Comics are Awesome II

[andersonh1]

I had a feeling when they announced that one of the Corps would be destroyed that it would be the Blue Lanterns. Kyle highlights why they were the logical first choice to take down. At least Saint Walker is still around, so they aren't completely gone. I hope the writers will rebuild them, as the Blue Lanterns are my favorite. Relic shows the Guardians, who in turn shows Kyle, why he doesn't like the Spectrum, but it's only hinted at for us. Seems that somehow using the Spectrum pushes the universe closer to destruction.

I had wondered if it would be the Indigo lanterns that were destroyed since they seem to be the least-used group, so it surprised me that the blue were the first to go. I wonder what will happen to Saint Walker, who seems to be a well-liked character?

I still think that eight (or seven, now) lantern corps are really stretching the concept a bit too far, so some thinning out of the various groups wouldn't be a bad idea. Leaving the Green Lanterns aside, with the red, orange and soon yellow having their own series, and with the Star Sapphires being so deeply rooted in DC history, I guess we're stuck with the groups for now.

By the way, did you know that the Star Sapphire was originally a Golden Age Flash villain? I can't remember if I mentioned that in the retro comics thread or not. She turned up twice, once trying to suck all the energy away from the Earth, almost killing the Flash in the process, and the other time she sent all the men from Earth to her own planet so she could rule a planet of women, and of course the Flash had to bring everyone back and stop her.

[Sparky Prime]

I still think that eight (or seven, now) lantern corps are really stretching the concept a bit too far, so some thinning out of the various groups wouldn't be a bad idea. Leaving the Green Lanterns aside, with the red, orange and soon yellow having their own series, and with the Star Sapphires being so deeply rooted in DC history, I guess we're stuck with the groups for now.

Are you kidding? Thinning out the groups would be a terrible idea. Especially with the Blue's and Indigo's having had the least development compared to the rest. The various Lantern Corps is one of the best developments to the GL mythos in recent years.

By the way, did you know that the Star Sapphire was originally a Golden Age Flash villain?

Yeah, I did know that actually.

[andersonh1]

Green Lantern #23.1
I'm still happy with Relic as a villain. His origin as a survivor of a previous universe makes him a genuine relic, and it is an interesting sci-fi concept. His motivation is certainly sound: he believes that tapping into the emotional spectrum is what doomed his reality, and he feels that destroying all the lantern corps will save the current universe. This issue gives us his origin, which was largely something I had picked up from his previous appearances, so there's not a lot of new ground covered. However, I'm fairly certain that the one major difference between the "lightsmiths" of the old universe and the lanterns of the current DC universe is that white was not present before, and I wonder if that and Kyle Rayner's use of the white light that will make the difference this time. It seems very unlikely that the universe is going to end or all the lantern corps are going to be destroyed, so clearly something is going to happen to stop Relic and preserve the majority of the lantern corps.

The issue is a sidestep, but not a bad one. It does occur to me that we're essentially getting last year's zero month all over again, only this time we're getting villain origins. Maybe that won't hold true across the board, but it is true for at least some of the villain books out this month. I got the regular cover, but I'd have done that anyway even if there were some 3D covers in stock. It's not the 90s, and I'm not all that into gimmick covers these days.

Superior Spider-Man #17
So Miguel O'Hara is from the defunct Marvel 2099 lines, right? Spider Man 2099 or something like that. There's not enough of him in this issue for me to really get a feel for the character or his world, though the future-slang gets old really fast. The situation with the timestream reminds me of Zero Hour, so is this Marvel's version of that crisis crossover? I notice the Hulk is traveling in time as well.

Spider-Ock continues to amuse with his memory of being the last picked for the team, and his "villain" speech patterns. His high opinion of his boss, who is being framed and his company subjected to a hostile takeover, is notable coming from Octavius. The guy normally looks down his nose at everyone. And his dismissal of spider-sense as a useless super power is hilarious. "Be more specific!"

This issue flew by.

Are you kidding? Thinning out the groups would be a terrible idea. Especially with the Blue's and Indigo's having had the least development compared to the rest. The various Lantern Corps is one of the best developments to the GL mythos in recent years.

It's something new and different compared to all the GL stories that came before, I'll grant you that. But I've always thought that one group with the ability to make energy constructs, fly, fight, translate, etc. is fairly unique, but eight groups doing that is stretching the concept too thin and definitely diluting the whole Green Lantern concept.

However, Vendetti is taking that very idea and making it a vital plot point with all the lanterns of the previous universe having actually caused the death of that universe, so it's become a problem in-story. That's actually pretty clever.

By the way, did you know that the Star Sapphire was originally a Golden Age Flash villain?

Yeah, I did know that actually.

Cool, I had no idea until recently.

[Sparky Prime]

It's something new and different compared to all the GL stories that came before, I'll grant you that. But I've always thought that one group with the ability to make energy constructs, fly, fight, translate, etc. is fairly unique, but eight groups doing that is stretching the concept too thin and definitely diluting the whole Green Lantern concept.

