Comics are Awesome III

[andersonh1]

Action Comics #975
This is an anniversary issue to mark 975 issues of Action Comics, and it does a nice job of carrying on with the current storylines as well as looking back by giving us a couple of stories.

The first half of the book picks up where last week's Superman left off, with Superman and Lois heading into Metropolis to confront the human Clark Kent. They head to his apartment, find it empty and search. There's very little furniture, no clothing or momentos, and junk food in the fridge and cabinets. Then Kent appears out of nowhere, Superman confronts him, and Kent starts ranting about having been forgotten. And then he starts shapeshifting into Superman's various enemies, almost all pre-Flashpoint, from Mongul to Brainiac to Cyborg Superman, and then finally, as Superman and Lois both guess... it's Myxlplk. He took Jon and threatens to make Superman and Lois forget him, and vanishes, having apparently carried out his threat on Lois. Superman is not happy.

The second half of the book and second story offers explanations, as Myxlplk chats with Jon. There are all sorts of visual easter eggs here, from reproductions of drawings from Myxlplk's appearance in the Golden Age, to the silver age, Lego Superman, Animated Series Superman, and even his girlfriend from the animated show and Bat-Mite. Jon says his dad used to tell him bedtime stories about Myxlplk, which Myxlplk finds strangely touching. Then it's his turn, and he talks about the old routine where he would show up every 90 days or so, and then one day he was caught in a trap... by Mr. Oz, who locked him away in the same prison we've seen Tim Drake and Doomsday in. That says something for Oz's power if he can capture Myxlplk. At any rate, Myxlplk felt forgotten by Superman, and finally figured out a way to escape using his backwards name trick. Arriving on New 52 Earth where everything had changed in his absence in ways he did not understand, he disguised himself as a human Clark Kent and made himself forget who he was, because Oz was still after him. His impulse was apparently also to solve the public outing of New 52 Clark as Superman. Once he got his memory back, he felt slighted that Superman had "abandoned" him in Oz's prison, despite the fact that Superman had no idea he was there (and was a bit off the grid himself). This whole thing boils down to Myx's warped idea that Superman is his friend, and Jon replaced him, and now he's going to get even. So he makes Jon hang out and play games with him. To be continued....

It all makes sense in a continuity-fixing way, and Mxy is certainly capable of doing everything the story required him to do. I never got the impression that he considered Superman his "friend", so that seems forced to me, but I wasn't reading Superman for a long time in the 2000s and could easily have missed changes in the way Mxylplk was written. The easter eggs are fun and appropriate for an anniversary issue, and they look back in a way that fits the storyline. Seeing Lois forget her son is sad, though I'm sure it'll be corrected before the story ends.

[Sparky Prime]

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #16
The combine forces of Yellow and Green Lanterns capture the fugitive Sinestro Corps members, while Guy takes on Arkillo with his fists, inner-mixed with scenes of his father beating him as a child. Guy is badly beaten in the fight, but manages to gain the upper hand when he rips Arkillo's eye out. John and Natu arrive just before Guy passes out from his injuries. I actually feel bad for Arkillo. He's had his tongue ripped out (and healed by Saint Walker), fingers cut off (twice, I assume also healed by Saint Walker but wasn't shown), now his eye... Saint Walker, Kyle and Hal return to Mogo, where Ganthet and Sayd mention thy're a step closer to rebuilding the Blue Lantern Corps. Ganthet also mentions something is watching. Hoping that's a reference to what sent the Corps to the previous universe... As a Guy filled issue, I wasn't that impressed with this issue.

[andersonh1]

I have to agree about the latest issue of HJ & TGLC. The vast majority of the issue is spent with Guy Gardner getting badly beaten by Arkillo, for no good reason other than Guy just needs to prove how tough he is, even if it kills him. Which it nearly has, judging by Soranik's diagnosis. There's not a lot of redeeming value in watching Guy and Arkillo covered with blood, each inflicting horrible injuries on the other. This feels like a badly misjudged issue to me, unless it's meant to show us just how messed up Guy Gardner really is deep down inside due to his abusive father.

Vendetti must enjoy watching Guy suffer, between this fight and his being tortured by the Sinestro Corps. And maybe this incident is a follow up to how Guy suffered from being tortured. Maybe his behavior is a result of that. Anyway, I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. The subplots were far more intriguing. And I note from previews that

Spoiler

Kyle is going back to his original costume, so I guess his days as White Lantern are numbered

.

