So, Zack Snyder's "Justice League."
Showing posts with label Flash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flash. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Friday, March 19, 2021
Prelude to a Bad Decision
I decided, apropos of nothing, to put on Joss Whedon's Zack Snyder's "Justice League" while doing some work today. I discussed the movie when it came out eleventy billion years ago, and thought it was fine. It's not good, but grading on the curve of every DCEU movie up to that point, it was a solid B-. Sitting in 2021, I remember bits and pieces of it—Steppenwolf looking like he stepped out of an XBox 360 cutscene, the decent cell phone video of Superman that was marred by the terrible attempt to CGI out Cavill's moustache, all the characters sounding like their rough counterparts in "The Avengers"—but not a lot of details.
Obviously the intervening years have altered my perspective on the film, both through the revelations about the behind-the-scenes racism and abuse and through the fanatical and also frequently abusive behavior of the fans clamoring for this version of the film, which absolutely definitely existed and was finished years ago and also needed an additional $70 million dollars and reshoots to complete.
That perspective has not been altered for the better.
Against my better judgment, I'm going to watch the Snyder Cut sometime, probably this weekend, so I figured it'd be good to see how it deviates from the theatrical release, like I did for the Lester and Donner cuts of "Superman II" so very long ago. I don't expect to enjoy either one; my feelings on the superhero movies of Zack Snyder are well-documented, and even under the best circumstances, four hours is too @#%*$! long for a superhero movie. But four hours of nihilistic spite dressed up in cinematic deepities and CGI with a sepia-toned overlay is unlikely to be the best of circumstances.
Will it be better than two hours of the extremely generic re-skinned "Avengers: Age of Ultron" that got released to theaters? There's only one way to find out!
Sunday, March 07, 2021
Superman & Lois - Heritage
I think I've figured it out. If "Lois & Clark" was "Moonlighting" with super-powers, "Smallville" was "Dawson's Creek" with superpowers, and "Supergirl" started as "The Devil Wears Prada" with superpowers, then "Superman & Lois" is "This Is Us" with superpowers.
Spoilers ahead!
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Two Girls, a Guy, and a Pastoral Place
Look, Supergirl started out strong on CBS, but since it moved to CW, it's been plagued by recurring problems. The cast is stellar. I love every actor and character on that show. Dreamer is a revelation, and I want to see her ongoing comic series (where maybe her powers will be slightly more clearly developed).
But the politics? The recent episode dealing with violence against trans women (and trans women of color in particular) was a welcome and refreshing shift in the show's usual tone of Peak Liberal White Feminism. For a show that has its heart so clearly in the right place, tackling real-world issues like internment camps for immigrants and the radicalization of cishet white men into fascist paramilitary organizations, it has also featured a hero who, up until last season, was consistently working with a government organization and adopting center-left approaches that openly demonized actual leftists and ignored intersectionality in favor of a lily-white worldview.
Buckle in, comrades. This is an anarchist blog now.
There are other problems as well. The way they derailed the Kara-Jimmy relationship to pair her with Mon-El for a season, then fumbled around to find something to do with his character until he left the show, feels more than a little casually racist. I think there are legitimate queerbaiting complaints to be had about how they've handled the Kara/Lena relationship. Alex's shifting desires and priorities have felt less like character development and more like trying to figure out where she fits in the show now.
And I've liked Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch as Superman and Lois Lane, on the occasions where they've appeared. Tulloch isn't my favorite Lois, and I wish Hoechlin's costume had the trunks, but they've been quite good when they've shown up. And, you know, this is the first live-action Superman show with tights and flights and the word "Superman" in the title since 1997. I am, unexepctedly, excited for that.
Besides that, it's a different take on the characters. Lois gets second billing, but rather than being a will-they/won't-they romantic dramedy, it's centered on Clark and Lois as an established couple and experienced parents of teenagers. Personally, I'd prefer the kids to be younger—Crisis changed their single infant into two teenage boys—but I suppose there are some story and tone reasons to prefer teenage kids. Overall, I think a lot of the choices are really savvy: setting the story in Smallville immediately sets this show apart from urban Supergirl, and the teens who cut their sci-fi melodrama teeth on Clark and Lois and Lex in Smallville are now in their thirties, settling down and having kids of their own. This show has the potential of tapping into that 20-year nostalgia cycle for the mid-2000s.
But...well, my excitement has been dampened somewhat in the lead-up to the premiere. Naturally, there's the stories Nadria Tucker has told about experiences in the writers' room, how they dismissed concerns about racism and sexism, about "#metoo jokes" and the like. There's also the optics; Supergirl is coming to an end next season, and it's hard not to feel weird about the diverse, female-dominated show about found family being more-or-less replaced with the nuclear family show whose principal cast is four white people, three of them dudes. I never really watched the trailer, but the response to it on my social media feed was largely negative (though for whatever reason, my social media feed is heavy on people who apparently aren't happy if Superman's not snapping necks in a rubber suit). On the other hand, I've seen really positive responses from two of the Superman fans I respect the most, Charlotte Finn and David Mann. And that clip of Hoechlin in the Fleischer suit and the Action #1 pose? Yeah, that's pretty cool.
So I'm not sure what to expect as I finally hit up the ol' TiVo and watch the two-hour Pilot. But I'm about to find out.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Was it obvious?
Or should I start thinking I'm clairvoyant? I mean, I haven't been to the comic shop yet, but I've read the preview pages, and it seems like I called the issue-five twist way back in May:
I suppose the biggest twist left is that we'll learn how Barry caused all this himself by going back in time and saving his mother's life...Back then, and largely since then, I thought the story was paint-by-numbers autopilot plotting. Given my generally terrible record at comic book prognostication, this doesn't exactly change that impression.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
What's the Flashpoint?
I know that's not an original title, but it's a fitting one. After a GenCon-caused delay, I made it to the comic shop this week and bought most of two weeks' worth of comics. Naturally, though I'm not entirely sure why at this point, that included "Flashpoint" #4. Reading through it, and through some Flashpoint tie-ins of varying quality, really solidified some of the series' problems in my mind.
First, and most trivially, there's the usual-by-this-point problem of editing.
I'm sure the New 52 has everyone working overtime to make things run smoothly, but when you have a panel where a whole bunch of difficult-to-distinguish characters are talking, it might be a good idea to make sure the word bubbles are pointing at the right people. Especially when those word bubbles are being used for relatively important (to the issue) characterization. And especially in the tentpole frigging crossover title you're using to launch your whole new initiative. This is the most high-profile book I've seen this kind of editing error on (unless you count "Superman: Earth One"), but it seems like every week, I pull out a new DC comic with some kind of crazy mistake. The last one I remember was, as I recall, one of the Kid Flash tie-ins, where the art credits were printed twice, on the same page, but in one case clearly accidentally over the art. It's becoming a trend.
That being said, this issue suffers from more of the same kind of thing that Chris Sims rightly noted in the last three: namely, that there doesn't seem to be anything even approaching a plan. Issue #1: Barry tries to cope with new world, regain his powers, recruit Batman to set things right. Issue #2: Barry tries to convince Batman to help him regain his powers so he can set things right. Issue #3: Barry regains his powers and tries to recruit Superman, who will help set things right. Issue #4: Superman runs away, Barry decides that setting things right is too hard and instead wants to help people.
Seriously.
I just don't know where to begin. Issue 3 turned out to be utterly unnecessary; the only worthwhile thing it seems to have done was bring Cyborg into the superheroes-changing-the-world fold, but that could easily have been accomplished in issue #1 or 2 as well. The first section of #3 was dedicated to doing what they'd already done in #2, and the Superman plot ended with things in exactly the same position they'd been before. Now, a sizable part of this issue was spent complaining that the heroes didn't get together when they got together in issue #1, and subsequently getting those heroes--or at least some of them--together. I appreciated the moments of characterization for the Shazam Squad, but there's not enough space for them to have any more depth than they did back in #1, and dedicating that space to "war affects people and is bad" seems like a waste.
