Comics are Awesome III

[Sparky Prime]

With all innocents off the planet, Hal stops holding back and unleashes all the power contained within him, seemingly destroying both Sinestro, a huge chunk of the Sinestro Corps elsewhere on the planet, and Warworld itself. I say seemingly, because these guys never stay dead, even though we see the flesh being stripped from Sinestro's arm by the power as Hal amps up. The narration leads us to believe that Hal thinks he's going to his death, but again, I'm sure his fate will be the basis of future storylines.

Yeah, there's no way they're dead. Hal I think likely will survive because of his transforming into Willpower. And Sinestro I'd assume will be back because he's got Parallax (which was basically how Sinestro survived the last time Hal killed him).

[andersonh1]

Color my face red about Damien.

I remember "Batman has a kid" being one of those thing the old timers used to talk about at the comics shop. And, post-Crisis, DC was just hoping that people would ignore it and move on.

The genetic engineering is just pointless baggage.

Yeah, it's a well-worn solution to the "how can we make him old enough to be Robin without aging Batman too much" problem.

Yeah, there's no way they're dead. Hal I think likely will survive because of his transforming into Willpower. And Sinestro I'd assume will be back because he's got Parallax (which was basically how Sinestro survived the last time Hal killed him).

It is interesting that Hal's solution here is to essentially commit suicide and take the planet and everyone on it with him. That seems out of character to me. It's a good dramatic ending, but I'm not sure I buy it. I guess we'll have to wait for more of the story to unfold to understand what happened.

[Sparky Prime]

It is interesting that Hal's solution here is to essentially commit suicide and take the planet and everyone on it with him. That seems out of character to me. It's a good dramatic ending, but I'm not sure I buy it. I guess we'll have to wait for more of the story to unfold to understand what happened.

How is out of character for Hal to be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good? I mean, he's done it before...

[andersonh1]

It is interesting that Hal's solution here is to essentially commit suicide and take the planet and everyone on it with him. That seems out of character to me. It's a good dramatic ending, but I'm not sure I buy it. I guess we'll have to wait for more of the story to unfold to understand what happened.

How is out of character for Hal to be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good? I mean, he's done it before...

I can see him doing that if he feels there is no other way, but I don't think the issue made it clear that he believed that he was out of options. Maybe he did. It could be that me believed the whole time that it was a suicide mission, and he accepted that.

[Sparky Prime]

I can see him doing that if he feels there is no other way, but I don't think the issue made it clear that he believed that he was out of options. Maybe he did. It could be that me believed the whole time that it was a suicide mission, and he accepted that.

Well like Hal told Natu a few issues ago, he could only control his transformation - sort of- if he concentrated enough, and was afraid if he let go during a fight, he would detonate. I got the impression Hal felt that was inevitable, that eventually he would loose control. Then after Natu told Hal about how Sinestro had super charged their rings, that's when he decided he'd go all out against Sinestro, to put an end to Sinestro and his plans once and for all.

[Sparky Prime]

Green Lanterns #10
Simon tries on the Phantom Ring, but Rami quickly puts an end to it, telling him (again) it is to dangerous for anyone to wear because it doesn't evaluate it's bearer. Simon believes they should go find Hal since he's not answering, but Jessica convinces him it's best they stay on Earth, where at least the Justice League can back them up if needed. Then they notice a house nearby is on fire. The house fire is actually a distraction, set by Frank Laminski. He finds the Phantom Ring while Volthoom attacks Rami, allowing Frank to become the Phantom Lantern. Simon's brother attacks, but with the ring, he's not able to do anything against Frank. Volthoom reminds them of their agreement, which Frank reluctantly agrees to, but not before using fear against Simon's brother and then taking off with Rami...

Not sure why Simon ties on the Phantom Ring at the beginning of this issue, or how Rami could have let him in the first place when he was standing right next to him. But it interesting to see both Lanterns thinking the Phantom Ring might be just what they need. Simon thinks one ring might not be enough, while Jessica isn't sure she's a good match for Green. And it's about time we got to see how the Phantom Ring works. Unlike the White Lantern rings, the Phantom ring appears to only be able to use one color of the spectrum at a time.

I'm also wondering, why couldn't Rami just reprogram the ring to have the same safety features of any other ring, to evaluate its bearer? It still seems to me that the Phantom Ring's ability to use multiple colors of the spectrum would be what the other Guardians would have found the most dangerous, given they were so dead set against using any of the powers except Willpower.

[andersonh1]

Action Comics #967
A subject that should have been addressed months ago finally comes up here: why did Superman not go back to his classic outfit when he took over for New 52 Superman? He explains to Jon that he decided to create something familiar to the people on this Earth, so he had the robots at his fortress create something closer to what New 52 Superman wore. As much as I would rather have him back in the classic outfit, that's a reasonable explanation for the change. The blue boots still look like footie pajamas though.

