Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 13 - Both Sides Now

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 



Plot

The DEO captures Purity - the second of the Kryptonian Worldkillers, but Kara and Alex have very different ideas about how to approach her. Meanwhile, J'onn and Winn assist Mon-El in repairing the Legion of Super Heroes ship.


Influences

The Michael Green/Mike Johnson run on Supergirl (character of Reign and concept of Worldkillers)


Goofs

Alex seems to have fully recovered from her broken leg from a few episodes ago. (I can buy the DEO having some kind of tech that would speed her recovery, but they could have made mention of it when Alex was still in a cast two weeks ago.)


Performances

The scene between David Harewood and Chris Wood as they discuss marriage and secrets is a great bit of work for both actors.


Artistry

The effects work for Purity's powers are good.


Super Trivia

In the New 52 Supergirl comic, The Worldkillers were a group of genetically engineered creatures designed by Kryptonian scientists (overseen by Zor-El) using embryos from other species to create living biological weapons capable of destroying a planet. Reign was one of the Worldkillers and the first that Supergirl encountered. Five total Worldkillers survived the destruction of Krypton.

None of the Worldkillers in the comics were named Purity or Pestilence.

Reign was the leader of a group of four of the Worldkillers. She possessed enhanced strength, durability, speed and endurance on par with Supergirl as well as the power to fly. She was also a master of hand-to-hand combat.and sword fighting.

The cat-like Deimax was the second Worldkiller in Reign's team. She had the claws and fangs of a tiger as well as enhanced strength and durability.

Flower Of Heaven was the third member of Reign's team. This insectoid being had the power of flight as well as energy absorption and projection powers. Her purpose was reportedly to attack a planet by overloading planetary systems.

The final member of Reign's team was the reptilian Perrilus. Possessing the same enhanced strength, speed, endurance and flight powers as Reign. She also had the power to generate poisons and viruses within her body, enabling her to kill whole populations by passing among them.

Purity's displayed powers include a sonic scream akin to that of Black Canary/Black Siren and the ability to generate localize earthquakes, presumably though some kind of sonic manipulation. She is also telepathic, claiming to be able to see inside people - a power she proves when she taunts Alex with information about her break-up with Maggie Sawyer. She is also able to fly and is invulnerable enough to break glass with her body and not be harmed. She is also strong enough to wrestle with Supergirl and come close to strangling her.


Technobabble

Kryptonian cache crystals are used to store sensitive information. Each crystal has a signature of sorts, being composed of the same materials unique to the place that make it, like an artist's stamp. The crystal Purity had possessed a different signature than the cache crystals of the Fortress of Solitude.

The vibrations given off by Purity's powers are tuned to specifically hurt Kryptonians.

Moran Batteries are used to generate anti-gravitational fields.

The Legion of Super Heroes ship has five power sources, including one Moran Battery.

Martian moonshine has a consciousness-enhancing quality to it and a spicy flavor. 

Winn alters some old DEO technology to generate a counter-frequency that should protect the DEO team from Purity's sonic blasts. It does nothing, unfortunately, to counter area effects, so Purity is able too destroy the floor and support beams around her when cornered in the subway station.

Measurements in Moran math are based on a scale of 12 rather than 10.

When Mon-El was attempting to use J'onn's Moran battery to jump-start the Legion's, they were over-loading it due to the discrepancy based on using the 10 scale instead of the proper 12 scale.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara is trying to convince Alex to let her just talk to Purity and reason with her.)
Alex: We can try it your way.
Kara: Thank you.
Alex: And when your way fails, we try it mine.

(Sam announces her plan for her and Ruby to skip work and school respectively.)
Sam: Sound like a plan?
Ruby: Hell, yeah!
Sam: You get precisely one, "Hell, yes" today. I hope you enjoyed that.
Ruby: Okay.

(Purity and Supergirl curse at each other in Kryptonian.)
Purity: The three will walk across the land. And the blood of the weak will water the new world.
Supergirl: Rao defies you! I defy you! And I will bring you low!