But hey, we got a full-page splash introducing Element Woman! I guess Geoff Johns slept through the day in creative writing when they explained what a cheat and a bad idea it is to introduce key characters in the fourth act.
But there's the bigger problem of Barry Allen, who wants to set things right, who has Batman on his side because he wants to set things right, who gets the Captain Thunder Kids Club on his side because he wants to set things right, and who has a ticking clock in his head that, if he doesn't beat it, will prevent him from setting things right. And he decides that it would be too hard to set things right, so instead they should go stop the war that wouldn't be happening if they set things right.
"Boy, the Emperor sure is intimidating. You know what? I think I'll go back to Toshi Station after all."
"Gee, I never expected Mount Doom to be so awfully hot, and this ring's not so bad. Come on, Sam, let's head back to the Shire."
"Holy Hannah, it sure is hard to destroy these horcruxes. That's what, like, four of them? Screw this, I'm going back to my cupboard."
Barry Allen, the Fastest Man Alive, has spent the last three issues spinning his wheels, and decides in this one to just head off in a completely different, irrelevant, unnecessary direction. This is the hero who inspired a legacy? This is the steadfast beacon of hope who outshone even the Man of Steel? This is a man who raced back from death itself to save the world that he sacrificed his life to save once before?
The worst part is his rationalization: "Trying to figure out what events he altered will be like trying to find the right grain of sand in the ocean." Well, sure, I guess, except that if you go back in time to stop him, you should actually see him altering those events. You know, catch him in the act. Altering them. And I suppose it would be hard to find the right grain of sand in the ocean. If only you had the ability to travel through time, thus allowing for a near-infinite amount of it, and some kind of super-speed ability that would make examining a large number of things possible in a short amount of time. Of course, it would help if the person with those abilities also had expertise in a branch of science that went to places and pieced together what had occurred after the fact, some kind of forensic science. But where on Earth would we find a character with super-speed, time-travel abilities, and forensic science expertise?
Look, if the point of the whole series up 'til now is Barry learning that, in this new world, he can't just do things the way he used to do them--round up the heroes, get to work, etc.--then it's been awfully obtuse. Especially since "rounding up the heroes and getting to work" has worked about 50% of the time. But honestly, I can't see another point. Meanwhile, I keep feeling like we're missing out on a much more interesting story, replaced with these repeats and retreads of what we've already seen, and plot elements that either go or come out of nowhere.
So I suspect that August 31st will give us Barry and Zoom's inevitable confrontation, the return of Superman, and Barry finally setting things right...but not quite everything and not quite right, because of his swiss-cheesed memory. And then it'll all be even mooter than it is right now, because we'll have the New 52 to contend with.
But if "Flashpoint" is meant to be our gateway into the New 52, then it seems like we've got a lot of repetition, disjointed storytelling, bad editing, and repetition to look forward to.
First, and most trivially, there's the usual-by-this-point problem of editing.
I'm sure the New 52 has everyone working overtime to make things run smoothly, but when you have a panel where a whole bunch of difficult-to-distinguish characters are talking, it might be a good idea to make sure the word bubbles are pointing at the right people. Especially when those word bubbles are being used for relatively important (to the issue) characterization. And especially in the tentpole frigging crossover title you're using to launch your whole new initiative. This is the most high-profile book I've seen this kind of editing error on (unless you count "Superman: Earth One"), but it seems like every week, I pull out a new DC comic with some kind of crazy mistake. The last one I remember was, as I recall, one of the Kid Flash tie-ins, where the art credits were printed twice, on the same page, but in one case clearly accidentally over the art. It's becoming a trend.
That being said, this issue suffers from more of the same kind of thing that Chris Sims rightly noted in the last three: namely, that there doesn't seem to be anything even approaching a plan. Issue #1: Barry tries to cope with new world, regain his powers, recruit Batman to set things right. Issue #2: Barry tries to convince Batman to help him regain his powers so he can set things right. Issue #3: Barry regains his powers and tries to recruit Superman, who will help set things right. Issue #4: Superman runs away, Barry decides that setting things right is too hard and instead wants to help people.
Seriously.
I just don't know where to begin. Issue 3 turned out to be utterly unnecessary; the only worthwhile thing it seems to have done was bring Cyborg into the superheroes-changing-the-world fold, but that could easily have been accomplished in issue #1 or 2 as well. The first section of #3 was dedicated to doing what they'd already done in #2, and the Superman plot ended with things in exactly the same position they'd been before. Now, a sizable part of this issue was spent complaining that the heroes didn't get together when they got together in issue #1, and subsequently getting those heroes--or at least some of them--together. I appreciated the moments of characterization for the Shazam Squad, but there's not enough space for them to have any more depth than they did back in #1, and dedicating that space to "war affects people and is bad" seems like a waste.
But hey, we got a full-page splash introducing Element Woman! I guess Geoff Johns slept through the day in creative writing when they explained what a cheat and a bad idea it is to introduce key characters in the fourth act.
But there's the bigger problem of Barry Allen, who wants to set things right, who has Batman on his side because he wants to set things right, who gets the Captain Thunder Kids Club on his side because he wants to set things right, and who has a ticking clock in his head that, if he doesn't beat it, will prevent him from setting things right. And he decides that it would be too hard to set things right, so instead they should go stop the war that wouldn't be happening if they set things right.
"Boy, the Emperor sure is intimidating. You know what? I think I'll go back to Toshi Station after all."
"Gee, I never expected Mount Doom to be so awfully hot, and this ring's not so bad. Come on, Sam, let's head back to the Shire."
"Holy Hannah, it sure is hard to destroy these horcruxes. That's what, like, four of them? Screw this, I'm going back to my cupboard."
Barry Allen, the Fastest Man Alive, has spent the last three issues spinning his wheels, and decides in this one to just head off in a completely different, irrelevant, unnecessary direction. This is the hero who inspired a legacy? This is the steadfast beacon of hope who outshone even the Man of Steel? This is a man who raced back from death itself to save the world that he sacrificed his life to save once before?
The worst part is his rationalization: "Trying to figure out what events he altered will be like trying to find the right grain of sand in the ocean." Well, sure, I guess, except that if you go back in time to stop him, you should actually see him altering those events. You know, catch him in the act. Altering them. And I suppose it would be hard to find the right grain of sand in the ocean. If only you had the ability to travel through time, thus allowing for a near-infinite amount of it, and some kind of super-speed ability that would make examining a large number of things possible in a short amount of time. Of course, it would help if the person with those abilities also had expertise in a branch of science that went to places and pieced together what had occurred after the fact, some kind of forensic science. But where on Earth would we find a character with super-speed, time-travel abilities, and forensic science expertise?
Look, if the point of the whole series up 'til now is Barry learning that, in this new world, he can't just do things the way he used to do them--round up the heroes, get to work, etc.--then it's been awfully obtuse. Especially since "rounding up the heroes and getting to work" has worked about 50% of the time. But honestly, I can't see another point. Meanwhile, I keep feeling like we're missing out on a much more interesting story, replaced with these repeats and retreads of what we've already seen, and plot elements that either go or come out of nowhere.
So I suspect that August 31st will give us Barry and Zoom's inevitable confrontation, the return of Superman, and Barry finally setting things right...but not quite everything and not quite right, because of his swiss-cheesed memory. And then it'll all be even mooter than it is right now, because we'll have the New 52 to contend with.
But if "Flashpoint" is meant to be our gateway into the New 52, then it seems like we've got a lot of repetition, disjointed storytelling, bad editing, and repetition to look forward to.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Flashpoint, Take Two
In light of all the positive reviews and the big DC news, I decided to pick up "Flashpoint" #2, hoping maybe it would hook me in a way that the first issue didn't.
