work of the villains attacking Power Girl, and offers her his hand, calling her cousin. Throughout the series, we are seeing red skies, just like we did through Crisis on Infinite Earths. When Kal-L shows up to save Power Girl, The skies in the area are suddenly blue. In his own words, “The clouds part. The yellow sun welcomes me back.”

Next we see Superman, taking Batman’s accusation of last issue to heart. He takes steps to move in the opposite direction. He now understands his role and intends to fulfill it.

After that, we see Lex Luthor talking to the Society’s inner circle – Deathstroke the Terminator, Dr. Psycho and the Calculator specifically in this case, and he needs one of the Marvel family. Since they are having trouble finding them, he instructs the Society to bring him Black Adam instead. Deathstroke says that the heroes being captured (The Ray in issue 1, the attempt to capture Power Girl a few pages ago, and could this be where the Martian Manhunter has gone?) are to be used to power a mind-wiping machine. Triggered by the events revealed in Identity Crisis, when the JLA (or at least some of them) mind-wiped Dr. Light and others, including Batman, the Society evidently intends to strike back.

Next scene: Lex Luthor in the icy wastes near Kal-L’s new Fortress of Solitude. But this is a different Lex. This Lex is listening in on the conversation that the Society’s Lex is having with Deathstroke. This Lex is having trouble thinking straight. And, he has green eyes, where the society’s Lex has blue. If you go back through recent comics (the last year or two) you will see different Lex appearances, some of which have green eyes and some of which have blue. It has never been a mistake. One of these Lexes (Lexi?) is not from the main DC world, which explains the befuddlement when they are in the same reality. Much like when Power Girl and Supergirl got too close to each other.

Kal-L brings Power Girl back to see Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor as well as his Lois. We get a quick summary of the creation of the multiverse by Krona, a Scientist from the planet Oa, before everyone from there looked the same. Then, we get a summary of how the different earths were different and how the League met the Society, and of Crisis on Infinite Earths, when the being called the Anti-Monitor destroyed most of the earths of the multiverse. How he was defeated, and how the result was a single universe, which is how it was meant to be.

Superman covers how Alexander Luthor created a pocket dimension where the four of them, who probably should have been destroyed in the new reality, were able to survive, and watch the rest of the DCU. Things were going well. But then they took a turn for the worse.

We see the events that led this Superman to decide that the world needed him again: The death of Robin, the death of Superman, Batman having his back broken, Wonder Woman being replaced by the more violent Artemis, Sue Dibny’s death in Identity Crisis, Blue Beetle’s death at the hands of Maxwell Lord, Superboy turning on the Teen Titans due to the part of him that is Lex Luthor, and Maxwell Lord’s death at the hands of Wonder Woman.

Superman then shows Kara that his Lois is dying.

Next we see the return of Booster Gold. His intention was, apparently to have appeared before someone in a Superman-type costume took Martian Manhunter and destroyed the JLA Watchtower, but he is too late. He sets out to find Blue Beetle’s scarab. This scarab powered the original Blue Beetle, who actually had some powers, but not the most recent one. The most recent one took his inspiration from the original, and they were friends, but Ted Kord was never super-powered.

The next page, we touch base with one of DC’s main villains, who we haven’t seen yet this series: The Joker. He has apparently taken out the Royal Flush Gang on his own. He asks King when his invitation to the Society is going to come, and King’s answer doesn’t make him happy: “You’re the only one they don’t want. See, everyone knows… Joker’s too wild.” Making Joker unhappy typically isn’t a good recipe for a long life. That remains true. Joker walks out of the casino where the confrontation took place, saying “that’s not funny.” I have a funny feeling that will end up being significant.

Next, Kal-L reveals Power Girl’s true origin as basically the Supergirl of Earth-2 to her, and she remembers her close familial bonds with Kal and Lois.

Batman is shown blowing off Alfred’s attempts to sew up some of his cuts. He goes so far as slapping Alfred’s hand away, only to get a line from Alfred that cuts him as deeply as his line to Superman last issue: “You know, there was one thing your father never wanted to be. Alone. Fortunately, he had your mother at his side. Even at the worst of times.” Batman has no response. He pauses, and goes back to work trying to figure out what happened with Brother Eye.

Brother Eye basically says that he has simply taken Batman’s mission for it, that of monitoring the super heroes, to the next level, using the OMAC technology that Maxwell Lord added to it. He says there were 1.3 million OMACs, of which 60.7% were disabled at the end of the OMAC Project miniseries. The rest are going to “protect this world from people like (Wonder Woman).”

The OMACs have begun an all-out attack on Paradise Isle, where Wonder Woman stands with the Amazons, including her once-rival Artemis, and Fury from the Young All Stars. Wonder Woman is unsure how to fight the menace – OMACs have innocent people inside.

At the end of the issue, Kal-L reveals something shocking: He intends to replace the current earth with Earth-2, and bring back the world he remembers as being “right” or “perfect.”

It’s an interesting comic. More catch up, and even less action. This was mostly a “talking heads” type of issue, but we do see some changes starting: Superman wants to fix the problem that Batman identified, and Batman is forced to confront the fact that he keeps pushing everyone he cares about, and who might care about him, away. Wonder Woman is shown not to be bloodthirsty in this issue, perhaps not as far gone as Superman and Batman think her to be.

Kal-L might just turn out to be the villain of the piece. Also, there is some fracturing within the Society, as that Lex’s goals are more important to him than loyalty to Black Adam.

The story moves forward, and I am looking forward to more action in the next issue.

Summary and review - Infinite Crisis number 1

Infinite Crisis review and summary… or is that summary and review

Below is my summary and review of Infinite Crisis, issue 1. It is rife with spoilers. And some cursing. If you don’t want either of those things, stop reading now. Expect the rest to come out over the next week.

Infinite Crisis number 1:

Mostly a summary of “how we got to where we are” but told in an interesting way. Narrated by an all-seeing character who obviously thinks that the characters he is talking about should be doing more, and are capable of doing more than they are, and told in flashback, as well as through conversation among characters(very much in-character and well written) we get all kinds of information, mixed in with new developments.