(Mon-El is telling J'onn about how his marriage with Saturn Girl was political and he grew to love her but it's not the same as with Kara.)
Mon-El:  But with Kara, I mean... (chuckles) There was... there was nothing logical about falling in love with Kara. I mean, she was a Kryptonian... elitist and I was this completely self-absorbed misogynist. Not anymore. But what I felt for her... it was just.. (pauses) Being back here is, um. ...I've had to keep a distance from Kara. Because whenever I'm around her, these old feelings get stirred up. And then I have to hide it from Imra. But lately, there's been all this friction between us, cause of... I know it's my fault and I just... I don't know what to do.
J'onn: You know... if you think keeping secrets from your wife is hard, you should try keeping secrets from a Martian.
(Mon-El snorts at that.)
J'onn: My wife and I would uh... would bond and literally share our thoughts and feelings every night. Marriage is sharing, Mon-El. Everything. You are not a criminal because you have complicated feelings. If you truly love and honor, Imra, maybe you should let her in?


Dialogue Disasters

Kara: I am used to you being pragmatic, but since when have you become so hard and cynical?
Alex: Well, not all of us are bulletproof, Kara.
Kara: I know.
Alex: So cynicism, that's what's keeping the rest of us alive!
Kara: It seems like it's killing you.


Continuity

Purity's powers activate after she feels threatened by Alex Danvers.

Lena orders Sam to take a day off.

Winn finds a Kryptonian cache crystal in Purity's home.

The mileage on J'onn's starship is 700 million miles.

Winn is a car guy.

Julia Freeman was adopted in 1993 by Lawrence and Molly Freeman. She is allergic to milk and studied music at the Cincinnati Conservatory.

Purity claims that Julia Freeman was just a role that she played and that there is not a "real" Julia. Later, she admits that she was lying as she strangles Kara, saying that she is going to make Julia watch Supergirl die.

Vinita Ripson was Julia Freeman's roomate at the conservatory and is her best friend and emergency contact.

Kara refers to the events of 311, where Julia saved Vinita's life by pushing her out of the way of a car.

When Purity's cache crystal activates, it sends a signal of some kind to Reign. It also generates a power surge that shorts out the power dampeners in her cell at the DEO.

J'onn was married for 77 years.

Mon-El tells J'onn that his marriage to Saturn Girl was arranged - a political wedding to unite two warring factions of planets in the early days of The Legion of Super Heroes.

Saturn Girl comes from an important family on Titan, one of Saturn's moons.

Titan led a faction of planets that were opposed to Earth and its allied worlds.

Mon-El says that he grew to love Saturn Girl after being friends and partners with her for a time in The Legion but that what he feels for Kara is threatening that.

Martian spouses would bond and share their thoughts and feelings every evening.

Ruby tells Lena about Sam's missing time, lost memories and disappearing.

Julia goes with Reign willingly to save Alex's life.

Mon-El says he isn't sure if he is still in love with Kara or not.

Saturn Girl fell in love with Mon-El because he was so honest.

Saturn Girl and Brainiac-5 had another reason for returning to the past that was kept secret from Mon-El.

Sam has a black-out in front of Lena, briefly becoming Reign when she is angry at Lena telling Ruby about her illness.

Lena says she knows what is wrong with Sam but that she can fix it.


The Kryptonite Factor

Alex's sudden refusal to believe in Kara's ability to appeal to people's better angels is forced only so there is some kind of conflict regarding the treatment of Purity.


The Bottom Line

Up until the halfway point, this episode is painful, with Kara and Alex written as parodies of themselves and Purity being the typical gloating villain.  Then we get to the J'onn/Mon-El bonding scene and somehow, the episode turns around. Every character moment afterward is good enough to forgive the bad that came before and the final ten minutes is magic.

It's aggravating, however, that we have two major bombshells dropped just before the show goes on hiatus for a few months. And you know this episode must have been amazing because Legends of Tomorrow is my favorite CW show right now and I've been anxiously awaiting John Constantine's return, yet I would delay it's return just to know what The Legion's real mission in the past is and what Lena has figured out about The Worldkillers.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 10 - Legion of Super-Heroes

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

With Kara knocked into a coma following her battle with Reign, Mon-El summons his ally, Braniac-5, to restore Kara's mind while he, Saturn Girl and the DEO confront Reign.


Influences

The Legion of Super-Heroes comics of Otto Binder and Al Plastino. The Empire Strikes Back (the healing tanks used by The Legion resemble the bacta tanks used by the Rebellion medics to heal Luke Skywalker)


Goofs

The cliff-hanger at the end of the last episode, in which it was implied that Samantha was about to turn on Ruby, turns out to have an artificial fake-out.

