Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #17
Hal gives Kyle an inspirational speech about being the greatest Lantern and tells him that the Guardians want to see him. There, Saint Walker tells Kyle he will be the lightning, and Walker the antenna. Kyle demands them to stop, but they explain they are attempting to resurrect the Blue Lantern Corps and with Saint Walker's reassurance, Kyle gives it his all. The power goes unchecked causing plant life to grow wild on Mogo, but as Kyle starts to focus it, Saint Walker detects some presence that halts them. Kyle's power is drained and the Blue Lanterns have not been restored. Kyle's ring splits into the 7 individual rings (for some reason) and they leave to find new bearers, with Kyle being restored to a Green Lantern.
Uhg. I knew it would only be a matter of time until Kyle returned to being a Green Lantern. But this was a terrible way to do it. There was absolutely no build up, no 'evolution' for the character to returning to being a Green Lantern. Ganthet and Sayd didn't even seem to fully explain their plans to Kyle until they were already in the process of it. Kyle didn't really seem to even have a choice in the matter. And it's such a waste because it doesn't even work, costing Kyle his White Lantern powers. Why are they trying to bring the dead Blue Lanterns back to life anyway? I mean, sure you'd want to if you could. But it's something Kyle hasn't been able to do before. Maybe when he had the Life Equation.... Which begs to question, why didn't they call in all of the White Lanterns Kyle helped to create if they were going to attempt this? This would have been the perfect time to bring them up. This issue felt so pointless. Literally the only thing it does is to reset Kyle.
Edit:
Star Trek/Green Lantern Stranger Worlds #4
Hal, Kirk and Spock face off against the Red Lantern Khan and his fellow augments, where Khan quickly gains the upper hand. But that all changes when Kilowog, John and Guy arrive, having survived their earlier encounter with Khan. Khan decides to make a tactical retreat while the Enterprise crew regroups. They now face two threats with Khan on the loose and Sinestro on his way to Oa, and now the Lanterns are completely out of power. Hal believes they should go after Sinestro, given if he recharges his ring, he would be a bigger threat than Khan. While Kirk and Spock sees Khan as an immediate threat to Earth. Khan has gone to the Klingon homeworld to talk to the Emperor but finds Larfleeze instead who tells him about Sinestro. Meanwhile, Sinestro has found the Guardians and the Central Power Battery and tells the Guardians he already knows of the Yellow Impurity they keep trapped inside, which he is able to use to recharge his ring.
Not sure why the Guardians have built the Central Power Battery when they are still using the Manhunters and they haven't invented Power Rings yet. I suppose they could have built it as a prison for Parallax even if they aren't using the Willpower as a power source though. Also not sure why Khan goes to talk to the Klingon Emperor. I'd guess maybe he wanted to get the Klingons to help him take over Earth, but there is no explanation given.
Comics are Awesome III
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Sparky Prime
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Action Comics #976
Superman Reborn part 4
There's a lot that needs to be explained about this story, in my opinion. I still don't understand how the "energy" that was/is New 52 Superman and Lois Lane could be out in the little pocket dimension that Mxyzptlk takes Jon to, Why aren't both simply dead and gone?
Of course this is a story with a goal, and the goal is more important than the mechanics needed to get there. The goal is to resolve the issue of two Supermen (New 52 and post-Crisis) and explain how that can be possible if this New 52 Earth is in reality post-Crisis Earth with massive timeline changes, as the Rebirth storyline has revealed. And to do that, history and continuity is rewritten, on page, as both Supermen are merged into one, and we get a big two page spread of key moments from Superman's life. And despite the fact that New 52 is part of Superman's history now, all the events depicted are familiar moments from post-Crisis Superman's life. The one big change is that Jon was no longer born during Convergence, in the batcave, but in the Fortress of Solitude, and Lois and Clark's coworkers knew she was pregnant and have known Jon all his life. So he's now thoroughly integrated into the timeline.
So now there's just one Superman, he's mostly the post-Crisis Superman with New 52 integrated into his life (more on that next issue) and how that integration works out who can say? The ramifications across the wider DC Universe have yet to be seen. But the family of Clark, Lois and Jon is back together and has overcome (and Jon was integral to the win) so for now all is right with Superman's world. And though DC is still hung up on not giving Superman back his red shorts, the costume is in all other respects back to the original. Maybe Action Comics #1000 will return him to his full original costume. Fingers crossed. It's only a year away....
