Comics are Awesome III

[andersonh1]

Dark Knights: Metal #1
It was a skip week this week, and since I didn't have any regular books, I decided to bite the bullet and give this a try, even though it's a $5 book. I don't plan to buy it all, but it's getting enough hype that I thought I'd check one issue out. It's Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo on the book, so if you've read any of the New 52 Batman series, you have a good idea what kind of book these two produce. Batman is clearly the focal character, but otherwise this is a Justice League story, with the New 52 big seven that replaces the Martian Manhunter with Cyborg.

This is not the first issue of the series, so we're jumping in mid-story. Mongul has the Justice League powerless and in his arena, and he's forcing the Japanese kid Toyman to build mechanical gladiators for the League to fight. Batman (of course) figures out that Toyman has built in a way for the League to use the machines to merge (like a Transformers combiner) and take on Mongul. Having beaten him, the League return to Earth where a mountain has fallen on Gotham City. Yes, a mountain, and when the League enter, they find people in suspended animation and are contacted by the Blackhawks, led by Kendra Saunders, formerly Hawkgirl in the 2000s JSA series.

The plot keeps moving at a rapid pace, throwing characters and ideas at the reader very quickly. The League go to Blackhawk island, and Kendra starts talking about the Nth Metal, which Hawkman used to fly and fight, and how he thought it came from a "dark multiverse", and that somehow Batman was the key to an invasion from that dark multiverse. The Challengers of the Unknown and Carter Hall left Red Tornado on guard, went there to explore, and have not returned. This is a trap for Batman so the Blackhawks can keep him prisoner, but he's already escaped and headed back to Gotham, where he uses a piece of pure Nth metal to locate a journal that Carter Hall left hidden in Wayne Manor, only for Bruce to be contacted by Death of the Endless (from Neil Gaiman's Sandman)....

As you can tell, a lot happens very quickly, and lots of pre-New 52 continuity seeps through into the story. Batman gets his usual extra important role in the story, which is annoying. I'll give Snyder this: he doesn't shy away from big, improbable, comic-booky ideas. He goes for it, and so the whole thing works so far. I do enjoy seeing Hawkman being so fundamental to the plot, and all the little continuity touches thrown into the story. This is one that while I don't want to pay for the individual issues, I would enjoy reading when it's all done and collected. It's pretty much a Justice League story, with an old school multiverse feel to it.

[andersonh1]

IT's about time!

[Sparky Prime]

It's way past time.

[andersonh1]

Superman #30
I have to admit, I really enjoyed this issue. It opens with the Parallax possessed Superman ranting to Sinestro and trying to kill him, until Sinestro and Parallax are transported to Qward, where Sinestro and the Weaponers manage to disable Parallax. Sinestro has him taken to the center of the planet where it's cold and dark to cut Superman off from any sunlight and to draw Parallax out of him. Sinestro tries to bring out Superman's fears, and they're what we might expect: fear of failing or hurting his friends and the people who depend on him, fear of losing Lois to cancer, or something he's powerless to prevent, and fears of his son going bad because he's a bad parent... but it's all for nothing as Parallax starts body-hopping to Lyssa Drak and then the weaponers, and ultimately runs for the surface, with Sinestro dismissing Superman as trapped, with Parallax the main goal now. As you might expect, that was a major mistake, and Superman escapes, arriving on the surface after both Sinestro and Parallax are battered from their fight. Superman takes Sinestro's ring and absorbs Parallax into it, promising to take him to Mogo, where he'll be safe from Sinestro and the GLs can take care of him. When Sinestro demands his ring back, Superman tells him to try and take it, after which Sinestro backs down and retreats. Before having the weaponers return him to Earth, Superman tells them to look at how afraid they were of Sinestro, and how he just ran, and to make a better choice for the future. The issue ends with him at home, where Lois tells him the missing children have been found, and Superman tells her about his "rough day at work".