Why didn't J'onn use any of the weapons from The Sundown Protocol back during the battles with the rogue Kryptonians in Season One or the Daxamites in Season 2? Even without Kryptonite (which they let Superman dispose of in Season 2 and which wouldn't work on Daxamites anyway), sound bombs and red sun light grenades would have been incredibly helpful in both fights.

Based on the timeline of the episode (it's clearly dark when J'onn goes to Kara's apartment), either National City has banks that are open 24 hours a day, complete with open lobbies and teller service, or The DEO counted on Reign not noticing that a fully-staffed bank was being robbed at night when setting their trap.

Wouldn't it be possible for The Legionaries to make copies of their DNA information and lock it in a time capsule in case something should happen to one of them, just in case?

Winn points out, when Alex suggests injecting Reign with Kryptonite right in the jugular vein, that they don't have anyone strong enough to drive in the needle. A more worrying point is that they don't have any material capable of piercing a Kryptonian's skin, regardless of the force behind it.

Winn also seems to forget that Mon-El had super-strength on par with Supergirl, despite Mon-El being there in the room.

How the heck did Thomas Coville escape from prison?

For that matter, how did he make the journey to The Fortress of Sanctuary?


Performances

There is something oddly amusing about the way in which David Harewood says "Oh no, not again." upon finding out he has to play Kara in order to protect her secret identity.

That is not quite as amusing, however, as Melissa Benoist playing J'onn pretending to be Kara.

The non-verbal acting as Melissa Benoist plays Kara discovering her glasses and the key out of her apartment is a magical thing to behold.


Artistry

Good special effects work on having the walls around Kara's front door "bounce" as she tries to escape her mind prison.


Super Trivia

The episode's title comes from the classic comic series and team The Legion of Super-Heroes.

In the original comics, the teenagers who built The Legion of Super-Heroes were inspired by Superman's tenure as Superboy. They first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958), when Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl traveled back in time to test Superboy's worthiness to join The Legion. Their tests, which Superboy failed, turned out to be a hazing ritual of sorts and The Legion had already voted to allow Superboy membership on their team.

In the comics, Supergirl was later given membership in The Legion of Super-Heroes as well and spent some time living in the 31st Century while serving as part of the team.

Brainiac-5 first appeared in Action Comics #276 (May 1961) and was created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. Born Querl Dox on the planet Colu in the 31st Century, he was a hero who joined The Legion of Super-Heroes and sought to atone for the sins of his ancestor - the villain known as Brainiac who fought Superman in the 21st century. A brilliant inventor, Brainiac-5 created The Legion of Super-Heroes flight rings, a force-field belt and the anti-lead serum that allowed Mon-El to survive outside The Phantom Zone.

We later see Mon-El, Saturn Girl and Brainiac-5 don Legion Flight Rings as they go to confront Reign.

Brainiac-5 is a 12th Level Intelligence. By way of a comparison, 21st Century Earth is considered to have an average Intelligence of the 6th Level and the average Coluan of his time has an intelligence of the 8th Level.

The DCTVU version of Brainiac-5 seems to be statistically precisely like his comic-book counterpart. His name is Querl Dox and he claims to be half-organic and half-computer  but all Coluan. He goes by "Brainy" for short. He is also a 12th Level Intelligence

Brainiac-5 and Supergirl were romantic linked in some incarnations of The Legion of Super-Heroes. In the DC Animated Universe, Supergirl elected to stay in the 31st Century after an adventure sent her, Green Lantern and Green Arrow into the future. This was partly due to the historical record showing that only two Justice League members returned to their own time after coming forward to help The Legion and partly due to her newfound love with Brainiac-5.

Brainiac-5 makes reference to a third-degree extinction event in 2455 that brought about the collapse of all human civilization and the loss of most historical records, culture, art and music. This could be a nod to The Great Disaster - the unspecified future event from the Kamandi - The Last Boy On Earth comics created by Jack Kirby - that destroyed all civilization. The setting of Kamandi was an unspecified future where humanity had descended to savagery and evolved animals ruled the Earth.

Mon-El speaks of a planet called Winath from the 31st Century, saying it is a farming planet that went dark. In the original Legion comics, Winath was an agrarian world described as the bread-basket of the United Planets.

Mon-El pronounces Winath as "Win-ath". The question of Winath's pronunciation has long been a matter of debate among Legion fans. As a nod to the three most popular theories, writer Geoff Johns revealed in Final Cirsis: Legion of Three Worlds that all three versions of the Legion in DC Comics Continuity had a different way of pronouncing Winath. In the Reboot universe, it is pronounced "Win-Athe", in the Threeboot universe it is pronounced "Win-Ath", and in the post-Infinite Crisis universe it's pronounced "Wine-Ath".