Plot threads from previous issues continue to be followed up as Superman and Jon find the missing genetics lab in a jungle (and the discussion about the costume is part of their conversation as they move through the jungle), while Lois interviews Lex Luthor about his assumption of the Superman role. Lex declares himself a self-made man, and believes that it's time for a human to take up the Superman mantle instead of a mysterious alien replacement for what he sees as the "real" Superman. And then Lex is attacked by the two aliens from the end of a previous issue, who intend to execute him before he can take Darkseid's place as lord of Apokolips, so this follows up from Darkseid War.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #8
Hal's ring doesn't believe he's dead any more than I do. It declares him dead, and then says it's an error, and it heads out into the universe to look for him, before ending up with Ganthet and Sayd at the end of the issue. Guy and Soranik and all the yellow lanterns reach an understanding with the Green Lantern Corps, and as Soranik tells John Stewart what happened to Hal, Kilowog finally spills the beans about Hal's plan to take the blame for the Corps by going rogue. Then the plot shifts over to an attack on Xudar by Starro, and the Corps go to help. During the fight Starro disappears, and when the Lanterns try to head into space, they're stopped by a barrier that wasn't there when they arrived. The plot shifts rapidly from one instance to another, but it's the last page that again brings up the question of just how much DC continuity is back in play. Starro and Xudar have been captured and reduced by Brainiac, but not the green skinned humanoid. This is the skull-faced robot Brainiac from the Bronze Age, that I don't think has been seen since the Crisis. I could be wrong, but I think he survived it and then was essentially ignored in post-Crisis continuity as Superman was rebooted into John Byrne's version.

Detective Comics #944
Part 2 of "The Victim Syndicate", and what we have as villains is a group of people who got caught in the crossfire as Batman battled his enemies, and who are now out for revenge "in the name" of all the other people of Gotham who "suffer" because of Batman. One of them was a victim of Clayface, one of Poison Ivy, one was experimented on by the Scarecrow, etc. The leader claims to be the first person ever to suffer for Batman's actions after he put on the mask. If every last bit of continuity is in play, it could be someone from the story about the chemical syndicate. But who knows? Each of the villains has powers, and they're able to stand up pretty well to Batman's team of allies. Detective Comics is essentially the bat-family book, so there's a good cast of characters to work with. We're early in the story so it's hard to guess how this will play out.

[andersonh1]

This week's comics: good, despite a lackluster fill in artist on Nightwing. I'm starting to pare my titles down to three a week instead of four, even though there are a couple of books I'm not buying that I"d enjoy reading. I want to leave room for future series (JSA, anyone?) when they appear.

Nightwing #9
The artist is not so good this month, which hurt my enjoyment of the story. But that's going to happen from time to time with these bi-weekly schedules. The issue is a Superman and Nightwing team-up, and they face off against Dr. Destiny, the guy who gets inside people's dreams and messes with them. There's some nice interaction between the two, and some talk about the differences between the New 52 DC and the previous timeline, with the most significant development being that Superman mentions that Dick used to live in Bludhaven for a long time, something that the New 52 must have excised from his past. At the end of the issue, he decides to go scope the place out, and Superman has made a friend, which helps him in the eyes of Batman.

Aquaman #11
Aquaman got hurt pretty bad two issues ago, and he looks pretty beaten up for most of this issue as he and Mera catch each other up on what they've been doing while apart. Black Manta is unhappy that his plan to make Aquaman look bad didn't pay off, so he figures it's time to up the stakes and to out and out attack the mainland and declare that Atlantis is doing it. The timing is, of course, not all that good as Aquaman has just mended some fences with the Justice League. Hopefully that means they'll be coming in to help him, not accuse him. Still my favorite series of Rebirth.

Superman #11
Robin and Superboy are forced, entirely against their will, to team up in this pilot for the forthcoming Super-Sons series. If I knew more about Damien/Robin's supporting cast, the story would work better for me, but I'm generally able to follow it. The two of them have to earn their capes and badges back as Batman and Superman put them through some rough tests, and they ultimately do, only to go back to fighting again. You can imagine how much competitiveness there is between a couple of young boys about to hit adolescence. It's a fun issue, and of course we're getting a different take on the Batman/Superman pairing, only this time it's their sons, something that allows the two characters to bond.

[Sparky Prime]

Green Lanterns #11
Frank enjoys his newfound abilities with the Phantom Ring, and saves a kid and his dog from a tornado. Meanwhile, Simon and Jessica are trying to find out how to find Frank when Jessica gets the idea to have her ring (which is sounding more and more human as Jessica talks to it) scan for Emotional Spectrum energy. In Kansas, Frank is loving being interviewed when Jessica and Simon arrive. As they confront him, the kid Frank saved steps between them, prompting a debate among the Lanterns and the reporters of whom the real heroes are. Eventually, Jessica points out that the greatest Green Lantern says they deserve their rings, and he'd punch Frank if he where there. This prompts a change in Frank, transforming him into his Phantom Ring state briefly before he turns back to a Green Lantern. Seeing he's not really a Green Lantern, Frank looses the support he had from the civilians, and claiming that the ring rightfully belongs to him, Frank transforms again, this time into an Orange Lantern...