Superman Reborn part 4
There's a lot that needs to be explained about this story, in my opinion. I still don't understand how the "energy" that was/is New 52 Superman and Lois Lane could be out in the little pocket dimension that Mxyzptlk takes Jon to, Why aren't both simply dead and gone?
Of course this is a story with a goal, and the goal is more important than the mechanics needed to get there. The goal is to resolve the issue of two Supermen (New 52 and post-Crisis) and explain how that can be possible if this New 52 Earth is in reality post-Crisis Earth with massive timeline changes, as the Rebirth storyline has revealed. And to do that, history and continuity is rewritten, on page, as both Supermen are merged into one, and we get a big two page spread of key moments from Superman's life. And despite the fact that New 52 is part of Superman's history now, all the events depicted are familiar moments from post-Crisis Superman's life. The one big change is that Jon was no longer born during Convergence, in the batcave, but in the Fortress of Solitude, and Lois and Clark's coworkers knew she was pregnant and have known Jon all his life. So he's now thoroughly integrated into the timeline.
So now there's just one Superman, he's mostly the post-Crisis Superman with New 52 integrated into his life (more on that next issue) and how that integration works out who can say? The ramifications across the wider DC Universe have yet to be seen. But the family of Clark, Lois and Jon is back together and has overcome (and Jon was integral to the win) so for now all is right with Superman's world. And though DC is still hung up on not giving Superman back his red shorts, the costume is in all other respects back to the original. Maybe Action Comics #1000 will return him to his full original costume. Fingers crossed. It's only a year away....
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #17
I got my copy of this a week late. Last week the guy at my LCS said they'd shipped the box to the wrong location. That's fine, since this week seems to have been a skip week for DC, so I wouldn't have had much to read if it had come in on time.
There are a couple of big things that happen this issue. For one, I think this may well be the first time that this book has really referenced the Rebirth storyline going on in the background of all the DC books, and it does so in a pretty organic way by literally denying hope in the form of the Blue Lanterns. The loss of hope from the universe was one of the key themes set up in Rebirth #1, and every since Geoff Johns wrote GL we've seen hope personified in the form of Saint Walker and the Blue Lanterns. Mr. Oz makes his first appearance here, watching as Kyle is unable to resurrect the other Blue Lanterns, much to Ganthet's dismay.
The second change is given away by the cover, as Kyle loses the white ring and goes back to being a Green Lantern. He's even wearing his original costume (with a more modern GL insignia being the only real change) and the old status quo of Kyle and Ganthet is referenced more than once, both by Hal and by Ganthet, with Hal complimenting Kyle as the best GL. The white ring breaks apart into the seven other colors of the emotional spectrum with each ring heading out to find a bearer, and the Green Lantern ring picks Kyle. Despite the fact that all his character growth and experiences still happened, this feels like a regression to some extent (kind of like Wally over in Titans), but I honestly don't mind seeing Kyle return to his roots. And though I never was a fan of his old costume back in the day, bringing it back is a good choice that sets him apart from the other Green Lanterns.
Titans Annual #1
Speaking of Wally, he and Barry Allen come across as the most down to Earth and comfortable in each other's company of the four different pairings in this issue. Eight people have been kidnapped by old Justice League enemy the Key, who is talking to and trying to free someone we never see. Batman/Nightwing, Wonder Woman/Donna Troy, Flash/Flash, and Aquaman and Aqualad are trapped in a confined space, with no apparent way out and no indication of who put them there. The Key wants them to fight each other, and is hoping that a sense of paranoia will provoke that, but despite the less trusting nature of the Justice League members compared to the fast friendship of the Titans, the various people manage to keep their tempers in check, think about the situation in front of them, and work out what's probably going on. There are all sorts of standout character moments, and the issue as a whole puts characters back together who, in some cases, barely knew each other during the New 52, or didn't know at all in the case of Wally West. The lack of ego and jockeying for position between Wally and Barry compared to all the other characters is refreshing and probably my favorite part of the issue. In the end, the trapped group and the rest of the League find the Key, who is forced to run. And it was nice to see Cyborg in Titans Tower again, even though there was no indication that his past with the Titans has been restored.
Back to the themes of Rebirth, it's easy to see that love and friendship are being referenced here. The more aloof Justice League members have a harder time with trust than the Titans do (Barry Allen excepted) and in the end it's the deep bond between the other Titans and Donna Troy that helps her overcome the deep anguish she feels over learning some facts from Wonder Woman about who she is. Nightwing's trusting and diplomatic approach to leadership is shown here to be superior to Aquaman and Batman's methods.