I don't see it as stretching or diluting the concept at all. The other Corps powers don't work exactly the same as the Green Lanterns do, giving them different weaknesses and advantages the Green Lanterns don't have. The Blue Lanterns for example can't make constructs unless there is a Green Lantern in proximity. And their constructs aren't supposed to be from their own imaginations like the GL's, but is something their target hopes for. They also have the ability to boost the other Corps powers or drain Fear of its power if they so hope, and heal nearly any injury, like missing limbs. The GL's can't do that.

However, Vendetti is taking that very idea and making it a vital plot point with all the lanterns of the previous universe having actually caused the death of that universe, so it's become a problem in-story. That's actually pretty clever.

Yeah, it is interesting to see Relic making the use of the Spectrum out to be the cause of the destruction of the universe.

[Dominic]

I am pretty far behind on comics.

Forever Evil: Got it. Ain't read it. This story features

Spoiler

the Crime Syndicate of America. Actually, this is at least the third iteration of those walking talking cliches. It is arguably the 5th or even 6th.

. I have no idea what posessed me to buy it. Either way, it cannot be worse than "Age of Ultron", right?

On a related note, the fancy covers for this month's DC books are not the only covers. As it turns out, there are regular cover variants available. I was able to down-grade my fancy cover variant of "Earth 2" #15.1 for a regular cover. I have to wonder how many people would have been worried about getting the fancy covers had DC made clear that regular variants would be available to begine with. (When the fancy covers were first announced back in July, DC said that they might do regular variants of some top-tier books.) The regular covers were not a last minute thing. DC planned this for the sake of hype. I am calling dirty pool. But, I can now rest easy and take my regular covers, so it is not all bad.


Iron Man: Scuttlebutt has it that Stark is returning to Earth, and this week's issue sets up for it Gillen is sticking around on the book, so I am sticking with it.

Superior Spider-Man #17
So Miguel O'Hara is from the defunct Marvel 2099 lines, right? Spider Man 2099 or something like that. There's not enough of him in this issue for me to really get a feel for the character or his world, though the future-slang gets old really fast. The situation with the timestream reminds me of Zero Hour, so is this Marvel's version of that crisis crossover? I notice the Hulk is traveling in time as well.

Spider-Ock continues to amuse with his memory of being the last picked for the team, and his "villain" speech patterns. His high opinion of his boss, who is being framed and his company subjected to a hostile takeover, is notable coming from Octavius. The guy normally looks down his nose at everyone. And his dismissal of spider-sense as a useless super power is hilarious. "Be more specific!"

For the sake of transition, I probably should have talked about this after "Forever Evil". Anyway.....

"Age of Ultron" ended with a "retcon punch" sort of moment. But, while DC's "Infinite Crisis" used it as an all-purpose way to paper over old mistakes going in to a reboot, Marvel is using it as an all-purpose way to ignore past story-elements without wholly contradicting themselves. (Buy the "Guardians of the Galaxy" one-shots to see the practical effects of this sort of writing, particularly in the character profiles at the end of the comics.)

A recent attempt at rebranding the old "2099" books had a line of dialogue to the effect of "we really are not sure what year this is relative to the old calendar. 2099 is just a guess." I would not be suprised if Marvel dropped the "2099" branding and went with some kind of time-vague "heroes of tomorrow" banner in the next decade or so.

Future slang was a huge part of 2099. Slott is likely making a stylistic choice.



This was a huge week for my pull file (after a few relatively light weeks). A "Cobra Files" compilation came out. There was a Starlin written "Infinity _________" compilation that I had to leave behind for money reasons. (It is in my file.) And, there were a few other books of interest, including both obligatory and casual reads. At the very least, I know there will be stuff waiting for me next week.

[andersonh1]

I am pretty far behind on comics.

Forever Evil: Got it. Ain't read it. This story features

Spoiler

the Crime Syndicate of America. Actually, this is at least the third iteration of those walking talking cliches. It is arguably the 5th or even 6th.

. I have no idea what posessed me to buy it. Either way, it cannot be worse than "Age of Ultron", right?

Yay, more recycling from the "New" 52. It's the Crime Syndicate... we've never seen them before. :/

Even Alfred being "The Outsider" is a recycled 60s plot, though that's so long ago now and probably obscure enough that most people don't know and don't care.

But Nightwing being unmasked to the world... that might have some meaning in the pre-2011 DC, where he knew everyone and had a long history, but with everything erased now, is it really anything more than a publicity stunt? Will DC use it to reveal Bruce Wayne's secret ID to the world, and all the other bat-characters, which is what would logically happen? Not likely. I don't see how this does much but cripple Nightwing as a character.

And really, the whole unmasking storyline is like everything else DC does these days. It's only effective because of the character's long history and who he is, but all of that was supposedly broomed in 2011. The character doesn't have a long history any more. Once again, DC's trying to have it both ways. They recycle old characters and call it new and exciting, and they depend on a legacy history that they've officially disavowed. It's schizophrenic.