It didn't.
I'm not sure what it is, either. The whole conversation between Barry and Batman plays out with the same paint-by-numbers problem I had with the first issue. The "choose between this world, where things suck, and a world where I'm dead" heroic sacrifice is part of, what, every alternate universe story? "Yesterday's Enterprise," "Father's Day," "Turn Left," "Days of Future Past," "Sorcerer Kings," and that's just off the top of my head. Nothing about it feels new or surprising here, and maybe that's just because I was the one person, apparently, who saw the Thomas Wayne shocker coming. The only surprising thing about that scene was how unnecessarily violent it was, but given that it's Geoff Johns writing a big crossover book, I suppose I should be happy that arms just got twisted, not torn off.
The only things that really struck me about this issue were the idea of Deathstroke and Warlord as rival pirates. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll get to see Warlord's ship, and I'm not entirely sure how Deathstroke's going to star in a miniseries with a trident in his throat.
As a related aside, I bought the cover with the man being electrocuted instead of the cover where a woman has been bloodlessly decapitated. Comics, everybody! "Everything will change in a flash--except the gratuitous violence and death!" On one hand, I guess one of the points of an alternate universe story is that you get to kill off people in ways you never could with the "real" universe (see also: Every "What If...?" ever), but on the other hand, I'm tired of Geoff Johns being this one-note joke. Maybe he needs some time away from writing, so he can learn a new trick--or re-learn some old ones. "Severed body parts" has become for him what "AIDS" was for Judd Winick.
Maybe the reason that Mera's severed head isn't dripping any blood is because she vomited it all out in Johns' last big crossover. Did Mera even appear in this issue? Was her death even referenced?
Barry's climactic plan seems pretty stupid on several counts. I suppose it's the poorly-considered act of a desperate man, but "I can't be a hero unless I have my superpowers" seems like a total repudiation of the basic tropes of the superhero genre. Isn't Barry supposed to be a genius scientist and forensic detective? Why is he trying to outrun Zoom rather than outsmart him? I did like that Barry comes across as a raving lunatic in this issue; it shows the depths of how different things are in this universe. So many alt-universe "let's put things right" stories have the heroes just accepting that the universe is supposed to be different and that everything will be better if they just trust this one unknown person who claims to be from another world. So does this one, but I like that it took a little while to get there. It would have been nice to see that twist carried over: Barry Allen, the one man who knows that this world is wrong, and everyone just thinks he's totally nuts. It would have isolated our hero from the crazy happenings of our alternate universe, which I suppose would have taken away some of the excitement, and it would have hearkened back to the origin of Triumph a little, but it would have been an interesting twist on a standard trope. Kind of like "DC Two Thousand," where the standard "we must avert this terrible future" story is about the heroes of the past trying to avert our present.
It would also make this stupid stunt Barry pulls make a little more sense. Trapped in a world he knows is wrong, with his memories slowly being rewritten, where everyone thinks he's crazy and none of his friends exist, with his mother watching him madly trying to re-create a world where she's dead, with an unseen villain pulling his strings and taunting him, Barry finally sets up the experiment as a last-ditch effort, figuring that if it works, he'll be vindicated, and if it doesn't, then at least he won't have to live in this world anymore.
Instead, it just looks like Barry Allen, who knows he's being manipulated and taunted by someone who moves so fast that he might be right there but invisible, doesn't consider that the same invisible villain might be able to swap out some of the chemicals without him knowing, or change the voltage on the electric chair, or sabotage this plan in any of a million other ways, making it far too dangerous to attempt. But instead, Barry Allen joins the burn ward.
Although it would be interesting if Barry died here, and the last three issues were all about Batman trying to bring about a universe that he's never seen.
I did pick up two tie-ins. Abin Sur is one of those characters like Jor-El, who's not so much a character as a plot device. I don't have a whole lot of interest in reading about him, so I didn't bother with "Abin Sur: Green Lantern." "World of Flashpoint" sounds like one of those books that's a Sourcebook/Secret Files in narrative form, and I've read enough of those (Like "Tales of Blackest Night" or whatever) to know that I'd rather not read those. But "Batman: Knight of Vengeance" promised Azzarello/Risso Batman, and I liked "Broken City" enough to check that out. It's a decent enough book, with a lethal Batman and a guest appearance by the late Heath Ledger, and I'm interested in seeing what further twists await in the story. The idea of Batman controlling crime through its funding is the sort of thing I would expect as the difference between businessman Thomas Wayne and our more familiar vigilante. I do hope that we see some of Thomas's medical expertise show up in this storyline.
Peter Milligan, plus the eventual prospect of Amethyst, made "Secret Seven" the tie-in I was most excited about (apart from "Lois Lane & The Resistance" and "Project Superman"). And hoo boy, was my excitement misplaced. I'll admit to having never read a Shade comic, though what I've read about the character is intriguing. This, however, was a mess. Confusing, plodding, and almost wholly uncharismatic, plus another fine example of DC Editors (Eddie Berganza and Chris Conroy this time) doing the most basic part of their job:
Good thing this isn't some kind of high profile release tying into a major crossover or anything. I'm sure no one will notice.
Looks like next week I'll get the Frankenstein issue, and maybe Deathstroke. But it's looking like a long summer.
It didn't.
I'm not sure what it is, either. The whole conversation between Barry and Batman plays out with the same paint-by-numbers problem I had with the first issue. The "choose between this world, where things suck, and a world where I'm dead" heroic sacrifice is part of, what, every alternate universe story? "Yesterday's Enterprise," "Father's Day," "Turn Left," "Days of Future Past," "Sorcerer Kings," and that's just off the top of my head. Nothing about it feels new or surprising here, and maybe that's just because I was the one person, apparently, who saw the Thomas Wayne shocker coming. The only surprising thing about that scene was how unnecessarily violent it was, but given that it's Geoff Johns writing a big crossover book, I suppose I should be happy that arms just got twisted, not torn off.
The only things that really struck me about this issue were the idea of Deathstroke and Warlord as rival pirates. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll get to see Warlord's ship, and I'm not entirely sure how Deathstroke's going to star in a miniseries with a trident in his throat.
As a related aside, I bought the cover with the man being electrocuted instead of the cover where a woman has been bloodlessly decapitated. Comics, everybody! "Everything will change in a flash--except the gratuitous violence and death!" On one hand, I guess one of the points of an alternate universe story is that you get to kill off people in ways you never could with the "real" universe (see also: Every "What If...?" ever), but on the other hand, I'm tired of Geoff Johns being this one-note joke. Maybe he needs some time away from writing, so he can learn a new trick--or re-learn some old ones. "Severed body parts" has become for him what "AIDS" was for Judd Winick.
Maybe the reason that Mera's severed head isn't dripping any blood is because she vomited it all out in Johns' last big crossover. Did Mera even appear in this issue? Was her death even referenced?
Barry's climactic plan seems pretty stupid on several counts. I suppose it's the poorly-considered act of a desperate man, but "I can't be a hero unless I have my superpowers" seems like a total repudiation of the basic tropes of the superhero genre. Isn't Barry supposed to be a genius scientist and forensic detective? Why is he trying to outrun Zoom rather than outsmart him? I did like that Barry comes across as a raving lunatic in this issue; it shows the depths of how different things are in this universe. So many alt-universe "let's put things right" stories have the heroes just accepting that the universe is supposed to be different and that everything will be better if they just trust this one unknown person who claims to be from another world. So does this one, but I like that it took a little while to get there. It would have been nice to see that twist carried over: Barry Allen, the one man who knows that this world is wrong, and everyone just thinks he's totally nuts. It would have isolated our hero from the crazy happenings of our alternate universe, which I suppose would have taken away some of the excitement, and it would have hearkened back to the origin of Triumph a little, but it would have been an interesting twist on a standard trope. Kind of like "DC Two Thousand," where the standard "we must avert this terrible future" story is about the heroes of the past trying to avert our present.