Mon-El speaks of a friend named Ayla who is from Winath. This is a reference to the Legion member Ayla Ranzz - a.k.a. Lightning Lass/Light Lass/Spark. Her twin brother is Garth Ranzz a.ka. Lighting Lad.

For some reason, most of the children born on Winath are fraternal twins - one boy and one girl.

Saturn Girl speaks of Winath being decimated by beings called The Blight who consume everything in their path. This is a nod to The Blight - a techno-organic race whose bodies were composed of rotting flesh and technology. Basically cyborg-zombies, The Legion of Super-Heroes fought them in the 1999-2000 storyline Legion of the Damned.

The Sherlock Holmes line to which Kara refers comes from A Study In Scarlet - the first Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose."

Kara makes reference to having a pet cat as a teenager named Streaky. In the original Supergirl comics in Action Comics, Kara Danvers also had a pet cat named Streaky, named for the white lighting-bolt shaped streak in his orange fur. Streaky first appeared in Action Comics #261 (February 1960) and acquired superpowers after being exposed to a piece of X-Kryptonite, which gave superpowers to animals. Streaky had super-strength, super-speed, super-vision flight and human-level or better intelligence.

Since that time, various versions of Supergirl have owned a pet cat named Streaky, but only the original version of Streaky had super-powers in the original DC Comics universe. However, super-powered versions of Streaky have shown up in other comics and cartoons, most notably the Krypto The Super-Dog show, Tiny Titans and the DC Super-Pets books.

The DCTVU version of Streaky has black fur, instead of orange fur.

At one point Brainiac mentions an Aloian attack formation. The Aloai are an alien race who appeared in Action Comics #517 (March 1981). They have blue skin and rigged foreheads and appeared in a Superman story where they were at war with another race of aliens, The Margoi, fighting over a device which they called "The Grayl".

Braniac-5 uses the word "sprock" as a curse at one point. In the original Legion comics, "sprock" is also used as a curse word in the 31st century.

Saturn Girl is depicted as having telekinetic abilities, throwing heavy weights at Reign as a distraction as Mon-El attempts to move in close with a Kryptonite knife. She also creates a telekinetic force-field that protects Mon-El from Reign's ice-breath. While primarily depicted as a telepath in the comics, some versions of Saturn Girl in the comics and cartoons have been shown to have telekinetic abilities as well.


Technobabble

Brainiac-5 notes that he is a 12th Level Intelligence.

31st century technology allows doctors to communicate telepathically with coma patients. In this case, Brainac-5's crown connects to his internal AI core, translating Kara's brainwaves into English while sending his thoughts to her as electronic signals her brain can understand.

Brainiac-5 makes reference to a third-level extinction event.

The DEO has access to sound bombs and red-sun grenades capable of hurting a Kryptonian.

Brainiac-5 claims to have envisioned 4,237,642 versions of his first meeting with Supergirl. None of them involved her describing it as torture.

Brain damage in a psychic simulacra can manifest as various forms of decay - mildew or mold. Rats typically indicate neurological issues.


Dialogue Triumphs

Reign: This man was a thief, condemned by his own actions. You've allowed sin to take root and fester like a weed. And worst of all, you have looked away. Apathy is the greatest sin of all. From now on it will be punished in kind. There will be no mercy. There will only be justice. (pauses) I am here to help.

(J'onn is in the middle of adjusting some kind of sonic gun as Winn walks up.)
Winn: Hey! Boss! So, uh... uh... James just called.
(There is a long pause as J'onn continues working.)
J'onn: I fail to see the relevance.
Winn: Well, it seems that he might have put Kara into a little bit of hot water with Lena Luthor. And since we have an hour...
(There is the briefest of pauses as J'onn realizes precisely why this is relevant.)
J'onn: Oh no. Not again.
(Winn smiles and gives J'onn a double thumbs-up as J'onn sighs in annoyance and leaves.) 

J'onn: (as Kara) You have no idea how much I am not feeling like myself.

J'onn: No Supergirl. No cavalry. Reign is strong, but she doesn't know what we're capable of. Let's show her.
Alex: You ready?
(Alex tosses J'onn a sonic gun, which he catches easily.)
J'onn: I just had a conversation about James Olsen's extraordinary kissing ability. This will be a Sunday picnic.