[Sparky Prime]

Yay, more recycling from the "New" 52. It's the Crime Syndicate... we've never seen them before. :/

The New 52 has always been about re-introducing and revamping characters. I don't know what you're expecting but I wouldn't exactly call that recycling. Ultraman's aversion to sunlight is a new thing for the character. Besides, they also introduced a couple new members of the Crime Syndicate, Deathstorm, Atomica and Grid (and Sea King I guess counts even if he died on the way).

But Nightwing being unmasked to the world... that might have some meaning in the pre-2011 DC, where he knew everyone and had a long history, but with everything erased now, is it really anything more than a publicity stunt?

Not everything was erased. Nightwing has still been around for a several years in this universe.

[Dominic]

But Nightwing being unmasked to the world... that might have some meaning in the pre-2011 DC, where he knew everyone and had a long history, but with everything erased now, is it really anything more than a publicity stunt? Will DC use it to reveal Bruce Wayne's secret ID to the world, and all the other bat-characters, which is what would logically happen? Not likely. I don't see how this does much but cripple Nightwing as a character.

This story is going to be largely undone before it ends. It is a big event book, no different from most others.

As much as I hate the Syndicate characters, I fully expected them to appear in the New 52 at some point. Despite being some of the most worthless and cliched characters in fiction (not just comics, all of fiction), DC just cannot seem to get enough of them. At least two iterations of them have died. But, they still keep coming back.


Cyborg Superman:
I forget which book this replaces. I also forget the issue number that was decimal dotted. In any case, the new Cyborg Superman has nothing to do with the old Cyborg Superman. This begs the question of what DC plans to do with Hank Henshaw (assuming that they are actually counting his appearances in "Team 7", or that they are even counting "Team 7" at all). At the very least, this issue is evidence that DC is purging significant parts of their old history after "Flashpoint" (which some people still have trouble accepting), as removing the Henshaw Cyborg alters more than just the "Superman" books.
Grade: C


Iron Man #15:
And.....damn, what a let down. The arc ends (which it had to at some point. Cliched last minute save: check. Cliched "talk the bad guy robot in to a logical/moral bottle-neck": check. Actually the arc ends next issue. But, it is mostly going to be "how Tony Stark gets out of the God Killer Armour" more than anything else. Then, Stark will be back on Earth, where the armour conveniently happes to be.... I wonder how much of this is Gillen and how much of this is Marvel forcing him truncate the space arc and get Stark back on Earth. I dunno. Either way, this issue is pretty bad.
Grade: D


Uber #5:
Gillen dropped the ball over in "Iron Man", but he kept it rolling with "Uber". The first arc ends with Gillen largely avoiding cliches. Gillen kills off a character that was apparently being set up as the hero during the (very messy) obligatory fight, but the fight is still counted as an Allied victory. Most Gillen's closing write-up focuses on the reasoning behind his portrayal of Churchill (which Gillen assumes is not going to make anybody happy). Gillen also outlines upcoming arcs. The next arc will be set in the Pacific campaign.
Grade: A

[Sparky Prime]

This story is going to be largely undone before it ends. It is a big event book, no different from most others.

I think that's hard to say... Lately DC has been using events to set up for the next event. Like how the Trinity War ended by introducing this Forever Evil event. While Marvel has been more about making a change and then undoing by the end of the same event.

Cyborg Superman:
I forget which book this replaces.

Supergirl. Apparently the new Cyborg Superman is her father, recreated by Brainiac.

At the very least, this issue is evidence that DC is purging significant parts of their old history after "Flashpoint" (which some people still have trouble accepting), as removing the Henshaw Cyborg alters more than just the "Superman" books.

And other titles serves as evidence that a lot of the old history still counts (which some people equally have trouble accepting). It doesn't help that DC editorial really hasn't been very consistent which we know has contributed to some of the creative differences and frustrations with the creators.

[andersonh1]

Without the Henshaw/Cyborg Superman, none of Reign of the Supermen or Emerald Twilight could have happened in the same way. Nor could Sinestro Corps War, or some of Johns' early GL issues. Really, this idiotic "it may have counted/it happened but not quite the same way" handwaving is yet another of the New 52's major problems. If DC was going to restart, more and more I'm thinking they should have taken a few months to write an ending to all of their series, give the post-Crisis DCU some closure, then done a genuine reboot from the ground up, instead of this half and half. If nothing else, we'd know everything counted if all the characters started at day one instead of five years into things.

As it is, everything's a mess. How do four Robins fit in five years, anyway? Or five Green Lanterns in five years, for that matter. Did Guy and John get their rings from the Guardians' Cracker Jack boxes? All those Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories that DC is so proud of and keep reprinting can't have happened, because Green Arrow is such a different person. And how about poor Wally West, the Flash for 22 years and now he doesn't even exist.