It would also make this stupid stunt Barry pulls make a little more sense. Trapped in a world he knows is wrong, with his memories slowly being rewritten, where everyone thinks he's crazy and none of his friends exist, with his mother watching him madly trying to re-create a world where she's dead, with an unseen villain pulling his strings and taunting him, Barry finally sets up the experiment as a last-ditch effort, figuring that if it works, he'll be vindicated, and if it doesn't, then at least he won't have to live in this world anymore.
Instead, it just looks like Barry Allen, who knows he's being manipulated and taunted by someone who moves so fast that he might be right there but invisible, doesn't consider that the same invisible villain might be able to swap out some of the chemicals without him knowing, or change the voltage on the electric chair, or sabotage this plan in any of a million other ways, making it far too dangerous to attempt. But instead, Barry Allen joins the burn ward.
Although it would be interesting if Barry died here, and the last three issues were all about Batman trying to bring about a universe that he's never seen.
I did pick up two tie-ins. Abin Sur is one of those characters like Jor-El, who's not so much a character as a plot device. I don't have a whole lot of interest in reading about him, so I didn't bother with "Abin Sur: Green Lantern." "World of Flashpoint" sounds like one of those books that's a Sourcebook/Secret Files in narrative form, and I've read enough of those (Like "Tales of Blackest Night" or whatever) to know that I'd rather not read those. But "Batman: Knight of Vengeance" promised Azzarello/Risso Batman, and I liked "Broken City" enough to check that out. It's a decent enough book, with a lethal Batman and a guest appearance by the late Heath Ledger, and I'm interested in seeing what further twists await in the story. The idea of Batman controlling crime through its funding is the sort of thing I would expect as the difference between businessman Thomas Wayne and our more familiar vigilante. I do hope that we see some of Thomas's medical expertise show up in this storyline.
Peter Milligan, plus the eventual prospect of Amethyst, made "Secret Seven" the tie-in I was most excited about (apart from "Lois Lane & The Resistance" and "Project Superman"). And hoo boy, was my excitement misplaced. I'll admit to having never read a Shade comic, though what I've read about the character is intriguing. This, however, was a mess. Confusing, plodding, and almost wholly uncharismatic, plus another fine example of DC Editors (Eddie Berganza and Chris Conroy this time) doing the most basic part of their job:
Good thing this isn't some kind of high profile release tying into a major crossover or anything. I'm sure no one will notice.
Looks like next week I'll get the Frankenstein issue, and maybe Deathstroke. But it's looking like a long summer.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Flashpoint by Numbers
I have a habit of reading a comic or two before leaving the comic shop's parking lot; I've done it for years, picking the comics I'm most excited about to read right away. Today was a little bit different, since I didn't go straight for Amazing Spider-Man or Superman, but instead for Flash and Flashpoint. Due to a shipping snafu, my shop didn't get Flash #11 until today, so I burned through the last two issues of that series before reading through the first issue of Flashpoint.
And when I was done, the words that popped into my head were "bog-standard."
I'll admit, some of the hype surrounding Flashpoint was intriguing, and I'm usually up for a good alternate reality tale. But boy, this sure reads like it was basically written on autopilot. I guess I was expecting a serious twist, and I suppose the reveal at the end was supposed to be that? But then, a very similar twist was used in "JLA: Earth 2," and I want to say I've seen it elsewhere as well.
But other than that, there just doesn't feel like any hook here. Despite some moderate development back in Flash #11, Barry Allen is still the dullest man alive, which makes him a really bland focal character. In fact, this really just feels like "Flash" #13, and the next step in Prof. Zoom's nefarious scheme. It's Barry Allen's version of the animated Batman episode "Perchance to Dream," except there's not another Flash running around in his place.
But there are an awful lot of superheroes. And that seems like it might be a fatal flaw in both the execution and Professor Zoom's plan. Having so many heroes--even so many familiar faces, like Cyborg and Billy Batson--makes the stakes feel a lot smaller here. This is a world where everything is changed--slightly! And I find it hard to get worked up over that. This isn't a world where evil has triumphed and good is relegated to resistance cells (like Days of Future Past or Age of Apocalypse or Rock of Ages), this isn't a world where black is white and up is down and everything you know is wrong (Earth 2, etc.), this is a world where the status quo is basically the same, but some of the names have changed. Nothing about this feels dramatic or drastic; it feels like an Elseworlds that I otherwise would have skipped. It carries about the same "things are totally different" weight as Earth-D from that Legends of the DCU special, where all the heroes were just a little more multicultural.
I do like the return of Captain Thunder, even if it's as a riff on both He-Man and Captain Planet. I guess He-Man's a riff on Captain Marvel to begin with, so it all works out.
I suppose the biggest twist left is that we'll learn how Barry caused all this himself by going back in time and saving his mother's life, but I'm having a tough time bringing myself to care enough to get there. Without some electrifying hook in this first issue, I think I'm going to stick with my original plan of checking out the series that look interesting (Lois Lane, Project Superman, maybe Secret Seven) and leaving everything else--including the main book.
And when I was done, the words that popped into my head were "bog-standard."
I'll admit, some of the hype surrounding Flashpoint was intriguing, and I'm usually up for a good alternate reality tale. But boy, this sure reads like it was basically written on autopilot. I guess I was expecting a serious twist, and I suppose the reveal at the end was supposed to be that? But then, a very similar twist was used in "JLA: Earth 2," and I want to say I've seen it elsewhere as well.
But other than that, there just doesn't feel like any hook here. Despite some moderate development back in Flash #11, Barry Allen is still the dullest man alive, which makes him a really bland focal character. In fact, this really just feels like "Flash" #13, and the next step in Prof. Zoom's nefarious scheme. It's Barry Allen's version of the animated Batman episode "Perchance to Dream," except there's not another Flash running around in his place.
But there are an awful lot of superheroes. And that seems like it might be a fatal flaw in both the execution and Professor Zoom's plan. Having so many heroes--even so many familiar faces, like Cyborg and Billy Batson--makes the stakes feel a lot smaller here. This is a world where everything is changed--slightly! And I find it hard to get worked up over that. This isn't a world where evil has triumphed and good is relegated to resistance cells (like Days of Future Past or Age of Apocalypse or Rock of Ages), this isn't a world where black is white and up is down and everything you know is wrong (Earth 2, etc.), this is a world where the status quo is basically the same, but some of the names have changed. Nothing about this feels dramatic or drastic; it feels like an Elseworlds that I otherwise would have skipped. It carries about the same "things are totally different" weight as Earth-D from that Legends of the DCU special, where all the heroes were just a little more multicultural.
I do like the return of Captain Thunder, even if it's as a riff on both He-Man and Captain Planet. I guess He-Man's a riff on Captain Marvel to begin with, so it all works out.
I suppose the biggest twist left is that we'll learn how Barry caused all this himself by going back in time and saving his mother's life, but I'm having a tough time bringing myself to care enough to get there. Without some electrifying hook in this first issue, I think I'm going to stick with my original plan of checking out the series that look interesting (Lois Lane, Project Superman, maybe Secret Seven) and leaving everything else--including the main book.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Walking with Superman: Day 243
Superman expected to encounter at least one Flash on his trip through Keystone City, KS, but what he found was the Reverse! Professor Zoom has returned from the 25th Century, and this time he's brought a friend from his own era: the black sheep of the Superman Dynasty, Dev-El the Overman! With the Flash family out of town, it's up to Superman to save the sister cities from these time-displaced terrors--but will the Man of Tomorrow stack up against these fiends from the distant future?