Any time someone puts Sinestro in his place, I enjoy it. And watching Superman show compassion even to Parallax and the Weaponers just highlights the positive side of the character, and how he prefers to relate to others. For a two part fill in story, this was really good.

[Sparky Prime]

Green Lanterns #30
Volthoom is helping some Maltusian farmers (interestingly, these farmers are still normal Maltusians unlike the Guardians whose bodies have shrunk), which he plans to kill in attempts to lure out the Guardians, when the Green Lanterns strike. They are no match for him however as 4 of them are killed and the rest go down for the count. Simon confronts him, despite not having a ring, and gets a few good hits in. Before Volthoom can kill him however, the 4 Green Lantern rings choose Simon as their new bearer. I was surprised to get to the last page and find that was it for this issue. Lots of action which made it feel extremely short. Little disappointed Volthoom killed off several of these Lanterns so quickly. It makes sense considering how powerful he is and inexperienced they are, but I was hoping this wouldn't become all about Simon and Jessica saving the day rather than the First Lanterns themselves.

the Weaponers

I thought the Sinestro Corps killed all of the Weaponers back in Sinestro Corps War, save for one.

[andersonh1]

I thought the Sinestro Corps killed all of the Weaponers back in Sinestro Corps War, save for one.

It's been a few years since I read Sinestro Corps War, but I remember some Green Lantern Corps issues during "Brightest Day" where the weaponers were heavily involved in the plot. In fact, I think the plot involved the weaponer who made Sinestro's first ring. I'll have to look the story up, but if they did kill all the weaponers in the Sinestro Corps War, they retconned it pretty quick.

[Sparky Prime]

It's been a few years since I read Sinestro Corps War, but I remember some Green Lantern Corps issues during "Brightest Day" where the weaponers were heavily involved in the plot. In fact, I think the plot involved the weaponer who made Sinestro's first ring. I'll have to look the story up, but if they did kill all the weaponers in the Sinestro Corps War, they retconned it pretty quick.

Yeah, he's the one I was talking about when I said save for one. I recall he wanted revenge against Sinestro for the death of his people... only to end up joining Sinestro. Eventually he helped the 'New Guardians' defeat Invicus and that's the last we saw of him.

[Sparky Prime]

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #30
Hal is chasing after High Father and Lightray who have Omega Beams after them, but his construct can't catch up to Lightray's speed (since when has speed been a problem for a construct to maintain its form?). Suddenly his father appears in the co-pilot seat, apparently some side effect of the New Gods energy wake. They have a nice long chat and this gives Hal the inspiration to catch Lightray. Giving Lightray a break, Hal takes over and says he has an idea to get rid of the Omega Beams. Most of this issue is just Hal and his father talking. I liked the attention to detail with his father's use of language, using some words that aren't really used anymore, I just feel they spent too much time on it. So far, there really hasn't been much plot development in this arc. We're what, 4 or 5 issues into this arc now? We should be at the climax of the story and yet I feel like we've only just reached the second act so to speak.

[andersonh1]

Action Comics #987
Finally, some answers about Mr. Oz, which I'll get to in a moment. He shows up at the beginning of the issue and rips the Kryptonite heart out of Metallo, commenting on how cruel humanity really is, before reviewing a number of fragile situations around the globe and giving each person involved a small nudge, resulting in crisis after crisis for Superman to try and solve, from a worker whose lost his job to illegal immigrants trying to kill them, to terrorists killing the inhabitants of a village in Africa to steal the medicine that Superman had only delivered a half hour before, to poachers killing a rhino to steal its horn. And in the midst of it all, Oz appears to Superman and transports him to his own fortress, telling him that humanity is worse than he thinks, and he sent Superman to the wrong planet, and mankind doesn't deserve him or his family. If that doesn't clue you in as to who Mr. Oz is, he reveals that he's Jor-El, Superman's father. He has bad facial scarring, and the clothes he's wearing are very Silver-Age in appearance, and it would be very interesting if this was pre-Crisis Jor-El, as some have speculated. His interest in Superman, and the way he helped Jonathan before and the way he's captured many of Superman's worst enemies makes perfect sense, given who he is. I'm more intrigued by this than I thought I'd be.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #28
We haven't had a solo Hal issue for quite a while, and that alone made me enjoy the plot as Hal struggles to find and catch LIghtray, fastest of the New Gods, as he struggles to keep Highfather in front of the Omega Beams pursuing him. The issue doesn't cover as much ground and advance the plot as much as it seems like it should, but at the same time it really calls back to how Hal was written under Geoff Johns, and gives him a chance to have a conversation with his deceased father. Hal wonders how this could happen, and his father chalks it up to being in the wake of a god, so who knows what can happen? And the issue reminds us that it's not so much the ring that gives Hal his power, it's his tremendous willpower that makes him the Green Lantern that he is. He even impresses HIghfather, who allows Hal to take over from the tiring Lightray and keep him ahead of the Omega Beams. Apart from not moving the story forward very much, I can't complain about the issue. And maybe taking an issue to focus on what makes one of the characters tick is a good idea from time to time.