The Justice League’s Watchtower has been destroyed by forces unknown. The Martian Manhunter, one of DC’s most powerful characters is missing, as part of the same event. Batman has been spying on his allies in the JLA via a satellite. The Trinity (speaking of which, I just picked up the Trade paperback of Trinity by Mat Wagner, telling of the first meeting of Superman and Batman with Wonder Woman. The man remains one of my favorite writers and artists. In fact, this review was delayed because I couldn’t put that bad boy down) are not getting along any more. Wonder Woman murdered someone in cold blood, while he was tied up in her lasso. (Revealed in the OMAC miniseries and a Superman/Wonder Woman crossover, we see that this man is Maxwell Lord, who for years was comic relief in the DCU, but it turns out was secretly advancing his anti-metahuman agenda the whole time. We are just shown the image without Lord being identified.) Both the Maxwell Lord bit and the satellite thing revolve around the OMAC miniseries, as does the moment with Nightwing leading up to his two-page spread.

It goes like this: Batman created a satellite, alternately called Brother Eye or Brother I (as in Roman numerals, but also pronounced "eye.") to spy on all the other superheroes. Ostensibly because of the brain wipe revealed in Identity Crisis. Maxwell Lord took over the satellite and used it to create the OMACs. They are nanobots that exist in the bloodstreams of otherwise normal people which suddenly become Ultra-tech armor allowing these things to go toe to toe with the likes of Superman, yet at the same time get trashed in large numbers by Robin. It's like Lobo, who was always at exactly the right power level to challenge whoever he was fighting in his early appearances in the non-Omega Men DCU. Whether that person was Lar Gand (Superman level power, briefly had his own series called Valor, only mentioned here because I wanted to repeat the fact that when they fought, Lobo called him "Large Gland"), Santa Claus, or a wrestler, it was always a good fight. So, apparently, despite being roundly seen as the most dangerous member of the JLA, Batman sucks. Yep. you heard me. He created protocols for beating the rest of the JLA, which were stolen and led to the Tower of Babel story arc. I hated it, but many loved it. Anyhow - idea for handling issue stolen from him. Then he fires Spoiler as Robin. So she steals one of his ideas and causes the "War Games" story line. Which leads to her own death, and Batman's ostracism by the GCPD. Then he creates this satellite to keep tabs on other heroes, and Maxwell Lord takes it over. Apparently, Batman's security sucks, and the dude never learns. So, by the time this series starts, the OMACs are a huge threat, capable of taking out many of the heroes of the DCU, largely because Batman cannot learn from his mistakes. Oh, and the satallite is sentient, and instead of "I" says "Eye." Which is stupid.

Superboy has given up his heroic identity, after discovering he was created by Lex Luthor. He is on the verge of stepping back in, but in the end, hears a news story about Lex and cannot bring himself to do it.

We also see four people watching the DCU in some sort of crystalline matrix. We find out that Donna Troy is putting together a force of Superheroes to go to determine what is going on that the Titans of Myth said will threaten the end of the very universe. Nightwing and Bludhaven are prominently featured. Nightwing seems to be of particular interest to the narrator.

We see the Rann-Thanagar war still going on, and the gash in the Universe created at the end of that miniseries is now the center of the Universe, which Oa (home planet of the Guardians of the Universe, creators of the Green Lanterns) has been up until now.

In Gotham, we see Riddler and some of the DCU’s lamer villains (I mean really, Geoff Johns had to bring back The Fisherman?) and they as well as some of Gotham’s finest watch the Rock of Eternity appear and explode. This is where Shazam, the wizard behind the powers of Captain Marvel, his Marvel Family and Black Adam resides. Given its name, you might guess that it blowing up is a big deal. The Spectre shows up in Gotham. The narrator decides that the world he is observing corrupts legends after watching one kill another – the wizard Shazam, part of the Quintessence, DC’s council of the most influential magical beings, is dead.

The Freedom Fighters (a not-too well known team, who have been around for years, currently mostly second-generation heroes) who consist of Uncle Sam, the living embodiment of the United States, and claiming to be as old as the country itself, Phantom Lady, who wears among the skimpiest costumes in comics (worth mentioning because don’t be surprised if you look for her online and find lots of “fan art”) and uses a “blacklight ray” to disappear, or to blind her foes, trained by the original Phantom Lady, who was also in the Freedom Fighters, The Human Bomb who explodes on contact with, well, anything, if he isn’t wearing a special suit, the Black Condor, who is a cut-rate Hawkman, The Ray, who has light-control powers, and is the son of the original Ray, a founding member of the Freedom Fighters back in World War II, and Damage, the son of the original Atom, who has an internal charge that gives him super powers, but if not used frequently enough, can also cause him to explode. The magnitude of his explosions has been shown to be sufficient to re-create the Big Bang during Zero Hour. Of course, that was a one time thing, but there you have it. That was a lot of background, considering what happens next: They get their butts kicked. They investigate a warehouse, only to open a couple of door and get surprised by some of the nastier members of the Society, an effort by Lex Luthor to get all of the villains on earth together against the heroes in a concerted way. The opening salvo is a blast of Yellow energy that lances right through the Black Condor’s chest – he looks pretty dead. The next two pages are a nice spread of the villains here to stop the Freedom Fighters: Black Adam, Dr. Light, Dr. Polaris, Deathstroke, Psycho Pirate, Bizarro, Cheetah, Sinestro and Zoom. Really, this is overkill. And it soon shows. Dr. Light uses his newfound power levels to suck all the light out of The Ray, taking him out of the fight. Zoom uses the standard speedster “hit you a million times” ploy on Damage. He’s out. Cheetah sniffs out the invisible Phantom Lady and claws her, and then Deathstroke runs her through. That’s two deaths so far for the freedom fighters. Human Bomb sets himself off, within his protective outfit, using only his hand it tosses Sinestro, Light and Deathstroke for a loop, at which point Polaris comes in and gloats about Phantom Lady’s death. Human Bomb rips open his protective suit, and saying, “You want war, Polaris? DIE!” allows a huge explosion to be released. Polaris’ ravaged body can be seen in the next bit, when Bizarro shows up and beats the Human Bomb to death, releasing another explosion with each impact, commenting on how, “Me like pretty lights,” with each punch. Soon, there are not more lights. That’s three Freedom Fighters down. Black Adam, Cheetah, Zoom and Sinestro dog pile Uncle Sam. He may not get a lot of press, but he is a powerful dude, and hard to kill. Psycho Pirate drags the Ray off, saying that “Luthor needs you alive.” That’s the last we see of the Freedom Fighters for this issue. Phantom Lady, Black Condor and the Human Bomb are definitely dead. Uncle Sam is last seen being blasted by Sinestro, until a little panel I will mention just below, Damage has taken a pretty severe beating, and the Ray is dragged off. The villains have lost the services of Dr. Polaris, a poor man’s Magneto, with multiple personality disorder.