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Walking with Superman: Day 59
Superman's in Blue Valley, Nebraska for the County Fair, and he's brought along the whole red-cape family--Steel, Supergirl, Superboy, Power Girl, and a moderately incognito Lois Lane. They're not the only ones there in colorful costumes, though: Blue Valley's most famous son has come home, and Wally West has brought the Fastest Family Alive with him! It's the Flash Family vs. the Superman Family in feats of strength, intestinal fortitude, and--of course--speed! That means it's time for another legendary Superman/Flash race, but this one won't end in a tie...it'll start in one, with Superman tied to the Flash for the world's fastest three-legged race! All that, plus a titanic tussle with the terrible Turtle, will make this year's fair one that Blue Valley will never forget!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Walking with Superman: Day 26
Maxie Zeus has imprisoned Superman and enslaved Olympia, Washington, but he seeks to assert his godhood over the rest of the world. The creatures and armies of Zeus march across the Pacific Northwest, expanding the reign of god-king Zeus, and no mortal superhero can get anywhere near the ever-increasing boundaries of Olympus. To take down a mad god, the heroes must become gods themselves. Batman assembles a pantheon: Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Steel, the Flash, Plastic Man, and ancient Roman hero Alpha Centurion. Together they must storm Olympus, rescue Superman, and take down Maxie Zeus once and for all, or Earth will fall before the thunderous might of Zeus.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Thursday Night Thinking!
Been awhile since I did one of these. I wonder what the Flash is thinking here?
I'm betting "Borg cubes make terrible toilets." But let's make this interactive: What do you think the Flash is thinking?
I'm betting "Borg cubes make terrible toilets." But let's make this interactive: What do you think the Flash is thinking?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Really? That's it?
Let me tell you a little story. Way back in 1999, I went to see a small independently-funded film that you might be familiar with: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I came out of that film with a pretty positive impression, which would change greatly as the years passed. But that's pretty much beside the point.
One of the subplots in the film involved Senator Palpatine, a man who curiously shared the surname and actor as Emperor Palpatine from the later films. Senator Palpatine's rise to power occurred as a mysterious and sinister cloaked Sith Lord named Darth Sidious--who also looked and sounded like the later Emperor--plotted with the Republic's enemies. On the surface, it was pretty clear that Palpatine and Sidious were the same person. There was a coy air of mystery hovering over the subplot, but both were played by the same actor, and we knew that Emperor Palpatine, who shared that distinctive surname, sure looked a lot like Darth Sidious. The connection seemed obvious.
So obvious, in fact, that I thought it was a trick. I was convinced leaving the theater and until shown otherwise, that the second film would contain a twist, that Senator Palpatine and Darth Sidious weren't the same character. Maybe the films would pick up an element from the various books, and the Senator would turn out to be the clone of Sidious, a puppet used to conduct public dealings. Maybe Sidious sought to assassinate and replace the Senator. But it was so obvious that the two were the same person that I was certain they wouldn't be.
As it turns out, I just gave George Lucas far too much credit. The coy air of mystery was an apparition, and the plot decided to stay close to the careful and obvious, refusing to give us any of the Empire-style plot twists that we'd come to expect from the franchise.
The same thing basically happened with Jeph Loeb's "Hush." Tommy Elliot was the only new character introduced in the story, besides the enigmatic villain. He was a plastic surgeon and the villain wore bandages. He was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's, and the killer was intimately aware of Bruce's secrets. Even when Tommy was apparently gunned down in an alley, it was incredibly obvious that he would turn out to be Hush, which is why I was so certain that he wouldn't. I'd read Loeb's other Batman mysteries, I'd read his other work, and the man knew how to do a twist, or so I thought. Instead, the plot followed on to the obvious conclusion that Tommy Elliot was indeed Hush, and thus the most boring character in Batman's rogues gallery since The Eraser.
Cue "Flash: The Fastest Man Alive" #13. That may have been the single most telegraphed death in the history of comics. I mean, honestly, "Superman" #75 had a gravestone on the cover, and yet you still couldn't be sure if they'd really kill him until you unfolded that last gatefold page. This Flash issue was begging for a twist at the end, and yet despite all the talk about changing the future, despite all the openings and options for someone else to make the big sacrifice, they decided to end it with the titular character being beaten to death. Maybe I just give writers too much credit, but when you've got a story like this issue, it seems like the logical progression would be to tease the audience with the obvious death, then tear the rug out from under them, simultaneously entertaining them and giving them an upbeat, hopeful ending. But what do I know, they don't pay me to write.
I can understand this ending, though. It was almost necessary. Bart Allen was a broken character, and had been ever since he came out of Infinite Crisis. Just take a look at his backstory: the grandson of Silver Age Flash Barry Allen in the 30th Century is raised in a simulated world due to his hyperaccelerated metabolism, and is brought back in time by his grandmother to be cured of his condition and to learn responsibility from her nephew, Wally West. Bart is taken under the wing of Max Mercury and develops into a competent-but-brash, happy-go-lucky teen hero, who eventually is forced to contemplate his own mortality, and to grow up fairly rapidly after a battle with Deathstroke. He wears the mantle of Kid Flash for some time, then helps drive Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force, where he spends four years (sort of) in another dimension (I guess) and comes back as a 16-year-old in a 20-year-old's body, wearing Barry's costume, with the Speed Force threatening to destroy him from the inside out.
He returned from Infinite Crisis with several gimmicks too many, and it was clear that the writers didn't know what to do with them. First, it was clear that they didn't know what to make of their change to the Speed Force status quo; they eliminated the dangers caused by using it fairly early on. Second, mucking about with his age had left him with a basically unwritable personality. An immature-but-intelligent 16-year-old in the body of a 20-year-old? The best course of action would seem to have him be awkward, emotionally stunted, and immature; instead they moved him away from mentor figures, had him living on his own, gave him an adult girlfriend, and put him in a position in the police academy, all things which served to give the impression of age and maturity. That wouldn't be necessarily so bad if they had crafted a clear personality for him. Somehow, this Bart was neither the impulsive, ADD-afflicted, goofy character he was in his youth, nor the more introverted, speculative, emotionally distant character he became in Teen Titans, but a competent, experienced hero trying to juggle work, a social life, and superheroics in a world where all three kept colliding, while also trying to fill Barry Allen's shoes.
If that sounds familiar, it's because we've run that track before, after the last big Crisis. Having stripped Bart of the personality traits and supporting cast that made him distinctive, the only way you'd be able to tell him apart from Wally was the hair color. And the repeated references to him being "a 16-year-old in an adult body," despite the fact that he never acted or thought like a teenager. In another stunning case of telling, not showing, in the Mighty Marvel Manner, we had other characters dictate to us what we should have been able to tell from thought captions, dialogue, and actions. That's just sloppy.
Bart, quite simply, has been lost since Infinite Crisis, in a sea of discarded or largely ignored plot points, unexplored cast and status changes, and wasted potential. I'm not sure, given where they left off after the Crisis, that this could have been an interesting book. The "young hero trying to fill his predecessor's shoes" motif has been done to death in the Flash comics, and has been done better than this recently in books like Firestorm and, to a lesser extent, Blue Beetle. The "hero with powers that are a danger to himself" angle has also been tread in the Flash storyline, and was rapidly forgotten in this new relaunch. The "hero training to be a cop" arc was done better in Nightwing, and this book didn't seem too concerned with exploring that aspect of the character. The "hero who is younger than he looks" was a staple of the Superboy comics for awhile, but had some potential; unfortunately, Bart acted and sounded more like he was a 35-year-old trapped in a 20-year-old's body. With de-aging pretty much out of the question, they didn't have much choice but to kill him off.
And how about the ending to JLofA #10? They didn't give Wally a funeral, because they "knew he'd make it." Guess it sucks to be Bart; the other heroes apparently had no such faith in his recuperative abilities. It's not as though being bludgeoned to death is the hindrance it used to be; just ask Jason Todd.