I got my copy of this a week late. Last week the guy at my LCS said they'd shipped the box to the wrong location. That's fine, since this week seems to have been a skip week for DC, so I wouldn't have had much to read if it had come in on time.
There are a couple of big things that happen this issue. For one, I think this may well be the first time that this book has really referenced the Rebirth storyline going on in the background of all the DC books, and it does so in a pretty organic way by literally denying hope in the form of the Blue Lanterns. The loss of hope from the universe was one of the key themes set up in Rebirth #1, and every since Geoff Johns wrote GL we've seen hope personified in the form of Saint Walker and the Blue Lanterns. Mr. Oz makes his first appearance here, watching as Kyle is unable to resurrect the other Blue Lanterns, much to Ganthet's dismay.
The second change is given away by the cover, as Kyle loses the white ring and goes back to being a Green Lantern. He's even wearing his original costume (with a more modern GL insignia being the only real change) and the old status quo of Kyle and Ganthet is referenced more than once, both by Hal and by Ganthet, with Hal complimenting Kyle as the best GL. The white ring breaks apart into the seven other colors of the emotional spectrum with each ring heading out to find a bearer, and the Green Lantern ring picks Kyle. Despite the fact that all his character growth and experiences still happened, this feels like a regression to some extent (kind of like Wally over in Titans), but I honestly don't mind seeing Kyle return to his roots. And though I never was a fan of his old costume back in the day, bringing it back is a good choice that sets him apart from the other Green Lanterns.
Titans Annual #1
Speaking of Wally, he and Barry Allen come across as the most down to Earth and comfortable in each other's company of the four different pairings in this issue. Eight people have been kidnapped by old Justice League enemy the Key, who is talking to and trying to free someone we never see. Batman/Nightwing, Wonder Woman/Donna Troy, Flash/Flash, and Aquaman and Aqualad are trapped in a confined space, with no apparent way out and no indication of who put them there. The Key wants them to fight each other, and is hoping that a sense of paranoia will provoke that, but despite the less trusting nature of the Justice League members compared to the fast friendship of the Titans, the various people manage to keep their tempers in check, think about the situation in front of them, and work out what's probably going on. There are all sorts of standout character moments, and the issue as a whole puts characters back together who, in some cases, barely knew each other during the New 52, or didn't know at all in the case of Wally West. The lack of ego and jockeying for position between Wally and Barry compared to all the other characters is refreshing and probably my favorite part of the issue. In the end, the trapped group and the rest of the League find the Key, who is forced to run. And it was nice to see Cyborg in Titans Tower again, even though there was no indication that his past with the Titans has been restored.
Back to the themes of Rebirth, it's easy to see that love and friendship are being referenced here. The more aloof Justice League members have a harder time with trust than the Titans do (Barry Allen excepted) and in the end it's the deep bond between the other Titans and Donna Troy that helps her overcome the deep anguish she feels over learning some facts from Wonder Woman about who she is. Nightwing's trusting and diplomatic approach to leadership is shown here to be superior to Aquaman and Batman's methods.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Star Trek: Boldly Go #6
Turns out the Borg didn't have time to assimilate Sulu's husband and daughter (that's not how the Borg operate but whatever)... Sulu is anxious to get another assignment, to which Kirk asks him to be his first officer. Spock and Uhura have returned to new Vulcan and Scotty apparently has ended his stint teaching at the academy as he joins Kirk's crew on the Endeavour. Returning to their mission of exploration, the crew discovers a white hole, a theorized 'other end' of a black hole. Suddenly bridge command functions are transferred by an Andorian crew member. She says she's trying to save the ship but refuses to explain beyond that. Turns out she, and the communications officer, are actually energy beings from another dimension, and know that the ship's sensors can somehow cause the white hole to expand... Which it does. Sulu trusts them to help save the ship, and the false-Andorian in her energy form sacrifices herself to close the white hole. The communications officer explains that he's now trapped as a human as his connection to his dimension is cut off, and is allowed to remain a member of the crew.
Not sure if the white hole was actually a portal to the dimension the energy beings came from or what... The books doesn't really elaborate, but it would explain why the energy beings already know so much about it and why it being closed trapped the communications officer in his human-guise. I like that Sulu's family is safe, but there's no way that if the Borg took them that they didn't have time to assimilate them. All of the crewmembers they showed from the Concord in previous issues had already been assimilated. This was a decent issue. Nice stand alone, and one of the most actually 'Star Treky' stories I've seen set in the reboot universe.