Interspersed with this fight, Mongul, who has never even beaten just Superman, pounces on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman while they are hashing out their personal differences, figuring this would be a good time to take advantage. He sucker-punches Superman, and then faces Batman and Wonder Woman while Superman flies off into space. He then knocks Batman aside, and Wonder Woman cuts him with her sword. Mongul is defeated by a pissed-off Superman, but there is nothing remotely resembling team work or strategy among the JLA. This is a stark contrast to the Freedom Fighters/Society fight, where the Freedom Fighters are double teamed, and the villains cover for and support each other. Wonder woman tries to kill Mongul, and Superman stops her. Mongul then runs off, leaving the JLA to argue about what they should be doing, and what they have done, while the world’s most powerful villains tear the Freedom Fighters apart. Superman and Batman both dump on Wonder Woman for being too bloodthirsty. Batman then accuses Superman of not doing what he needs to and leading people, not inspiring them. As he puts it, “…They need to be inspired, and let’s face it, ‘Superman’… the last time you really inspired anyone was when you were dead.” Superman has a difficult to read look on his face, Wonder Woman hangs her head. The scene then shows Uncle Sam, lying face down in a pool of water, with blood and who knows what else flowing through it. Batman says simply, “We’re finished here,” and walks away from Superman and Wonder Woman replies “Yes. I guess we are.” She walks in the other direction, leaving Superman, standing there, hanging his head. The narrator decides that time has come. The next few panels reveal who the narrator is: Kal-L, the Superman of Earth-2, who was taken away from the universe during Crisis on Infinite Earths. He has been watching what has been happening since, and he isn’t happy. He punches his way out of the “heaven” Alexander Luthor created for him at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and as he finally shatters the barrier, says “Now this… This looks like a job for Superman.”

And so ends issue number one. With a page of Superman (Kal-L) Superboy from Earth Prime (an earth that existed before the original Crisis, where there were no super powers, until him. It was originally supposed to be our world, but over time that got changed) Lois Lane of Earth-2 (Kal-L’s aged wife) and Alexander Luthor free into the mainstream DC Universe.

This issue is clearly a “darkest before the dawn” kind of story – the biggest three heroes can’t even work together to take down a direct threat, and even though they beat him through sheer power, are so busy squabbling over how to deal with him he gets away. Batman is intentionally hurtful towards Superman, solely to be hurtful – it doesn’t even feel like his is trying to motivate him, more like a recrimination. And at the same time, some of the toughest villains in comics are working together like a well-oiled machine.

Fortunately, the original Superman is back to set things right. Or is he? We deal much more with Kal-L in issue 2.

The story touches some good emotional chords, particularly the Superboy moment, a moment between Nightwing and Starfire, and the confrontation among the "big three" at the end. It feels like a set-up book, and it is one, but it does it in style. The important plot points in this one:

1. The "Big Three" aren't working together and don't even like each other.
2. The villains are working together well.
3. Superboy is not able to brign himself to continue being Superboy right now.
4. Kal-L, Superboy-prime, Alex Luthor and Lois Lane of Earth-2 are back.
5. The Freedom Fighters, a government-sponsored Super Team have been devastated.
6. The Rock of Eternity has been destroyed.
   

Comics from 1/11/06

Okay, here goes the round up of what I read this week. A strange week for me: Much more Marvel than DC. Usually, these days, I am quite the other way.

DC Books:

Hawkman #48: Hawkman and Hawkgril are off fighting in the Rann-Thanagar war. Hawkman continues to be the baddest of bad asses. At one point, the Green Lantern Kilowog asks him if he is trying to take on four armies at once, and Hawkman's answer is simply "Whatever it takes." Not only is he taking on four armies at once, he has every intention of winning. For good measure, he also has a scrap with some of his allies in the Rannian army. However, this really is more of a "Day in the life" issue, focusing on the relationship between Carter and Kendra - it just so happens that when you are a Hawk and surrounded by war, a "day in the life" will always include battle.
Spoilers of significant upcoming changes ahead!
I got the feeling, however, knowing that this title will be changing to Hawkgirl with #50, that the romance here was just to make us feel Hawkman's loss that much more acutely. This is the downside to today's comic book culture, where we all know what is going to be happening 2 or 3 issues from now. What might have seemed like a straightforward character development to me before I was reading previews, now feels like a predictable plot device, no matter how well written (and it was) or how well drawn (and again, it was)
End of Spoilers.
Overall this was another good issue of Hawkman. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray do a wonderful job writing Hawkman, bringing across his well-earned confidence, and showing his complex form of honor, as well as his strategic mind. Chris Batista's pencils and Cam Smith's inks are perfectly suited to this book. Every issue is a pleasure for me to read.

JLA #124: Somewhat less of a pleasure to read. Continuity problems bothered me in this one. Warning: Much of what I say about this issue will contain mild spoilers of this book, and of last week's Day of Vengeance special.
Somehow, the threat of the Key using Manitou Dawn to kill millions of people still hasn't grabbed me as significant, even as we see people dropping all over Gotham. Maybe because that threat is given so few pages compared to the character development stuff that is is clearly only a subplot. The real story here is that Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins unleashed when the Spectre destroyed the Rock of Eternity in the original Day of Vengeance mini-series, then caught by Sabac, and released again when Katana took him down in the pages of Outsiders, then captured again by the Shadowpact in the Day of Vengeance special last week (so what is he doing here? I don't know, hence the continuity problem I mentioned earlier - I'm not sure when this is supposed to be taking place relative to the other stories mentioned above), shows up and influences (as does the Key) an already-pissed off Green Arrow. So, Green Arrow proceeds to throw a beat-down on Batman. Yep, that's right. Mano-a-mano, Green Arrow beats up Batman. It's one of those "I'm so angry, I'm going to fight well above my head" moments. Listen - I don't care how angry Batman gets - he isn't going to beat Arrow in an archery competition. Similarly, Arrow, sans bow, is not going to take out Batman. I really hope the next issue shows that there was some force either limiting Batman, or amping up GA. Batman never even throws a punch, or tries to get his batline around Arrow. He does give him one little throw, which Arrow turns against him because Batman threw him towards a pole he use to swing around (showing Batman's typical lack of observation of his environment... wait...) and kick Batman. Otherwise, he just gets straight-up beat down. Sadly, as the last story arc of the version of the JLA comic, Bob Harras has let us down. There is the kernel of an interesting story (or two between the GA/Bats showdown and the Key's plot) here, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The art, however by Tom Derenick with Dan Green's inks is quite nice. It has a good feel to it, and helps tell the story well.
End spoilers and review of JLA #124