(Kara is cleaning her trashed psychic apartment. Brainiac-5 is pacing around her, impatiently.)
Brainy: Why are you cleaning? None of this real.
Kara: I don't know. I guess I just like putting things back in order. And... my brain, originally, is like an empty little attic and you must stock it with such furniture as you choose. That's Sherlock Holmes.
(Brain just nods as Kara picks up a book and flips through it. Suddenly she stops and looks at the room, thoughtfully.)
Kara: This is the furniture I chose.
Brainy: Hmm. An oversimplification
(Kara just gives him a side-eyed look. Brainy seems to realize he was being rude and tries to look apologetic.)
Brainy: But ah, yes. Go on.
Kara: So there must be something in here that my subconscious wants me to see!
Brainy: Mmm... that's.... that's actually not a bad idea. Why didn't I think of that?

Alex: (to a comatose Kara) I'm so sorry. I did this. I mean, I'm the one that pushed you into that fight. I told you that Kara Danvers was my favorite person. And then I told you to forget who you were. And now I'm... I don't know if we can do this without you.

(Kara sorts through some of the debris and finds a picture of her teenage self, holding a cat.)
Kara: Huh.
(Brainiac-5 walks over and looks at the picture.)
Brainy: You had a pet?
Kara: Yeah. But if this is my subconscious trying to tell myself something, I don't get it.
Brainy: Could be a random neuron firing. What's it's name?
Kara: Streaky. I, uh- I found him on our street. Right after I came to Earth, actually. He was a stray too.
Brainy: You felt an emotional kinship.
Kara: Yeah. (chuckles) Yeah. We were friends.
(Kara looks up and suddenly tops laughing. Brainiac-5 follows her gaze and sees Streaky, as he was in the picture, lying on a chair, watching them. Kara slowly approaches Streaky as she continues talking to Brainy.)
Kara: I used to go out every night and feed him. (Kara kneels down and begins to pet Streaky) I didn't want to touch him. I was so strong I could have hurt him. So I practiced being gentle. And then one day I pet him. (Kara picks Streaky up and sits down, stroking his back.) And he purred. And everything was okay. I felt like an alien on Earth for so long and... and he made me feel like a human.
(Brainiac-5 watches this, comprehension dawning on his face.)

(We see Braniac, in a rotating chair on the bridge of The Legion ship.)
Brainy: Engaging cannons!
(Cut to Brainy, still inside Kara's psychic apartment. He is seen sitting down, typing furiously at buttons in the air, with his eyes closed.)
Brainy: Aoian attack formation!
(Kara is still in her chair, stroking Streaky. She looks at Brainy as like he is crazy.)
Kara: Are you fighting?!
Brainy: Oh! Sprock! Did I say that out loud?!


Dialogue Disasters

The Legion's spaceship blaring "Living On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi as Reign is contemplating killing or sparing Thomas Coville as he prays to Rao.


Continuity

The events of this episode start two days after the events of 309.

Kara's psyche resembles her loft apartment.

Curiously, for all the emphasis she claims to place on being Kryptonian over human, Kara's inner-self dresses in Earth clothing like Kara Danvers but without glasses. This turns out to be a bit of foreshadowing, as Kara must clean her glasses and put them on before she finds the key that unlocks the door out of her apartment, allowing her to wake up.

Brainiac-5 notes that Kara is in remarkable mental health for someone in a coma.

Mon-El says that The Legion can't get directly involved in the battle with Reign because their deaths could doom the 31st Century.

Mon-El also speaks of The Legion having a mission of which he cannot speak of the particulars and that getting involved with the fight against Reign might jeopardize their mission.

Mon-El does say that Supergirl will survive the war with Reign and that Reign will eventually "leave" but he does not know the particulars beyond that. While the historical record shows what events may have happened, there is no way of knowing precisely how they came to happen.

Braniac-5 speaks of a third-level extinction event in 2455 that caused catastrophic destruction. While humanity came together as a result, most historical records, music, art and culture were destroyed in the cataclysm.

Apparently most of what the people of the 31st century know of the 21st century and what came before came from Mon-El's knowledge. It was he who told them about Aristotle, Shakespeare and Bon Jovi.

The Sundown Protocol is a highly-classified contingency plan the DEO crafted if it ever had to take-down Superman or another rogue Kryptonian. It allowed for the use of red-sun grenades, Kryptonite darts and sound bombs.