Turns out the Borg didn't have time to assimilate Sulu's husband and daughter (that's not how the Borg operate but whatever)... Sulu is anxious to get another assignment, to which Kirk asks him to be his first officer. Spock and Uhura have returned to new Vulcan and Scotty apparently has ended his stint teaching at the academy as he joins Kirk's crew on the Endeavour. Returning to their mission of exploration, the crew discovers a white hole, a theorized 'other end' of a black hole. Suddenly bridge command functions are transferred by an Andorian crew member. She says she's trying to save the ship but refuses to explain beyond that. Turns out she, and the communications officer, are actually energy beings from another dimension, and know that the ship's sensors can somehow cause the white hole to expand... Which it does. Sulu trusts them to help save the ship, and the false-Andorian in her energy form sacrifices herself to close the white hole. The communications officer explains that he's now trapped as a human as his connection to his dimension is cut off, and is allowed to remain a member of the crew.
Not sure if the white hole was actually a portal to the dimension the energy beings came from or what... The books doesn't really elaborate, but it would explain why the energy beings already know so much about it and why it being closed trapped the communications officer in his human-guise. I like that Sulu's family is safe, but there's no way that if the Borg took them that they didn't have time to assimilate them. All of the crewmembers they showed from the Concord in previous issues had already been assimilated. This was a decent issue. Nice stand alone, and one of the most actually 'Star Treky' stories I've seen set in the reboot universe.
Re: Comics are Awesome III
Is "Boldly Go" only set in the Abramsverse or does it pull from all continuities? I've been reading Waypoint which is strictly stand alone issues each with two short stories each, all from different parts of the Trek universe. It's pretty good and so far, I'm enjoying it.Sparky Prime wrote:Star Trek: Boldly Go #6
Turns out the Borg didn't have time to assimilate Sulu's husband and daughter (that's not how the Borg operate but whatever)... Sulu is anxious to get another assignment, to which Kirk asks him to be his first officer. Spock and Uhura have returned to new Vulcan and Scotty apparently has ended his stint teaching at the academy as he joins Kirk's crew on the Endeavour. Returning to their mission of exploration, the crew discovers a white hole, a theorized 'other end' of a black hole. Suddenly bridge command functions are transferred by an Andorian crew member. She says she's trying to save the ship but refuses to explain beyond that. Turns out she, and the communications officer, are actually energy beings from another dimension, and know that the ship's sensors can somehow cause the white hole to expand... Which it does. Sulu trusts them to help save the ship, and the false-Andorian in her energy form sacrifices herself to close the white hole. The communications officer explains that he's now trapped as a human as his connection to his dimension is cut off, and is allowed to remain a member of the crew.
Not sure if the white hole was actually a portal to the dimension the energy beings came from or what... The books doesn't really elaborate, but it would explain why the energy beings already know so much about it and why it being closed trapped the communications officer in his human-guise. I like that Sulu's family is safe, but there's no way that if the Borg took them that they didn't have time to assimilate them. All of the crewmembers they showed from the Concord in previous issues had already been assimilated. This was a decent issue. Nice stand alone, and one of the most actually 'Star Treky' stories I've seen set in the reboot universe.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
It's set only in the Adramsverse, picking up after the events of 'Beyond'.Shockwave wrote:Is "Boldly Go" only set in the Abramsverse or does it pull from all continuities? I've been reading Waypoint which is strictly stand alone issues each with two short stories each, all from different parts of the Trek universe. It's pretty good and so far, I'm enjoying it.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Green Lanterns #19, #20
Guess I forgot about issue 19, since it looks like I didn't post anything about it... Not really sure where this story arc came from. Last we saw Jessica and Simon, they were called back home to see Rami, after their visit with Batman in Gotham. Only, Rami is not in either of these issues. In fact, the only mention of Rami comes from a meeting when it's reported that a Guardian is on Earth. Ganthet and Sayd warn John that bringing Rami to Mogo would be a mistake, but John and Guy feel having a Guardian out in the open is an even bigger risk, and they think it's about time Simon and Jessica got some real training. Meanwhile, Jessica and Simon are just going about their normal Lantern duties when they end up getting a call to go after Dr. Polaris after his kills a squad of special forces. He is off his medication and is struggling to keep his brother alive. It's good to see another classic Green Lantern villain return, but this story just feels like more filler when we just had 2 issues of filler with Batman, and a stand alone Volthoom issue.