Marvel Books I picked up this week:

Cable & Deadpool #24: Okay, I have been in and out of this series. I don't know why I haven't been picking them all up. Fabian Nicieza is a good writer. His run on New Warriors remains one of my favorite books of all time. I still read his "New Thunderbolts" and love every issue. So why haven;t I been reading this book? Maybe because I am far from a fan of Cable. Regardless, it has been an oversight I may well rectify. The opening page of this book is an introduction from two of the supporting cast which is designed to bring you up to date in the same way as the "What has gone before" method that Marvel typically uses. Only much more entertaining. From there, we immediately cut in to so well-drawn, nicely dialogued action scenes. My only real complaint about this book is the Spider-Man/Deadpool fight and interaction wasn't long enough. Otherwise, this was a fun book. Patrick Zircher's pencisl suit the story, and are enhanced by "Udon's M3th" on inks. (On the cover, this person is referred to as "M3th@Udon") This one is worth picking up, and I am looking forward to the next issue, when Captain America goes after Cable. (Little bit of a continuity problem here, too: Nick Fury is apparently still in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. so I guess this must take place pre-Secret War #5.

Daughters of the Dragon #1 (of 6) Another book by Palmiotti and Gray (the guys who bring us Hawkman, above?) this book brings us a look at some characters who were supporting cast in Iron Fist and Power Man tales from the 70's. Coleen Wing, samurai and Misty Knight, ex-cop with a cyborg arm were KnightWing investigations at one point. Now they are bail bondswomen and their own bounty hunters. This book starts off with a fight with the Rhino. It's well written, and apparently Misty Knight's arm is a much more serious piece of hardware than it has been protrayed as in the past. The art by Khari Evans celebrates cheesecake, but also does a nice job on the scenes that don't involve any ot that. The full-page spread of the Rhino makes him about as bad-ass looking as he has been drawn in... well... forever. The multi-talented Jimmy Palmiotti also inked this book, and his inks do nothing to get in the of the beautiful pencils. So far, this is pretty far from standard super-hero fare, but that doesn't mean that it isn't fun. After all, how many books these days have a guy with a ball gag on their cover?

She-Hulk #4: A tale told in flashback about the brief time when She-Hlk was not in control of her faculties, and pulled a "Hulk" and knocked a town down. And her redemption after facing up to what she had done. It's a nice, straight forward story, has a guest appearance by Doctor Leonard Samson, and is a nice look at the makeup of the She-Hulk, and what makes her a hero. Another enjoyable read by Dan Slott, but something about guest artist Scott Kolins makes me think his art is better suited to the pages of Heavy Metal than a hero book. Not necessarily the nudie stories of the book, just that the style, I think would lend itself better to "more serious" sequential art, and perhaps Sci-Fi than it does to She Hulk. It certainly is both distinctive and of excellent quality, though.

Well, I'm out of time but do want to post something, so tune in later for reviews of Ultimate Extinction #1, and X-men: the 198.

Inspired by Reay... and stuff

Okay, this one is going to cover a couple of things, primarily: Spiderman: The Other so far, and Doc Samson. There will be some spoilers, spread liberally throughout, particularly in the first part, regarding Spider-Man: The Other.

The Other is a huge Spider-Man story arc. It's twelve issues, and at the time of this writing, Spiderman has been killed and brought back. As mentioned in the comments of my previous entry by my good friend Reay, it would seem that thsi should be a major event - Spider-Man died! Of course, unlike when Superman pulled the same trick, Spidey was shown to be recovering in the same issue. He wasn't out of action for a ling time in our work, or in the Marvel Universe. Which may have been a mistake.

You'd be hard pressed to find a life in the Marvel Super Hero community that hasn't been touched by Spidey. An issue or two where the effects were shown on the rest of the MU would have been interesting. We haven't seen much about his friendship with the Human Torch of late, but this would have been a good time to bring it back. His own rich supporting cast of Heroes should have had some really emotional reactions to it. But instead, we see Mary Jane and Aunt May's reactions, and some reaction (mostly business-like) from his fellow New Avengers, and that is it. Hell, we got better demonstration of the respect he commands from fellow heroes when he flipped out in House of M and Cage and Logan had strong reactions to it. One of the most selfless heroes in the history of Marvel, one who has triumphed over some of the most incredible odds, and we don't get to see how Daredevil, who has crossed over with him so many times, or any of his villains really feel about his passing?

A common complaint these days about comics (and that has been made about the early part of The Other) is that they are too decompressed. But yet, Reay, in his comment to my last entry pointed out that the death and return were too compressed. The fact is, the pacing of this series has been very uneven. Issues of dense exposition, followed by issues where everything is hurried through. This looks like it might truly be a significant chapter in Spidey's life, but the writing, pacing and art are so uneven, it is hard to follow even in seperate books. I can only imagine how jarring this is going to seem in trade paperback form.

And now, on to Doc Samson.

I touched on it briefly in my entry a couple of days ago, but I thought it deserved a little more attention. I've always loved the idea of the Psychiatrist/sometime scientist who got Gamma-irradiated and has super strength. He truly sees force as a secondary way of dealing with things.

Interestingly, his origin comes from having intentionally irradiated himself with energies drained from the Hulk. He now posseses considerable strength, but none of the Hulk's lack of self-control. He has been a long-time friend and foe of the Hulk, trying to cure him, and trying to stop his more murderous rampages. He has evolved over time, into one of the most rational of figures in the Marvel Universe, and nearly unflappable. He has consulted for various super teams, and provided support to heroes in need.

One of my favorite expressions of his way of looking at things was in Hulk #316. He had succeded in separating the Hulk from Bruce Banner. The Hulk had not a stitch of humanity left in him, and was rampaging through New Mexico. Four Avengers arrived to stop him: Iron Man (back in his Red-and-Silver armor days) , Wonder Man, Hercules and Namor. Now, besides Thor, these are probably the heaviest hitters the Avengers have. And they fought Hulk to a near stand-still in a great fight scene. This was a true clash of titans. Blows that could send each other hurtling miles from the battle site, Throwing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at each other.