Titans #9
I have been meaning at some point to get the Silver and Bronze age Teen Titan omnibus volumes. I'm not familiar with a lot of Teen Titan history, and have read more of the New Teen Titans. It feels like this series is drawing from the older material, particularly with Lilith. She's in a Brave and the Bold issue I just read from the early 70s, but I had never heard of her before Titans Hunt. And I think that may be the case with the Fearsome Five, another bunch of Titans villains I haven't seen before. I'm sure they've turned up many times over the years, but I can't recall ever reading about any of them.

In any case, the book has moved away from the focus on Wally and is doing a better job of giving the entire team something to do, or at least a scene where they contribute. The Fearsome Five claim to have reformed, and are running a service where they can help metahumans either get rid of their powers or learn to control them. Nightwing and Flash infiltrate the building late at night to determine the truth of the claims, and are attacked by Mammoth, with the rest of the Titans coming in to assist. The Five's goal is to capture Bumblebee, another former Titan in pre-new 52 continuity that I know nothing about, and of course to kill the Titans.

[Sparky Prime]

The subplots were far more intriguing. And I note from previews that

Spoiler

Kyle is going back to his original costume, so I guess his days as White Lantern are numbered

.

I'd have to agree. I really wish they'd put a focus on the subplots. I saw the previews last night.

Spoiler

I figured it'd only be a matter of time before they returned Kyle to a Green Lantern. But I have to say, I'm disappointed with how they appear to be handling it. I recall in interviews a few months back, they'd said Kyle's character would be going through another evolution. But if he just gives up the White Lantern powers and re-assumes a Green Lantern status for whatever reason in just one issue, with no build up what-so-ever, that feels like a step back to me...

[andersonh1]

Superman #19
Superman Reborn part 3
So far this story has revealed that the human Clark Kent was actually Mxyzptlk, who had been captured by Mr. Oz and imprisoned, and used the Kent disguise along with some self-imposed amnesia to elude him when he escaped. Angry at having been (as he thought) abandoned by Superman, he takes Jon away as revenge, and he makes Lois forget her son. But he's not done, and this issue he decides that the game is going to be that Lois and Clark have to fight their way through a magically constructed version of the Daily Planet building and get to the top to find Jon before time runs out and both of them forget him. And the big reveal is that Superman was split in two, finally explaining just who New 52 Superman was... or is, as the end of the issue reveals. Jon, floating out in dimensional space where Mxyzptlk left him, finds what appear to be energy beings, who he can communicate with, and who help him fend off Mxyzptlk just when he was about to win his game. The final panel shows Jon saying "Mom? Dad?" while being held by New 52 Superman and Lois. "Holy deja-New 52" exclaims the fourth-wall breaking Mxyzptlk.

So apparently the two Supermen and the two Lois Lanes were the same people, duplicated and living different lives as a part of either what Oz is up to or what Dr. Manhattan is up to in altering the universe. Because answers to all of that are still to come, but it looks like a big piece of the puzzle, the New 52 Superman, is finally going to be explained here, and in a way that doesn't diminish his five years in print. That's fine, as long as we get to keep the Superman, Lois and Jon family when it's all said and done. I was never a fan of New 52 Superman, but those who are his fans deserve some consideration.

Aquaman #19
While nowhere near as interesting as this week's Superman issue (and really, how could it be?), it's still interesting to watch Aquaman and Mera team up with the Aquamarines, who tried to kill him just a few issues ago. They're investigating what I assume is a plotline from the New 52 Aquaman series. The creature is spawned from a type of water that Atlanteans can't breathe, and which has preserved creatures from millions of years ago alive and well in the present day. The base housing the scientists investigating the phenomenon is abandoned, and the creature, thought to be dead, is lurking inside the base. It's your classic "abandoned base, missing crew, isolated group fights monster" setup. Neither of these follow up storylines have the emotional heft of the initial one, which put a lot on the line for Aquaman as a character. Here he's doing fairly standard superhero things, helping people and fighting monsters.