Guess I forgot about issue 19, since it looks like I didn't post anything about it... Not really sure where this story arc came from. Last we saw Jessica and Simon, they were called back home to see Rami, after their visit with Batman in Gotham. Only, Rami is not in either of these issues. In fact, the only mention of Rami comes from a meeting when it's reported that a Guardian is on Earth. Ganthet and Sayd warn John that bringing Rami to Mogo would be a mistake, but John and Guy feel having a Guardian out in the open is an even bigger risk, and they think it's about time Simon and Jessica got some real training. Meanwhile, Jessica and Simon are just going about their normal Lantern duties when they end up getting a call to go after Dr. Polaris after his kills a squad of special forces. He is off his medication and is struggling to keep his brother alive. It's good to see another classic Green Lantern villain return, but this story just feels like more filler when we just had 2 issues of filler with Batman, and a stand alone Volthoom issue.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
Superman #20
The first post-Rebirth issue makes a change to continuity right away, with Lois having taken the last name Kent, as well as the Kents living openly as themselves on the Hamilton County farm rather than as the Whites. They remember what happened and are aware that things have changed, with Lois concerned and Clark happy to let the answers come in time. I did enjoy the panels where he's just enjoying watching Lois check the mail, clearly still smitten with her. It's nice to have a happily married superhero these days.
But the book doesn't stay happy, as the family go to the storm cellar when a bad one rolls through, and then Batman and Robin are easily caught by Superman spying on the house, and Lois makes them come inside and talk around the table like civilized people. Batman has finished his analysis of Jon's physiology from a number of issues back, and has come to the conclusion that his powers should be fully manifested by now and that something is affecting him. Superman thinks Batman is just being his usual suspicious self, but Batman zeroes in on the milk as something environmental and decides to investigate. The milk comes from the Cobb farm next door, and as Batman gets a specimen of milk from the cow, he's attacked by something black and shapeless, and farmer Cobb knows all about it. Something weird is going on, obviously, and now Batman has been captured. To be continued...
The first post-Rebirth issue makes a change to continuity right away, with Lois having taken the last name Kent, as well as the Kents living openly as themselves on the Hamilton County farm rather than as the Whites. They remember what happened and are aware that things have changed, with Lois concerned and Clark happy to let the answers come in time. I did enjoy the panels where he's just enjoying watching Lois check the mail, clearly still smitten with her. It's nice to have a happily married superhero these days.
But the book doesn't stay happy, as the family go to the storm cellar when a bad one rolls through, and then Batman and Robin are easily caught by Superman spying on the house, and Lois makes them come inside and talk around the table like civilized people. Batman has finished his analysis of Jon's physiology from a number of issues back, and has come to the conclusion that his powers should be fully manifested by now and that something is affecting him. Superman thinks Batman is just being his usual suspicious self, but Batman zeroes in on the milk as something environmental and decides to investigate. The milk comes from the Cobb farm next door, and as Batman gets a specimen of milk from the cow, he's attacked by something black and shapeless, and farmer Cobb knows all about it. Something weird is going on, obviously, and now Batman has been captured. To be continued...
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
I liked the idea that being a Human/Kryptonian hybrid, his powers would still be developing through puberty. Little disappointed they decided to make it part of some plot where some thing is actually affecting his abilities. I've seen Batman also mentions Jon should be more powerful than Clark, which I don't understand. Being half human, I'd expect his powers to be half of Superman's. The clone Superboy was given his tactile telekinesis ability because his powers wouldn't be as strong as Superman's, and although he eventually developed some more Kryptonian abilities, he still wasn't as powerful as Superman.andersonh1 wrote:Batman has finished his analysis of Jon's physiology from a number of issues back, and has come to the conclusion that his powers should be fully manifested by now and that something is affecting him.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III
I know Jon was able to burn Superman with his heat vision back in issue 2, so there have already been hints that he outclasses Superman in some ways. I agree that it doesn't make sense that he'd be more powerful though.Sparky Prime wrote:I liked the idea that being a Human/Kryptonian hybrid, his powers would still be developing through puberty. Little disappointed they decided to make it part of some plot where some thing is actually affecting his abilities. I've seen Batman also mentions Jon should be more powerful than Clark, which I don't understand. Being half human, I'd expect his powers to be half of Superman's. The clone Superboy was given his tactile telekinesis ability because his powers wouldn't be as strong as Superman's, and although he eventually developed some more Kryptonian abilities, he still wasn't as powerful as Superman.andersonh1 wrote:Batman has finished his analysis of Jon's physiology from a number of issues back, and has come to the conclusion that his powers should be fully manifested by now and that something is affecting him.