Until Doc Samson intervened. The good doctor pointed out the destruction caused by their battle. And he was right - they had pretty much destroyed an entire town in trying to stop the Hulk, without either side accomplishing much. So, they agreed to let Samson continue to try and "treat" the Hulk. It was a John Byrne story, but while many involved in the comics industry, either hard core fans or creators, do not like Mr. Byrne, he has still told some great stories. This was one of them. I cannot do it justice. But it cemented my enjoyment of Samson, as the hero with common sense, wisdom and restraint to go with his intelligence and power.

And now, he has his own limited series, where he again shows that wisdom and intellect are imporant adjuncts to his not-inconsiderable strength. The first issue was quite enjoyable. Hopefully the rest follow suit.

A word on my new approach, and several words about other things.

Okay, so I like the way my last entry read. I will continue to do that from next Wednesday. I missed a few weeks in there, because my wife, who is still living in Toronto (pending the government finishing with her paperwork) was down to visit me here in Florida over the holidays, and we were too busy for me to keep this up to date. That being said, there are some things about comics that have been floating around in my head, and how I will share them with you.


Spoilers ho!
Infinite Crisis #3 came out. It was indeed into the meat of the story. Kal-L (Golden Age Superman) starts trying to recruit people to his side. We find out that Alex Luthor and Earth-Prime Superboy are the real villains. Or at least, it looks like they have been manipulating Kal-L. Kal-L proves he is cool here, again. The story is picking up steam, and I am really looking forward to the next issue.
End Spoilers

Dan Slott's work on the Thing book continues to be excellent as well. This book should be checked out.

The other thing I wanted to talk about was the evolution of "Batdick" as people have taken to calling Batman, due to his... less than pleasant way of dealing with those around him.

(Mild Spoilers of the current "Victims" story arc of Batman below)
I remember a time when Batman used to go out and stop criminals. No, really. There was a time when his comics weren't so much about his villains being out to get him, but about his villains trying to accomplish some goal - get rich, take over Gotham, kill a bunch of people, whatever - mroe than they were about trying to take down Batman. I think the change started around the time of Bane. He definitely targetted Batman to try and take him down. Ra's had targetted Bruce a few times, but more as a test than to try and kill him. It just seems like with the addition of Hush, and the return of Jason Todd, we have more and more villains whose goal is the defeat or destruction of Batman more than it is to get something for themselves. This in turn has led to an ever-darker and less trusting Batman. Not to mention the propensity in writers to go for Batman's supporting cast so totally. Since Contagion, I cannot count the number of really bad things that have happened to Alfred. Including his most recent (in the current issue of Detective, I think) stabbing at the hands of Zsasz, and subsequent use as bait by Batman to bring Zsasz into the open.

Also, in this story, Batman did no real detective work. He basically says "well, Zsasz has no pattern, so I can't find him - have to bring him to me." This from a guy who has found rare mud at a crime scene and deduced someone's hideout, or knew that Ra's Al Ghul was testing him based on a faint fingernail scratch and Ubu's behaviour. This man is all three CSI's put together. And he just shrugs and says "the killer has no pattern, so I'd best use my best friend as bait?" The fact is that the darkening of the world around him has caused Batman to become darker still in response, and in my opinion is hurting what the character is really about.

But to return to the reasons for this, I think it stems from a need on the part of the writers to make the stories more personal. I'm not saying this is a failing on their part, it is merely an observation. By threatening Alfred, it brings the story much closer to home for Batman, and therefore, the reader. There was a time where threatening the city or innocents was enough, but for better or worse, it seems that time has passed. Now, it has to be Batman himself, or one of the supporting cast members who is threatened in order for us to care. This has caused the writers to make Batman react to this, becoming ever more paranoid, and ever more critical of those who would leave openings whereby someone could get at his loved ones. This more than anything else has created the nigh-unlikeable Batman who exists today.

I hope that Infinite Crisis has a way to deal with this, or that the editorial team behind Batman does, more specifically.

In other news, Doc Samson, always one of my favorite characters got his own Limited Series this week. It was okay. It had a nice blend of him using his mind and his Gamma-powered muscles to solve his problems. I recommend this one, too.

Trying a new approach

Okay, rather than the catch-as-catch can approach I have been using thus far, I am going to try to move to a weekly round-up of the comics I bought, and what I thought of them. For the most part, this will be Spoiler-Free, and where I include any kind of spoiler, I will say so, well in advance of the spoiler.

This week, the books I picked up were:

Action Comics #834:
Allow me to start by saying that in my opinion Gail Simone's writing is some of the most enjoyable in comics today. She doesn't always (or even often) weave plots that leave me saying "holy shit!" but she does a great job with characters, and that is more likely than plot twists and "events" to keep me coming back. This story is no exception. It was almost weird to read a non-Inifinite Crisis Superman story right now, but it was a welcome change. The characterization was good, particularly of Lois, I thought, and the story well-told. Byrne's art is an excellent compliment to the story, particularly in this story that deals with the Fairy Tales, specifically an old Kryptonian one.

Firestorm #20:
Firestorm is, in my opinoin one of the most improved books in comics right now. I stopped reading this series when the early issues seemed to be deeply infected with the darkness currently so prevalent in DC Comics these days, and unnecessarily so. I picked up another issue of Firestorm because it was a crossover of some sort, and was pleasantly surprised. While no longer surprised, I must say that I really enjoyed this issue as well.
Quality characterization of Animal Man, Firestorm, and an insight into the alien races involved in the Rann-Thanagar war which was more powerful and, in its own way, intimate than we were afforded by the large-scale mini-series, this book was a good read, and did what a cross-over should. It enhanced the story, but didn't demand that you read it to understand the story. This book could also likely be enjoyed without having read the Rann-Thanagar War mini, although having read the mini would certainly enhance your enjoyment of this comic.

Hawkman #47:
Hawkman is one of the DC books that I think belongs somewhat dark. He is also my favorite ass-kicker. In this issue, he does a lot of that. There has become a kind of pattern of late though, where the big baddy of a given issue manages to get Hawkman seemingly at his mercy, then through sheer bad-assitude Hawkman regains the upper hand. There was a little of that in this comic too. I don't want to spoil anything, but in my opinion, it was a little early for one of Hawkman's opponents to make a return appearance, and the outcome should not have been what it was.
Chris Batista's art on this book is a perfect fit. He makes you believe that Hawkman is at once capable of complete heroism and utter barbarism by the character's body language and facial expressions, a perfect complement to Palmiotti and Gray's straight-ahead, no-nonsense dialogue and story.