So, in the end, I'm fairly happy that Bart got a nice clean break and that the Speed Force was released. I wish Bart could have gone out in a blaze of glory, rather than in the midst of a one-sided battle. I'm very happy that Wally and his family returned (even though the twins being older means that my dream arc, seeing Wally try to balance superheroics with being a stay-at-home dad, will probably not come to pass). I'm not happy that Editorial has shifted its sights away from the Giffen-era JLU and has moved on to killing off Young Justice. Slobo was the first to go (and was dissed by Didio, saying that Lobo wasn't supposed to be a joke, or something), then Kon, now Bart. Aside from Robin and Wonder Girl, the rest of the characters have been consigned to comics limbo. When's the last time the Ray or Snapper Carr showed up? I know Empress has appeared something like twice since the end of the series, and once was miscolored.
Naturally, whether the writers at DC know it, they've left a back door open to bring back Bart. He didn't use the ability much after "Our Worlds At War," but Bart had the power to create avatars of himself; energy clones that he could send through time and reabsorb. Kind of a Negative Man-meets-Jamie Madrox ability. One of these scouts shows up in our time, having been lost in the timestream. Some event (Bart's death, releasing the Speed Force, bringing back Wally, etc.) solidified the avatar, made him essentially a physical copy of Bart, and shocked him back to this time period. Naturally, he'd have no memorty of the events of Crisis; depending on when the avatar was retroactively created, they could wind the clock back to Teen Titans' Kid Flash, or to the days when he was Impulse. I think the latter would present some interesting conflicts and stories; now, suddenly, Bart is significantly younger than his friends, and hasn't gone through many of the difficult, character-defining moments that they have. He'll have to be informed about Conner's death, the Crisis, and the subsequent events, including his own untimely demise. Meanwhile, Tim and Cassie will be forced to deal with the fact that Bart has returned, while Conner remains dead, and will be sadly reminded of the happier times before their lives turned morose and crappy. Naturally, Impulse would join the Teen Titans, though he'd constantly be trying to turn it back into Young Justice; I imagine he'd form a quick rapport with similarly-cheery Miss Martian, and the group would begin to clique along age lines.
But that's a story for another day. Unlike Jay, apparently, I don't expect Bart Allen to stay dead for any length of time, not when there's a backdoor like that to be exploited. For now, though, I mourn. Bart Allen, Impulse, Kid Flash, Flash: we hardly knew ye.
One of the subplots in the film involved Senator Palpatine, a man who curiously shared the surname and actor as Emperor Palpatine from the later films. Senator Palpatine's rise to power occurred as a mysterious and sinister cloaked Sith Lord named Darth Sidious--who also looked and sounded like the later Emperor--plotted with the Republic's enemies. On the surface, it was pretty clear that Palpatine and Sidious were the same person. There was a coy air of mystery hovering over the subplot, but both were played by the same actor, and we knew that Emperor Palpatine, who shared that distinctive surname, sure looked a lot like Darth Sidious. The connection seemed obvious.
So obvious, in fact, that I thought it was a trick. I was convinced leaving the theater and until shown otherwise, that the second film would contain a twist, that Senator Palpatine and Darth Sidious weren't the same character. Maybe the films would pick up an element from the various books, and the Senator would turn out to be the clone of Sidious, a puppet used to conduct public dealings. Maybe Sidious sought to assassinate and replace the Senator. But it was so obvious that the two were the same person that I was certain they wouldn't be.
As it turns out, I just gave George Lucas far too much credit. The coy air of mystery was an apparition, and the plot decided to stay close to the careful and obvious, refusing to give us any of the Empire-style plot twists that we'd come to expect from the franchise.
The same thing basically happened with Jeph Loeb's "Hush." Tommy Elliot was the only new character introduced in the story, besides the enigmatic villain. He was a plastic surgeon and the villain wore bandages. He was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's, and the killer was intimately aware of Bruce's secrets. Even when Tommy was apparently gunned down in an alley, it was incredibly obvious that he would turn out to be Hush, which is why I was so certain that he wouldn't. I'd read Loeb's other Batman mysteries, I'd read his other work, and the man knew how to do a twist, or so I thought. Instead, the plot followed on to the obvious conclusion that Tommy Elliot was indeed Hush, and thus the most boring character in Batman's rogues gallery since The Eraser.
Cue "Flash: The Fastest Man Alive" #13. That may have been the single most telegraphed death in the history of comics. I mean, honestly, "Superman" #75 had a gravestone on the cover, and yet you still couldn't be sure if they'd really kill him until you unfolded that last gatefold page. This Flash issue was begging for a twist at the end, and yet despite all the talk about changing the future, despite all the openings and options for someone else to make the big sacrifice, they decided to end it with the titular character being beaten to death. Maybe I just give writers too much credit, but when you've got a story like this issue, it seems like the logical progression would be to tease the audience with the obvious death, then tear the rug out from under them, simultaneously entertaining them and giving them an upbeat, hopeful ending. But what do I know, they don't pay me to write. I can understand this ending, though. It was almost necessary. Bart Allen was a broken character, and had been ever since he came out of Infinite Crisis. Just take a look at his backstory: the grandson of Silver Age Flash Barry Allen in the 30th Century is raised in a simulated world due to his hyperaccelerated metabolism, and is brought back in time by his grandmother to be cured of his condition and to learn responsibility from her nephew, Wally West. Bart is taken under the wing of Max Mercury and develops into a competent-but-brash, happy-go-lucky teen hero, who eventually is forced to contemplate his own mortality, and to grow up fairly rapidly after a battle with Deathstroke. He wears the mantle of Kid Flash for some time, then helps drive Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force, where he spends four years (sort of) in another dimension (I guess) and comes back as a 16-year-old in a 20-year-old's body, wearing Barry's costume, with the Speed Force threatening to destroy him from the inside out.
He returned from Infinite Crisis with several gimmicks too many, and it was clear that the writers didn't know what to do with them. First, it was clear that they didn't know what to make of their change to the Speed Force status quo; they eliminated the dangers caused by using it fairly early on. Second, mucking about with his age had left him with a basically unwritable personality. An immature-but-intelligent 16-year-old in the body of a 20-year-old? The best course of action would seem to have him be awkward, emotionally stunted, and immature; instead they moved him away from mentor figures, had him living on his own, gave him an adult girlfriend, and put him in a position in the police academy, all things which served to give the impression of age and maturity. That wouldn't be necessarily so bad if they had crafted a clear personality for him. Somehow, this Bart was neither the impulsive, ADD-afflicted, goofy character he was in his youth, nor the more introverted, speculative, emotionally distant character he became in Teen Titans, but a competent, experienced hero trying to juggle work, a social life, and superheroics in a world where all three kept colliding, while also trying to fill Barry Allen's shoes. If that sounds familiar, it's because we've run that track before, after the last big Crisis. Having stripped Bart of the personality traits and supporting cast that made him distinctive, the only way you'd be able to tell him apart from Wally was the hair color. And the repeated references to him being "a 16-year-old in an adult body," despite the fact that he never acted or thought like a teenager. In another stunning case of telling, not showing, in the Mighty Marvel Manner, we had other characters dictate to us what we should have been able to tell from thought captions, dialogue, and actions. That's just sloppy.
Bart, quite simply, has been lost since Infinite Crisis, in a sea of discarded or largely ignored plot points, unexplored cast and status changes, and wasted potential. I'm not sure, given where they left off after the Crisis, that this could have been an interesting book. The "young hero trying to fill his predecessor's shoes" motif has been done to death in the Flash comics, and has been done better than this recently in books like Firestorm and, to a lesser extent, Blue Beetle. The "hero with powers that are a danger to himself" angle has also been tread in the Flash storyline, and was rapidly forgotten in this new relaunch. The "hero training to be a cop" arc was done better in Nightwing, and this book didn't seem too concerned with exploring that aspect of the character. The "hero who is younger than he looks" was a staple of the Superboy comics for awhile, but had some potential; unfortunately, Bart acted and sounded more like he was a 35-year-old trapped in a 20-year-old's body. With de-aging pretty much out of the question, they didn't have much choice but to kill him off. And how about the ending to JLofA #10? They didn't give Wally a funeral, because they "knew he'd make it." Guess it sucks to be Bart; the other heroes apparently had no such faith in his recuperative abilities. It's not as though being bludgeoned to death is the hindrance it used to be; just ask Jason Todd.