[Sparky Prime]

So apparently the two Supermen and the two Lois Lanes were the same people, duplicated and living different lives as a part of either what Oz is up to or what Dr. Manhattan is up to in altering the universe.

I don't... What? Like you say, I'm sure answers are still to come, but how do they explain Convergence if Superman and Lois were split in two?

And with that in mind, what about the other survivors from Convergence? We haven't seen what became of Parallax...

[andersonh1]

So apparently the two Supermen and the two Lois Lanes were the same people, duplicated and living different lives as a part of either what Oz is up to or what Dr. Manhattan is up to in altering the universe.

I don't... What? Like you say, I'm sure answers are still to come, but how do they explain Convergence if Superman and Lois were split in two?

And with that in mind, what about the other survivors from Convergence? We haven't seen what became of Parallax...

What I would have said as an explanation, which is probably wrong at this point, but here goes:

- Post-Crisis Superman lives out his life to the point where he's taken out of time by Brainiac and ends up in Convergence
- When Oz or Dr. Manhattan use Flashpoint to change history, they retroactively alter Superman along with the rest of the universe, unaware that a duplicate Superman exists outside of time, so the creation of a duplicate is indavertent. (Or maybe it's not, given that Oz seems fully aware of what both Supermen are and even contacts Clark in DC Universe: Rebirth.)
- New 52 Superman lives his life in the new timeline, unaware that his duplicate has returned to the altered Earth with full memories of his life in the old timeline and is living there in secret
- The altered Superman and Lois both die, while Superman and Lois from the old timeline essentially take their place

In other words, drawing from sci-fi lingo here, the older, married Superman and the younger New 52 Superman are temporal duplicates. They're the same man from different points in their personal timeline, with the added complication that the older Superman is also from a different timeline entirely. At least that's how I think of them. As Superman said in Justice League a few issues ago: same man, different lives.

Jon is also the issue here. Since he originated in Convergence, this Superman and Lois have to have lived through those events.

And yeah, I'm wondering about Parallax myself, after he took off in GL #50. I don't think DC has any interest in telling us what happened to Flash and Supergirl. They're just "out there" after averting the Crisis off panel, which was a really bad way to undo what is arguably THE biggest event in DC's history to this day.

[Sparky Prime]

And yeah, I'm wondering about Parallax myself, after he took off in GL #50. I don't think DC has any interest in telling us what happened to Flash and Supergirl. They're just "out there" after averting the Crisis off panel, which was a really bad way to undo what is arguably THE biggest event in DC's history to this day.

Parallax said something about getting more power, and that he'd be coming back to claim Hal's life and Coast City. It seemed very much like a 'to be continued' ending, that they didn't pick up again for some reason. I can only guess Parallax ran into something he couldn't handle. It is kinda disappointing they explained Flash and Supergirl just went off somewhere... I mean, where would they go when their Earth doesn't exist anymore? And not showing how they averted Crisis was pretty bad. I can understand why they didn't show it, but it was a cheap way out.

[andersonh1]

As far as I know, this page from Lois and Clark #1 is the only indication of what happened when Superman and the others went back to interfere in the Crisis. And it really makes me miss the classic Superman costume.

[andersonh1]

I'll have more to say about this issue myself once I've had time to write up a review. But as of now,

Spoiler

New 52 Superman is gone, and there was only ever one Superman

.

Spoiler tagged, though I may be the only one here reading Superman. But it does play into the larger Rebirth storyline, so it affects DC in general.

http://comicsalliance.com/superman-rebo ... llery-1=10

Spoiler

CA: How exactly has reality changed? Do Clark and Lois walk back into the Daily Planet and everyone knows they’re married and have a kid?

DJ: In effect… yes.
The events of Action #976 reset and reshape the entire Superman timeline. Where there had been two Superman, their realities have now been fused into one timeline with just one of them. And, yes, Clark and Lois are back at the Daily Planet. Not only does everyone know they had a child; they were there shortly after Jon was born. The Daily Planet crew has known Jon his entire life.
Action Comics #977 and #978 will delve a bit more deeply into that timeline, so readers have a common understanding about Superman’s past.

Oh, and random non-Superman event of note: at the end of this week's Flash issue, Eobard Thawne remembers Thomas Wayne/Batman stabbing him to death in Flashpoint. And decides to visit out some payback on Bruce Wayne as a result.