JLA # 23:
This story arc feels a little bit like filler. It does serve as a soap box for various characters to explain how they feel about the League. Many of them do in this issue. The story about the Key is really just back drop to the character-driven story. At least it has been thus far. We will see how it ends up, as it looks like it will be the last story arc for this version of the JLA series, so the plot will likely have a big finish.

Nightwing # 115:
Devin Grayson has written a good story here. The cover and story bear no resemblance to what is on DC's website for this issue, which is interesting in and of itself. The story line which has had Dick Grayson become a mob enforcer, and train Deathstroke's daugher, the Ravager, reaches a head - which side is Dick really on? Superman guest stars here as that determination is made. Note, however that this book does not cross over with any of the Superman books.
Phill Hester and Andre Story's art is not to my taste. It might be part of the reason why I haven't been enjoying Nightwing as much as I used to. However, this issue was excellent. Story has always been of greater importance to me than art, and in this issue of Nightwing, story carries it.

Teen Titans #30:
Geoff Johns wrote this issue and there are some interesting revalations. Not to give to much away, and I don't even think this qualifies as a spoiler, but Raven discusses in greater detail that the door between life and death is open, and someone is holding it open. She says it started with Superman's return, and has been open ever since. It should be interesting to see where this leads. This story is very character driven, with the action being a small yet enjoyable part. Tony S. Daniel & Alquiza do a great job with the art, and there are some moments of real enjoyment here. The climax of the book, though, does require you to have been a Titans fan for some time to really get the most out of it.

And now, on to the Marvel books I picked up this week:

Books of Doom #2:
Nothing new to any fans of Doom in this series - we know about his origin - but these books, narrated by the man himself are a lot of fun to read, if a bit slowly paced for me at this point. Doom is possibly the greatest villain in the history of comics. Here we see how he became such. We see the distance he feels between himself and everyone else, and it is presented in a way that almost makes you understand how he takes each obstacle, small or large, so very personally. This series has done a great job so far setting the stage for the man who will become Doom to emerge as perhaps the greatest threat the Marvel Universe has ever known. (He and Thanos may need to play Rock, Paper, Scissors for the title.) As an aside, I have also been reading Marvel's Essential Dr. Doom. It is a fun read, for sure. I highly recommend the Essentials collections to anyone who has an interest in the rich history of Marvel.

GLX-mas Special:
I love the Great Lakes Avengers/Lightning Rods/Great Lakes Avengers/Great Lakes X-men/Whoever. Dan Slott, the writer of GLA: Misassembled and this special obviously does too. I think it is a credit to how much people enjoy these characters that a writer like Dan and an artist like Ty Templeton combined their considerable talents on this one. You have to love a comic where one of the characters mentions that if you are easily offended maybe you should check out the Punisher Christmas Special. There is some interesting back story on the characters in this book, some real amusement with the new Grasshopper, and some significant Squirrel-girl silliness. I didn't get the same feeling of mean-spiritedness towards the characters that I felt in parts of the GLA:Misassembled series. Which was still funny, and incidentally hit in Trade Paperback this week as well. And I will forevermore fear the name of... Dr. Tannenbaum!

Marvel Knights: Spider Man # 21:
Part 8 of Spider-Man: The Other. Okay, this one I have a complaint about. The cover ruined it. The cover clearly shows what is supposed to be the big reveal at the end of the book, so this comic was just an exercise in how they got from Point A to Point B. Which isn't always a bad thing. A well enough written book can make this entertaining enough. But this wasn't that book. It moved a little slowly, and while it contained some interesting ideas, it seemed like a strange time to establish them, so (relatively) closely on the heels of Avengers: Disassembled. Since these things weren't touched on there, they seemed a little shoe-horned here. For my money, the writing and art of part 6 of this series has been the high point so far.

New Thunderbolts # 16:
Not a bad comic at all. As always, the art was beautiful. Thunderbolts have been blessed in that department. This comic is an interesting ongoing, as it ponders moral questions, and you really never know which side a character will come down on in the long run. The Squadron Sinister versus the Thunderbolts? That was fun. The Radioactive Man remains one of the coolest things in this comic. He fits so well into a team book like this. Thunderbolts continues to be a fun read, month after month.

Secret War # 5 Spoilers Ahead!:
A good book, but a little anti-climactic for my tastes and not necessarily worth the wait. #4 came out before I moved here to Florida in September. This book has a few good things, and a few problems. I always hate when a comic introduces a new character who can supposedly pull off threatening the X-Men, the Avengers, etc. and yet somehow you know this character will not have the future that such a character should, and really, it seems to me that a two-pronged attack, or even a charge shield-first by Cap (whose shield absorbs impact and vibrations) would drop her pretty quick. And this comic also had the same issue I have with Punisher: the original mission failed! How crappy does Nick Fury have to be to be able to hand pick a team of heroes, and still not be able to kill the leader of Latveria? And then he manages to brainwash all of them? Ouch.
The art, however was breathtaking.

Well, sad to end on a down note, but it was a pretty good week for comics all told. Next week, in Infinite Crisis # 3, the summary issues end, and the story really gets rolling!

All Stars: Batting .500

This week saw the release of All Star Superman. Much like All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, this is a subtle re-imagining of the character (or characters, in the case of Batman and Robin). I say subtle becuase this is more in line with Marvel's Ultimate line than with Elseworlds. Batman is a little edgier than much of the stuff that you will read with him (which isn't surprising - he is the writer of Sin City, and of some of Batman's edgier tales) and Jim Lee's art is gorgeous. I understand that the name of the title is because it will eventually focus more on Dick Grayson, with Batman being more of a very important supporting character. It is only my affection for the character of Dick Grayson that will have me buying number 3.

I have not, so far, found there to be much to love about this series besides the art. Miller's Vikki Vale is not engaging. And she dresses like a charcter out of Sin City. That is to say, like a tart at best, or a whore at worst. The Frank Miller-drawn cover of the issue that will feature Black Canary makes me believe that her origin can only involve being a stripper, and she wears the same outfit for both "jobs." Needless to say, I am not enthused.