So, in the end, I'm fairly happy that Bart got a nice clean break and that the Speed Force was released. I wish Bart could have gone out in a blaze of glory, rather than in the midst of a one-sided battle. I'm very happy that Wally and his family returned (even though the twins being older means that my dream arc, seeing Wally try to balance superheroics with being a stay-at-home dad, will probably not come to pass). I'm not happy that Editorial has shifted its sights away from the Giffen-era JLU and has moved on to killing off Young Justice. Slobo was the first to go (and was dissed by Didio, saying that Lobo wasn't supposed to be a joke, or something), then Kon, now Bart. Aside from Robin and Wonder Girl, the rest of the characters have been consigned to comics limbo. When's the last time the Ray or Snapper Carr showed up? I know Empress has appeared something like twice since the end of the series, and once was miscolored.
Naturally, whether the writers at DC know it, they've left a back door open to bring back Bart. He didn't use the ability much after "Our Worlds At War," but Bart had the power to create avatars of himself; energy clones that he could send through time and reabsorb. Kind of a Negative Man-meets-Jamie Madrox ability. One of these scouts shows up in our time, having been lost in the timestream. Some event (Bart's death, releasing the Speed Force, bringing back Wally, etc.) solidified the avatar, made him essentially a physical copy of Bart, and shocked him back to this time period. Naturally, he'd have no memorty of the events of Crisis; depending on when the avatar was retroactively created, they could wind the clock back to Teen Titans' Kid Flash, or to the days when he was Impulse. I think the latter would present some interesting conflicts and stories; now, suddenly, Bart is significantly younger than his friends, and hasn't gone through many of the difficult, character-defining moments that they have. He'll have to be informed about Conner's death, the Crisis, and the subsequent events, including his own untimely demise. Meanwhile, Tim and Cassie will be forced to deal with the fact that Bart has returned, while Conner remains dead, and will be sadly reminded of the happier times before their lives turned morose and crappy. Naturally, Impulse would join the Teen Titans, though he'd constantly be trying to turn it back into Young Justice; I imagine he'd form a quick rapport with similarly-cheery Miss Martian, and the group would begin to clique along age lines. But that's a story for another day. Unlike Jay, apparently, I don't expect Bart Allen to stay dead for any length of time, not when there's a backdoor like that to be exploited. For now, though, I mourn. Bart Allen, Impulse, Kid Flash, Flash: we hardly knew ye.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Thinkin' 'bout tomorrow...
So, a veritable flurry of news has come down over the past several days, between solicits from both companies, convention reveals a-plenty, and Lying in the Gutters. Spoilers are coming, hard and fast!
So, let's start with The Flash. The series started off on the wrong foot and broke an ankle or two under Bilson and DeMeo's overhyped and underperforming first arc. Guggenheim took over, and I hear things got better. I have the full pile of Guggenheim issues waiting in my "read" pile, so I can't speak for myself. Then again...
...So, I just read the run so far. It's okay, and certainly better than the previous run, but it relies a bit too much on prior knowledge of the characters (particularly Val, Bart, Inertia, Pied Piper, and Iris). It's nearly all action, with little time spent on supporting cast or the status quo. Given the recent revelation, it's pretty clear why; the title went almost straight from its meandering first arc which introduced some new aspects to the character and new cast, directly into the finale, which had to close the dangling plot threads. I'm a little psyched to see the next issue, just to see how it plays out (I predict: Bart survives, because someone else [Iris, Val, Inertia] takes the Speed Force into themselves and is taken by the Black Flash. Alternately, the Black Flash takes the Speed Force and dies, releasing the energy back to where it belongs). The biggest failing of this arc is the failure of the whole Bart-as-Flash idea so far: there's not only very little in the story or narration to suggest that this is the same character who once was Impulse, but there's absolutely nothing to justify his place as The Flash over Wally or Barry. Aside from a few brief references to his past as Bart Allen, all the narration in this could easily have been Wally's.
So, now Mark Waid's taking over, and the book is being renumbered to coincide with the previous series, as if this whole series never happened. Waid's cryptic remarks to watch the current storyline in JLofA, coupled with Scipio's predictions suggest a return of Barry Allen. It would be somewhat fitting, given that the Return of Barry Allen is probably Waid's most memorable story from his previous run on the title, and I'm all but convinced that "The Lightning Saga" will end with the resurrection of the Silver Age Flash.
However, Rich Johnston reveals that Wally and his family are returning, and while that might be an oblique reference to Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris, I tend to think that Waid might be returning to the characters he's most familiar with. If that's the case, then I'll be on Flash for as long as possible, despite my mixed feelings about Waid's previous work. Though I really dislike Daniel Acuña's art, and that's almost enough for me to give up the title even before it begins.
Now, remembering back to Waid's tenure on the title before, Barry wasn't really a character. He showed up often enough, but he was a McGuffin in spandex, a drive-by deus ex machina. While I could understand Waid bringing Barry back, to expand on his previous Brave and the Bold series, I tend to think that the answer is somewhere between Scipio and Johnston. Wally will be the focus of the new Flash series, while Barry ends up in one of the many Countdown books that are debuting, or possibly in the JLofA.
So, where to next? How about JLofA? Dwayne McDuffie, of JLU fame, is stepping up to the plate, and suddenly I can't wait for Brad Meltzer to leave. Not that I could wait before, mind you, but now I really want him gone. McDuffie is a no-brainer for the title. Now we just need "New Gods" by Karl Kesel, and I'll be in heaven.
On the flipside, Bob Wayne declared that the Milestone characters aren't on one of the 52 Earths, which seems like a poor move to me. I'd love to see the Milestone characters return, maybe even tussling a bit with the JLA, and McDuffie's precisely the guy to do that.
Back to Countdown, I'm of mixed opinions on the various series spinning out. I think I'll be passing on Countdown to Mystery. I like Dr. Fate, but the last couple of miniseries attempts with the character have left me flat. I really liked the Hector Hall incarnation of the character, and I'm not thrilled about another new/old face under the helmet. That, and I couldn't care less about the new Eclipso.
Countdown to Adventure is right there on the razor's edge. I love Animal Man and Adam Strange, I'm ambivalent about Starfire, and Forerunner is kind of a dumb character so far. Given how less-than-thrilled I am with Countdown proper, I'm a little less than iffy about picking up any of the spinoffs. The prospect of Nazi JLA, though, is almost enough to cinch it for me.
Countdown: The Search for Ray Palmer is in similarly shaky territory. I've missed Ray, and I like the idea of a tour around the new Multiverse. I like the idea of a new Challengers of theUnknown Beyond--I liked it after Zero Hour when the original Challs were bouncing around the timestream, I liked it after Kingdom when the Challs were trying to navigate through the dangers of Hypertime--but Donna Troy, Jason Todd, and Kyle Rayner? We have a character who was never supposed to exist and has been a point of boredom and confusion ever since, a character who people paid to kill who has floundered since a decent resurrection arc, and a character who has alternated between being universally loathed, generally loved, universally tolerated, and generally mocked. I don't know if there's enough oomph in the story to justify the leads.
Speaking of Kyle Rayner, what's up with the solicitation for Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents Parallax #1? "In this initial installment, the writer who introduced Kyle, Ron Marz, dissects what led Kyle to his downfall and explains the
Parallax entity." People are rampantly speculating that Kyle will be possessed by the yellow dragon-worm you love to hate to become the new Parallax. My guess, given that Kyle's going to be a Challenger from Beyond and that he's back in the crab mask there, is that he ends up relinquishing the Ion power, and somehow Parallax gets it.