It's interesting to see the debate between the Lanterns and the reporters, given Simon's questionable past and neither of the new Lanterns really knows what made them worthy for their rings to choose them. But ultimately Jessica hits a cord with Frank by mentioning Hal wouldn't have approved of him. Which brings us to a weakness of the Phantom Lantern, it's power is dependent on the wearers emotional state. Although Franks seems to be able to adapt fairly quickly, it does seem to disorient him for a few moments. Which again makes me question why Rami ever thought this ring was a good idea to make. It'd certainly be extremely dangerous if the wrong person got their hands on it...

[andersonh1]

Action Comics #968
The two aliens that have come to kill Luthor for future crimes have split up. One takes on Superman, and the other goes after Luthor. There are a number of interesting touches to the storyline. The aliens believe Superman's S-insignia belongs to Luthor, so they don't know who Superman is. They think because he wears the symbol that he's an acolyte of Luthor. The alien fighting him is able to dampen his powers somehow and make him easier to defeat, and he notes that Superman is not the first Kryptonian he's encountered. He's the "Godslayer", which I think may have been a group from early New 52 Supergirl, but I can't quite remember. Jon has a nice part in the story, and the human Clark Kent makes a suggestion that seems right but feels wrong. In the end, the aliens depart taking Luthor with them, in order to execute him for crimes he hasn't committed yet.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #9
There are two main storylines this issue. The first deals with the Corps, trapped by Brainiac and attacked by Starro-controlled Xudarians. They are able to disrupt Starro's control with the help of Rot Lop Fan, a blind Green Lantern who has a lot of control over sound. Interesting character, and he has his own GL oath. Soranik intends to continue trying to make the remnants of the Sinestro Corps into something good, and she and John butt heads a bit, before working out that they've been captured by Brainiac.

The second involves Ganthet and Sayd examining Hal's ring, and Ganthet is amused that it took Hal so long to prove the Guardians wrong about creating a ring out of willpower. Hal himself is apparently genuinely dead and in some sort of Green Lantern afterlife, where he encounters Abin Sur. How this squares with meeting Tomar-Re in Nekron's realm when he and Sinestro were trapped there, I don't know. The final panel shows white lantern Kyle Rayner, who Ganthet apparently wants to bring Hal back before it's too late.

Titans #5
This book is vying with Aquaman for my favorite. Everything was set up last issue with three groups of Titans and Linda Park all in four different locations, about to meet their deaths at Kadabra's hands. Wally has to run 7000 miles in 5 seconds to do it (and that's nowhere near lightspeed (186,282 mi/s) so it should be easy for a Flash to pull off. Still, if you ignore that, it's a dramatic issue since Flashes get absorbed into the Speed Force if they go too fast, and Wally knows full well he's likely running to his death, but his friends are more important than his life. Kadabra puts the whole race on public display (though by the time that one guy says "is that the Flash?" 5 seconds should have passed and the run shoudl be over) meaning even more people are seeing and possibly remembering Wally West, someone that had been erased from history. Wally does in fact rescue all the Titans and he rescues Linda, only to begin being absorbed into the Speed Force right in front of her, much to Kadabra's delight.

So obviously Wally's not dead, and he's not gone, so the question is more "how does he get out of this one?". There are a number of possibilities, so we'll see what the explanation turns out to be.

Superman Annual #1
I'm not quite sure what to make of this story. On the one hand, it integrates Superman more fully into this Earth and timeline thanks to Swamp Thing, who had felt something wrong with the way Superman interacted with the Sun and with the Earth, and with the help of the Parliament of Trees is able to better adapt Superman to this Earth. On the other hand, while reminding us that something isn't quite right with this Superman or New 52 Superman, the issue doens't really reveal as much as it seemed like it might. The blue energy handprint from Superman #1 returns when Superman touches Swamp Thing, and it seems to make Swamp Thing more Kryptonian. That's fine, but I still don't really know what it's supposed to signify. I will say that this is a "hero fights hero" story done right, with any physical combat only occurring because Swamp Thing needs to communicate in a way that Superman doesn't understand and doesn't want to do, so Swamp Thing resorts to overpowering him. Otherwise the two try to understand each other and don't just fight for some contrived reason.

Bleeding Cool has a summation and some past Swamp Thing continuity that I was unaware of that this issue may be referencing.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/11/30/ ... manhattan/