Winn refers to Superman destroying all of the DEO's Kryptonite in 202.

J'onn makes reference to the Kryptonite from "Coville's probe" from 304 and confirms the DEO still has it.

Mon-El eventually reveals the circumstances of how he and his team came back to the past and why it is important they remain safe to preserve the future to Alex. In the 31st Century, there is a race of cyborg-zombies called The Blight, who destroyed the farming world of Winath. Braniac-5 found a way to defeat The Blight, but before they could use it, they were forced to time-travel to escape from The Blight. The secret of defeating The Blight is encoded into the DNA of all of the time-lost Legionaries, meaning they must all survive and make it to the future in order to stop The Blight in the 31st Century.

J'onn refers to the events of 113 and how he once had to impersonate Kara to protect her secret identity.

Reign appears to be resistant to the effects of Kryptonite, for some reason.

Alex's lower leg is broken during the fight with Reign.

Kara is enough of a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes' stories to know a specific quote from A Study In Scarlet.

Kara had a pet cat named Streaky when she was a teenager, who taught her how to control her strength shortly after coming to Earth.

Reign attacks Albatross Bay - the Alcatraz-style high-security prison in National City.

Brainiac-5 made himself look taller when he was inside Kara's mind.

Brainiac-5 signed Alex's cast in binary.

Reign is informed that there are others like her on Earth - a fact that the AI in her Fortress of Sanctuary kept her ignorant of until she had proven herself worthy.

Thomas Coville joins with Reign and tells her that he can help her find the others like her.


Location

The Fortress of Sanctuary.


Untelevised Adventures

The Legion speak of their battle with The Blight in the 31st century and how it devastated the world of Winath.


The Bottom Line

Proof that there are few things worse than a Supergirl episode that is light on Supergirl. It's telling that the best moments of the episode are the ones that involved Melissa Benoist either playing against type as J'onn as Kara, her interactions with Brainiac-5 or her monologue on learning to be human.

That being said, this episode isn't all that bad and Brainiac 5 proves a welcome addition to the cast.  It's just irritating that the audience likely figured out the lesson Kara was meant to learn several episodes ago and it's blindingly obvious that Kara will defeat Reign by encouraging Samantha to remember her humanity and her daughter at some point before the end of the season. Taken for what it is, this episode is amusing enough if you ignore that none of the Legion members besides Brainiac-5 really do anything.

Justice League United #10 - A Review

This final issue of the Legion of Superheroes/Justice League United crossover had all the same problems as the previous issues. And for those who missed my earlier reviews, I'm referring to the forcibly posed artwork and complete lack of explanation as to who any of the Legion characters are for the readers who don't know/don't care about the LOSH. And yet, I found this one far more enjoyable than any other part of he crossover so far. And that enjoyment came down to three separate factors.



1. The awesome alternate cover inspired by Mars Attacks.



2. The goofy-ass moment in this panel, where Brainiac 5 briefly becomes Macaulay Culkin.



3. The final few pages, in which the characters are allowed to be characters and have conversations rather than shout exposition.

Alas, I'm not sure how many of these characters will be surviving in this form as we enter into the Post-Convergence DCU.  Still, for all its problems, this book wasn't dull.  I just wish Jeff Lemire had been allowed to do more to bring these characters to life.

Justice League United #9 - A Review

Pro Tip: When you have so many characters in your comic that you can't name them all on a single page and indeed can barely fit their headshots onto a single page, that might be a sign that you have too many damn characters in your comic.


I don't mean to keep harping on this point but that's really all I can say about Justice League United at the moment.  Literally nothing has happened for the past few issues except that more Legionaries keep being sent to the past to fight this one cosmic villain. And the whole affair is mind-blowingly dull in the way that only the most truly awful of LoSH stories (i.e. most of them) can be dull.


The artwork continues to be the high point of this book.  You may not have any idea who any of these characters are or what they can do but by gum they look good doing it!

What happened, Jeff Lemire?  Did Paul Levitz insist on taking over JLU and ghost-writing it now that all the Legion books have been canceled?  Do the have your family?  Is your true opinion of this crossover hidden in Sardath's dialogue about there being too many characters to keep track of?

Just blink twice if you need help!  We are ready to rescue you!

Justice League United #8 - A Review

I must apologize to you all, dear readers. I had intended to review Justice League United #8 today. But owing to some kind of printing error, my copy seems to have been replaced with a Legion of Superheroes comic.