This week, however, All Star Superman #1 came out. I am enthused. I am not typically a fan of the style of Frank Quitely's art, however, I think it suited the book very well. Grant Morrison, who is a man who in my opinion is very hit and miss (I'm currently not picking up any of his Seven Soldiers, although I did try the first issues of the original ones) definitely scored a hit here. It is an interesting interpretation of the Man of Steel, and right from the first issue puts him in a position that we have not seen him in. Not to mention, a cute bit in which he keeps his secret ID safe while saving someone. I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone who would like to see an interesting new take on the Last Son of Krypton. Assuming in this world he even is the Last Son.

I also went a little more Marvel-heavy this week than I have been of late. Thing #1 came out, as did The Books of Doom #1. Thing #1 had its moments, but overall, didn't do much for me. But then, I never like the idea of Reed Richards treating his friends like guinea pigs, and I got a little of that from his issue. That being said, "Milan Ramada" hiring a Super-Villain to take revenge on an entire party because she wasn't invited is an amusing idea, and it looks like we might see a switch of sides for the constrictor, a villain who I always liked, if only for his costume. I hope there is a spot for him on the Thunderbolts. I'm looking forward to issue #2.

Books of Doom was... interesting. Not much really happens, but it does give a lot of history as to what made Doom the man he is. It was told entirely in flashback, and is during his formative years, so do not look for super-battles to be taking place during this one. I'll be picking up the next issue, but if it doesn't pick up a bit, I will stay with the Marvel Essentials reprints of classic Doom stories.

I also picked up issue #1 of the 6-part X-men: Dark Genesis. It feels to me already like a story that could have been told in 4 issues, but was stretched, as very little happens in this issue, except, as far as I could tell, someone forgot that Cyclops is immune to his own blasts. (As is his brother, Havoc, but that is neither here nor there) Again, a little disappointed, and not sure I'll be seeing this one through to its six-issue conclusion, but I will at least pick up issue #2 before I make that call.

That's it. Good reading.

Impressed? Not yet.

Okay, so Infinite Crisis #2 is out. I bought it (I went with the Perez cover - being the comic geek I am, I loved looking at all the historical images he managed to cram on there) read it, and was not happy. If they turn Earth-2 Superman (Kal-L) into a "misguided villain" type, it'll be a travesty. It looks to me like that is the direction that they are heading. I hope it is just a bait-and-switch, but one never knows. This man was the original hero. Plus, it's a little too "Zero Hour" to have one of the biggest heroes going switch to the "dark side."

I did like his re-introduction, particularly Psycho Pirate's reaction ("... he's here") but I really hope they didn't bring this symbol of what was right with DC out of his well-deserved and well-written retirement to sully his good name.

What I do hope for is the following:

1. A lightening of some corners of the DC Universe. Not all of them, though. I kind of like my Hawkman a little dark. But superman should be about inspiration and Wonder Woman should be about hope.
2. A return to a Superman who is both fun to read and who reads like all the other heroes should, and do, respect him.
3. A Batman (Bruce Wayne, as there are rumors that Batman may die in the Crisis. Of course those rumors exist for all the big characters) who is capable of trusting others. Even if he starts small, with just some of his more regular supporting cast.
4. A return to coolness for the Joker. Obviously given the scene where he takes out the Royal Flush Gang, they have some plans for him, and I think that the Society might end up regretting their snubbing of him. He's been kicked around a lot lately, and I think it is time he kicked back, and had a return to old form. Back when he wasn't about taking out Batman, but was about being insane, and taking out Batman was a fringe benefit.
5. The legacy of the Golden Age characters left strong.
   

Now, I really do believe that Geoff Johns loves these characters, and will try to do right by them. I think that Dan DiDio loves them too. I just hope that love plays out in a positive way.

Also, I think this issue was much more... accessible. I think they did a good job of explaining the back story in this one. I read somewhere that the first issue was intentionally a little overwhelming, and that this one was the real starting point of the story. I certainly felt that way.

Another highlight of this week was Teen Titans. I did not really enjoy Gail Simone's fill-in issues, which is surprising to me - she is one of my favorite writers in comics today and I have always really liked Hawk, Dove and Kestrel- but this issue was really good. A confrontation between Jason Todd (the Robin who was killed but recently returned) and Tim Drake (the current Robin). I like that Todd dropped his "Red Hood" identity and wore a stylized Robin costume for the battle. I liked that it was both an emotional and physical confrontation, and I thought the interaction between the two was well-written, and showed their differences and similarities really well.

I haven't read "House of M" yet (I will be soon, now that it is over) but picked up the first issue of the New Excalibur. The jury is still out, but it was an enjoyable read, and I was glad to see Dazzler back, particularly her brief appearance in her classic "disco queen" costume.

Over all, I found it to be a good week for comics, and am at once both optimistic and pessimistic about where Inifinite Crisis is heading. It looks like however it ends, I will be enjoying the ride, and in the world of comics, that is really all I can ask for.

Infinite Crisis is here!

Okay, folks, if you haven't read this week's DC comics, you will find some spoilers below. You have been warned, and this will be your only warning. Read on at your own peril.

DC started their latest big crossover story this week - Infinite Crisis and I was... somewhat impressed.

Also out this week was Villains United #6. Villains United was one of 4 mini-series that were essentially countdowns to the big event. Villains United borrowed an old (OLD) DC schtick of "the Secret Six." A group led by a mysterious figure known only as Mockingbird. In that story, the Six worked for the US, and were "good guys." In this one, they are Villains who refused to join Lex Luthor and company's new Society of villains. The writing has been good.

Gail Simone took a second (or even third) string villain in Catman and made you believe he could stand up to some of the baddest bad asses on the planet. She took two new characters - Parademon and Rag Doll and made you care about them. I think she had a little bit of a misfire on Vandal Savage's daugher, known as Scandal (Scandal Savage? Really? But I guess the name was a bit of a tip off, given the similar natures) And she took a couple of the coolest villains in DC, Deadshot and Cheshire, and kept them as cool as ever. The Deadshot/Deathstroke showdown was something I've wanted to see for a while.

Where the series failed for me was the ending. In the original series, Mockingbird was one of the Six who had faked his own death in the first issue. They threw us a bone in this series - The Fiddler died in the first issue. It was a red herring, though. The real Mockingbird was really - an alternate version of Lex Luthor.

I found this disappointing. I was waiting for it to be someone who was bad ass enough to go against the Society, and was willing to stand up to the worst the world had to offer. A copy of the leader (essentially) of the Society doesn't cut it for me.