Quick thoughts for the 52 spin-offs:
Black Adam: The Dark Age: No.
Booster Gold: Yes.
Crime Bible: Maybe. Ask again Later.
Four Horsemen: No.
Infinity Inc.: Yes.
Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag: Maybe; definitely in trades.
Bonus! Wonder Girl: Probably not.
From the Countdown solicit: "Karate Kid battles Equus," which I assume means the would-be Wolverine from the awful Azzarello/Lee "For Tomorrow" arc in Superman, and not the stage play where Harry Potter gets naked. I guarantee the latter would be more entertaining; that particular phrase sets of the blazing klaxons of a "Boredom Alert" in my head. I'd hoped that "For Tomorrow" was filed away in the never-neverland of continuity limbo. Countdown, you really want me to drop you, don't you?
Anyone else find it funny that Newsarama claimed it was Jason Todd fighting Dove on that cover? Seems pretty clear to me that it's Owlman.
From the Metal Men #2 solicit:
This shouldn't be confused with Asimov's Third Law, which says "A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law," or Clarke's third law, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Green Lantern #23 has my favorite cover of the new batch of solicitations. Freakin' awesome.
Welcome back to the chopping block, Teen Titans. I liked the future team once; I'm not thrilled with seeing them again, unless they're going to explain that Superboy became Superman because he ain't dead anymore.
That seems to be about it. Come back tomorrow when I address Marvel. Am I thrilled? Am I bummed? Or do I just not care anymore? The answer may surprise you!
So, let's start with The Flash. The series started off on the wrong foot and broke an ankle or two under Bilson and DeMeo's overhyped and underperforming first arc. Guggenheim took over, and I hear things got better. I have the full pile of Guggenheim issues waiting in my "read" pile, so I can't speak for myself. Then again...
...So, I just read the run so far. It's okay, and certainly better than the previous run, but it relies a bit too much on prior knowledge of the characters (particularly Val, Bart, Inertia, Pied Piper, and Iris). It's nearly all action, with little time spent on supporting cast or the status quo. Given the recent revelation, it's pretty clear why; the title went almost straight from its meandering first arc which introduced some new aspects to the character and new cast, directly into the finale, which had to close the dangling plot threads. I'm a little psyched to see the next issue, just to see how it plays out (I predict: Bart survives, because someone else [Iris, Val, Inertia] takes the Speed Force into themselves and is taken by the Black Flash. Alternately, the Black Flash takes the Speed Force and dies, releasing the energy back to where it belongs). The biggest failing of this arc is the failure of the whole Bart-as-Flash idea so far: there's not only very little in the story or narration to suggest that this is the same character who once was Impulse, but there's absolutely nothing to justify his place as The Flash over Wally or Barry. Aside from a few brief references to his past as Bart Allen, all the narration in this could easily have been Wally's.
So, now Mark Waid's taking over, and the book is being renumbered to coincide with the previous series, as if this whole series never happened. Waid's cryptic remarks to watch the current storyline in JLofA, coupled with Scipio's predictions suggest a return of Barry Allen. It would be somewhat fitting, given that the Return of Barry Allen is probably Waid's most memorable story from his previous run on the title, and I'm all but convinced that "The Lightning Saga" will end with the resurrection of the Silver Age Flash.
However, Rich Johnston reveals that Wally and his family are returning, and while that might be an oblique reference to Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris, I tend to think that Waid might be returning to the characters he's most familiar with. If that's the case, then I'll be on Flash for as long as possible, despite my mixed feelings about Waid's previous work. Though I really dislike Daniel Acuña's art, and that's almost enough for me to give up the title even before it begins.
Now, remembering back to Waid's tenure on the title before, Barry wasn't really a character. He showed up often enough, but he was a McGuffin in spandex, a drive-by deus ex machina. While I could understand Waid bringing Barry back, to expand on his previous Brave and the Bold series, I tend to think that the answer is somewhere between Scipio and Johnston. Wally will be the focus of the new Flash series, while Barry ends up in one of the many Countdown books that are debuting, or possibly in the JLofA.
So, where to next? How about JLofA? Dwayne McDuffie, of JLU fame, is stepping up to the plate, and suddenly I can't wait for Brad Meltzer to leave. Not that I could wait before, mind you, but now I really want him gone. McDuffie is a no-brainer for the title. Now we just need "New Gods" by Karl Kesel, and I'll be in heaven.
On the flipside, Bob Wayne declared that the Milestone characters aren't on one of the 52 Earths, which seems like a poor move to me. I'd love to see the Milestone characters return, maybe even tussling a bit with the JLA, and McDuffie's precisely the guy to do that.
Back to Countdown, I'm of mixed opinions on the various series spinning out. I think I'll be passing on Countdown to Mystery. I like Dr. Fate, but the last couple of miniseries attempts with the character have left me flat. I really liked the Hector Hall incarnation of the character, and I'm not thrilled about another new/old face under the helmet. That, and I couldn't care less about the new Eclipso.
Countdown to Adventure is right there on the razor's edge. I love Animal Man and Adam Strange, I'm ambivalent about Starfire, and Forerunner is kind of a dumb character so far. Given how less-than-thrilled I am with Countdown proper, I'm a little less than iffy about picking up any of the spinoffs. The prospect of Nazi JLA, though, is almost enough to cinch it for me.
Countdown: The Search for Ray Palmer is in similarly shaky territory. I've missed Ray, and I like the idea of a tour around the new Multiverse. I like the idea of a new Challengers of the
Speaking of Kyle Rayner, what's up with the solicitation for Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents Parallax #1? "In this initial installment, the writer who introduced Kyle, Ron Marz, dissects what led Kyle to his downfall and explains the
Parallax entity." People are rampantly speculating that Kyle will be possessed by the yellow dragon-worm you love to hate to become the new Parallax. My guess, given that Kyle's going to be a Challenger from Beyond and that he's back in the crab mask there, is that he ends up relinquishing the Ion power, and somehow Parallax gets it.
Quick thoughts for the 52 spin-offs:
Black Adam: The Dark Age: No.
Booster Gold: Yes.
Crime Bible: Maybe. Ask again Later.
Four Horsemen: No.
Infinity Inc.: Yes.
Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag: Maybe; definitely in trades.
Bonus! Wonder Girl: Probably not.
From the Countdown solicit: "Karate Kid battles Equus," which I assume means the would-be Wolverine from the awful Azzarello/Lee "For Tomorrow" arc in Superman, and not the stage play where Harry Potter gets naked. I guarantee the latter would be more entertaining; that particular phrase sets of the blazing klaxons of a "Boredom Alert" in my head. I'd hoped that "For Tomorrow" was filed away in the never-neverland of continuity limbo. Countdown, you really want me to drop you, don't you?
Anyone else find it funny that Newsarama claimed it was Jason Todd fighting Dove on that cover? Seems pretty clear to me that it's Owlman.
From the Metal Men #2 solicit:
“Whenever one body exerts force upon a second body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite force upon the first body.”No, Newton's Second Law of Motion states that "The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impressed; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impressed." Or, more succinctly, F=ma. You're thinking of Newton's Third Law, which is commonly phrased as "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
—Newton’s Second Law of Physics
This shouldn't be confused with Asimov's Third Law, which says "A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law," or Clarke's third law, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Green Lantern #23 has my favorite cover of the new batch of solicitations. Freakin' awesome. Welcome back to the chopping block, Teen Titans. I liked the future team once; I'm not thrilled with seeing them again, unless they're going to explain that Superboy became Superman because he ain't dead anymore.
That seems to be about it. Come back tomorrow when I address Marvel. Am I thrilled? Am I bummed? Or do I just not care anymore? The answer may surprise you!
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