*whisper whisper whisper*

Say that again?

*whisper whisper whisper*

This IS the new issue of Justice League United?

*whisper whisper whisper*

Then why do we barely see the Justice League in it?!  I mean, I know there's a crossover going on, but shouldn't the title team have most of the action focused on them?

*whisper whisper whisper*

You think this gag where I talk to an unseen person is getting stale and I should drop it, especially since it doesn't really make sense in print?  Oh, okay.



In all seriousness, I commented in previous reviews that the presence of Legion characters in this comic was a hindrance to the story as little effort was made to explain who the dozen-or-so characters were and what their powers were, let alone their personalities. Introducing another dozen of them in this issue does little to help matters.  Indeed, nothing of importance really happens in this issue until the last few pages. Until then, everything is all about how things are still terrible in the future and how the Legionaries still in the future come to the past.


At least the artwork by Neil Edwards is still good.  Though one wishes he focused less on two-page splashes and more on trying to make the action flow smoothly.  Edwards is great in an open space but confine him to a few panels on a page and everything becomes hemmed in and sloppy.

Justice League United #7 - A Review

It appears that the cast of Justice League United are as bored with this crossover with The Legion of Superheroes as I am.  At the very least, Animal Man and Green Arrow are fed up with it.  Both of them make wisecracks about how many damned Legionaries there are and how hard it is to keep track of all of them in this issue!


Jeff Lemire tries his best to keep the story moving but the inertia of The Legion continues to hold him back.  It doesn't matter that he slips in some quick gags such as Animal Man and Timberwolf sniffing each other.  The story never bothered to explain who Timberwolf was for the readers who aren't already intimately familiar with every single member of The Legion, their powers and their personalities... or lack thereof!


The artwork this month is an improvement.  Neil Edwards' figures are still forced and stiff, but this is less obvious in the splash pages that dominate the second half of the comic.  Strangely, though this issue features two inkers, the finishes on the comic seem less erratic than they did last month when only one inker was assigned to the book.

Justice League United #6 - A Review

The one saving grace of Justice League United #6 is Jeff Lemire's ability to bring little moments of character into what is essentially one gigantic fight scene. It is these moments that have defined the series so far. And it is these moments with all the little interactions between the regular cast that make the book so interesting.


Alas, most of this book is taken up with the sort of Claremontian battles that have come to define any story involving The Legion of Superheroes.  There are no characters here - merely a loose collection of bodies attached to various superpowers.

These scenes consist of various characters standing around, explaining the action to the reader (Quickly, Ass-Kicking Lad!  Kick the ass of that big guy while I hold him in the grasp of my Magnetic Mind Grip!) while clumsily letting us know their codenames.  It's a shame because Jeff Lemire is capable of so much better than this and the scenes in which his Justice League speak to themselves showcase the difference between the two teams.



As before, the artwork is erratically mixed.  Neil Edwards is a clearly skilled penciler, but too many of his figures seem artificially posed. The best aspect of the artwork is the energetic colors added by Jeromy Cox.

Justice League United Annual #1 - A Review

The biggest problem with Justice League United's crossover with The Legion of Superheroes is that it is a Legion of Superheroes crossover.  The good news is that thanks to The New 52, readers will not have to worry about any of the cumbersome continuity problems that beset the classic LOSH comics.  The bad news is that the LOSH are still a collective of bland characters largely defined by their individual super-powers, with only Brainiac Five and Mon-El possessing any kind of personality. And those personalities are "know-it-all jerk" and "hot-headed douche-bag" respectively.


Writer Jef Lemire does what he can, but even he can't battle the inherent inertia of an storyline involving The Legion of Superheroes.  Too much time has to be devoted  to explaining who they are and listing off the individual members of the team. It also doesn't help the plot is strictly standard, with The Legion having come back in time to kill Ultra (Jonn J'onzz's adopted multi-ethnic alien son) before he becomes a world-destroying monster known as Infinitus in the future.

The subplot involving the rest of The Justice League trying to track down the body of a deceased Hawkman is far more interesting for a number of reasons.  Chief among these are the interplay between the team members and the little character touches that Lemire excels at. My personal favorite was the interplay between Supergirl and Green Arrow, with the inherently rebellious Oliver Queen struggling in a position of authority as he tries to reign in the equally rebellious Supergirl.  