Similarly, Infinite Crisis #1 is a not-bad read - it isn't great for those of us who have read all the stuff leading up to it, but it isn't terrible. Until the end. Here was a character who was allowed to retire as he should have: Saving the Universe, and finally ready to settle down. The original, Earth-2 Superman, and the Superboy from Earth-Prime, who I think matches up Power Level-wise with Superman from the Pre-crisis era, and who is significantly more powerful than current Superman. They went, and retired. They were done. We weren't even thinking about them any more.

And now they are back. All I know is this: They had better not give Kal-L (the Kryptonian name of Earth-2's Superman) a punk's death at this point. He is the man. The classic ending of Crisis on Infinite Earths proved that. It's bad enough that DC apparently has brought Jason Todd back from the dead, but to haul Kal-L and Superboy out of retirement too?

This series had better blow my socks off.

Heroclix, or a taste of normalcy in Florida

Okay, so I promised to do more than just talk about the comics themselves here. Yesterday, I went to the local gaming/comic/LAN Gaming shop here in Melbourne, Florida, The Wizard's Wall, and was sitting to do some e-mailing when I heard the Monday night Heroclix guys talking.

For those of you who don't know, Heroclix is a game where you get to make the decisions for a group of comic book characters fighting each other, and roll the dice to see how well things turn out.

Turns out, they were about to play a Marquee tournement for the newest set from DC, icons. Marquee means that it is a celebration of a new set coming out. It also means that everyone has to buy three packs of figures and make their best team from that (each figure has a certain point value, and your entire team cannot surpass a certain maximum point value) to play. This puts everyone on more-or-less even footing. So, I decided, "What the hell? Why not?" and I did. I haven't played heroclix in about... mmm... forever. Heroclix is a collectible game (different pieces have different rarities, and you only get 4 of about 96 figures from a set in any given box. This means to get all the figures you have to spend a few hundred dollars per set or so) and at some point they decided to start retiring figures. What this means is the hundreds (and hundreds) of dollars we had spent on the early Heroclix sets were now no longer worth anything in most tournement formats. Which sucked. In fact, for some of the group I played with, it sucked the fun right out of the game. So, we stopped playing.

But here I was, a stranger in a strange land, looking to meet people just as strange as I. So, I ponied up my $20 for the three boosters. And got my ass kicked. The first game, I made a couple of strategic errors - I will blame it on being rusty. The second game, I sacrificed one character for a couple of good shots at two others. It worked. I lost the one character, but wiped out my opponent. The third game, I played a younger player who was new to the game. He slaughtered me. I have never been beaten so badly in my life. The dice hated me and loved him. He couldn't miss (that's a lie. I think he did miss once, when he had about a 20% chance to hit. But it is worth noting that he tried that roll three times, and only missed it once), and I could almost never hit. And of the 5 times I did hit, he made a roll that let him ignore the damage done 3 times. Now, mind you, this roll is a straight up 33.33% shot. It was ugly. About as ugly as it can be. But hopefully, it'll have my opponents underestimating me next time.

Anyway, it was fun to forget about the fact that I am all alone down here for a few hours and meet some guys who may some day develop into friends. That is one of the great things about hobbies - if you meet someone else who shares them, then you know you will have at least something to talk about.

Playing Catchup

Lots has happened since my last post. I have moved to Florida, and been so distracted by my real life that I haven't been posting as often as I'd like to. (Nathan - if you are reading this, your father told me you were disappointed in me.)

A lot has happened in the world of comic books, too. DC has driven a wedge between their trinity, but not as I expected them to: Superman did not make the choice to kill, but Wonder Woman did. I was surprised by the extreme reactions of both Superman and Batman to her choice. I think they always knew she was a warrior, but maybe this smacked too much of an execution rather than a casualty of battle.

Overall, I thought the "Sacrifice" story arc was enjoyable, but felt rushed or something. Essentially, in it, illusions are cast right into Superman's mind by Maxwell Lord to cause him to beat Batman nearly to death. Of course, this has no real effect on Batman - he is still find in his own title and in other comics going on concurrently with this story arc - that was one of the shabbier aspects of the story - it wasn't well prepared. If you are going to have Supes beat Bats, have him out of action for a month or two of books. It made that part of the story seem less real, particularly since there was so much going on in the arc that was illusory.

Also, Superman's extreme reaction to Diana killing Lord seemed a little strange, given that in each of the visions he had been subjected to, he had flown into a rage, to the point of trying to kill the villain who he was seeing. Again, perhaps it was the cold nature of her decision, rather than it being in the heat of passion that bothered him so. The scene where Wonder Woman tells Batman what he had done, was extremely well done.

In another little corner of the DC Universe, Hawkman has apparently been killed, and replaced, but at the same time come back and is seeking vengeance himself. This series of Hawkman stories has kicked ass. I dropped the book for some time, but this has it back near the top of my reading list. Hawkman is the most bad ass character in DC for my money right now. For straight-ahead butt kicking, this is the man to call. I hope he gets to unleash it as part of Infinite Crisis. But there is another editorial gaffe here in my opinion. In Rann-Thanagar War, Hawkman is off there fighting in the war. It is a shame things couldn't be tightly enough planned to have his books cross over with that book, but not require it to be enjoyed. But I'll try not to complain too much given the quality of the book overall.

Day of Vengeance has ended and I feel... unimpressed. I thought the end was anti-climactic. I guess that isn't surprising - it really was just one of four preludes to Infinite Crisis, which is iminent, but I hope that Villains United has a more satisfying conclusion. It has been one of the better series I have read in a long time - I am rapidly becoming a Gail Simone fan - and I would hate to have that overshadowed by an ending that leaves me unsatisfied. I'd be surprised if Gail Simone would do that, though.

On the final note, I have a feeling that Nightwing will not come through Infinite Crisis well. That he may not even come through it at all. I hope I am wrong, but with him leaving the Outsiders, and turning his back on the Titans, and with a kind of "limbo" story arc going on in his own book leading up to his involvement with Deathstroke and daughter, I can't help but wonder if they are preparing him for something terrible. If it happens, remember you heard it here first. And if I'm wrong, well, we can add that to the list of predictions I have made that have gone awry and I will be happy to do so.

Inifinite Crisis is shaping up to be a BIG DEAL. And I am looking forward to it. Hopefully, it won't be too long before my next post.