Titans #15
The Titans are still fighting HIVE, still trying to get Karen Duncan's memories back. This plot has been a bit lacking for me, as much as I like the characters, and I think it comes down to the fact that I just know and care so little about the villains. This issue shines in the character department as the reveal that Dick Grayson was the inside man for HIVE is turned on its head, because they essentially bugged him. Wally and Donna resolve a few things related to kissing each other, and Wally resolves to tell the rest of the team just how bad his heart problems really are... only to flatline as he pushes himself all-out to save Nightwing from being killed. I don't for one moment think they're going to kill Wally off after going to such lengths to bring him back and put him front and center in Rebirth, but it's still a solid cliffhanger.

[Sparky Prime]

Green Lanterns #31
Despite the extra rings, Simon is still no match for Volthoom. Z'Kran Z'Rann reads his mind and is hit with a fatal blast, and just fore dying, tells Jessica they need to help him. Simon manages to capture him with a construct and Jessica manages to talk to and calm Volthoom who just wants to go home to save his world. The Guardians suddenly arrive slapping handcuffs on Volthoom and remove his ring, as well as the 6 remaining Green Lantern rings. Although Rami is surprised Jessica's ring does not respond, to which she explains they're from the future. Volthoom suddenly realizes the Green Lantern rings were made from his Travel Lantern and sends Jessica and Simon back to the present. The last remaining original Green Lantern, Tyran'r, resigns his ring allowing Simon to become its new bearer, replacing his destroyed ring. Rami heals and enlists Tyran'r to help him track down the last remaining original rings to keep them from Volthoom while Simon and Jessica return home to Earth.
--
I was sadly disappointed by this arc. I really felt there should have been more of a focus on the original 7 Green Lanterns, rather than having Jessica and Simon saving the day in the end. Most of the original 7 really didn't do anything, being killed off far too quickly and only 2 of them surviving the fight. Speaking of which, they never explained how it is Tyran'r has lived for millions of years as the Guardian of the Vault. When Rami healed him, he says that should give him a few thousand more years, possibly suggesting Willpower has something to do with it, but again, nothing is ever explained about it. Volthoom apparently simply left after he accidentally sent Jessica and Simon into the past (and restored Rami to his body for some reason). It's suggested he is still looking for the other remaining original rings, despite Tyran'r still being right there with one of them! And how did his past self realize the Green Lantern rings were made from his Travel Lantern when his present day self had to look through all of Rami's research to find that out? Did he forget in the millions of years he was captive? Seems unlikely.

Spider-Men #3
Basically just a flashback issue showing the background of 616 Miles Morales. Turns out he got sent to jail and in doing so did a favor for the mob. A young Kingpin goes in to protect him, and is in turn saved by Miles. The two becomes friends and work together when they get out. Kingpin lets him out of the mob and erases all trace of his existence when he wants to settle down with his girlfriend. Not really the direction I'd expected they'd go for 616 Miles but alright then...