The artwork this time is a bit of a mixed bag.  Neil Edwards is a skillful penciler and there are a number of Kirbyesque splash pages throughout the book.  The problem is that many of the poses of Edwards' figures seem overly forced and artificial, up to and including two women pointing their posteriors directly at the reader while curving their backs so we can see the profile of their chests!   The inks by Jay Leisten are competent but not particularly noteworthy. The best aspect of the artwork is the coloring, with Jeromy Cox using a vibrant, heroic palette that makes everything jump off the page in just the right way.

Justice League United: Future's End #1

Justice League United: Future's End #1 opens strongly enough. We're treated to a delightful scene of Equinox - still largely undefined by this series - getting to show off her powers and competence. She's set up against a rather interesting enemy who is as defined by technology as she is defined by a bond to nature.  This is a bit cliche thematically, but the sequence still works well.


Sadly, everything starts to go downhill once the plot starts and the actual tie-in to Future's End begins.  We're quickly informed that the team has broken up five years in the future and find that most of the characters we know and love from this series are not in attendance.  No Green Arrow.  No Stargirl.  No Supergirl.  No Animal Man.

So what do we have?  A random assortment of characters who aren't given the same attention Equinox is by the opening. This is problematic given that the future Justice League includes some relatively obscure heroes from Geoff Johns' Aquaman and Legion Lost.  One senses that Jeff Lemire's heart isn't in this story, as everything feels strictly standard once we're beyond introducing our central heroine and establishing the plot hook - J'onn J'onzz is running a prison on Mars and neess help stopping a break-out.


The artwork by Jed Dougherty is similarly by-the-book.  Dougherty's penciling style isn't bad but his inks are oddly heavy and his linework thick.  The final effect leaves everything looking somewhat like pages from a coloring book inspired by 1990s Image Comics.

All in all, the only reason to pick this book up is if you're collecting all of the Future's End tie-ins or you're a Justice League fan who needs this to understand the upcoming Justice League: Future's End #1 tie-in.  Regular readers of Justice League United can easily skip this one without missing a thing.

Action Comics #17 - A Review

With Action Comics #17, the phrase "never-ending battle" has taken on another meaning.  It seems like Grant Morrison's final storyline for this series has been going on forever and the novelty of Morrison's conceit for this story - an assassination attempt executed through multiple points in space, time and probability - has begun to wear thin.  This entire issue feels like filler up until the final pages, where Superman finds himself with a most unlikely ally in his darkest moment leading into next issue's conclusion.


The back-up story by Sholly Fisch is far more enjoyable.  Indeed, I'd recommend this issue just for this story alone.  Stories about Clark and Pa Kent having a good father/son chat are hardly new but Fisch's story here - centering on a time-displaced Superman being given a chance to talk to the dad who never got the chance to see what he did with his life - seems both brand-new and touching.  It reminded me of a similar story that J. Michael Straczynski penned for Amazing Spider-Man #500 yet it still comes off as it's own unique tale.


This book continues to be blessed with top-notch artists across the board.  Brad Walker?  Rags Morales?  Chris Sprouse?  You'd be lucky to have one of these artist's illustrating a story, never mind all three of the working in concert!  While I may grow annoyed with Morrison dragging his feet, I cannot complain about how this book looks even as it seems we are treading water in terms of the plot.

Action Comics #16 - A Review

It's folly for me to attempt to describe the story of Action Comics #16 beyond what I already explained in my review of last month's issue.  Reality has begun to break down as Superman faces attacks at multiple points in space and time, all thanks to the plotting of a Fifth Dimensional being.  Thankfully, Superman is not without allies even in futures just born into existence which should not be.  A new addition to the morass this month includes a version of the Legion of Superheroes from a future where a tyrannical government born of a villain from the past now threatens of all creation and their only hope is a desperate trip back in time to aid Superman in his greatest battle!


It's a damning statement on the condition of the New 52 Legion of Superheroes books that - despite Morrison not focusing on their characters - the vision of The Legion we see here is far more accessible and far more likeable than any of the characters I saw in Legion of Superheroes or Legion Lost.  Let that thought sink in for a moment - a story by Grant Morrison about reality collapsing and the text of the story reflecting that is more lucid and easier to follow that Legion Lost.  That statement goes double for the enjoyable back-up story by Scholly Fisch, in which we see the LOSH at a point in their past where they accidentally set their dark future into motion by stopping a political assassination.  


The art teams for both sections of this series continue to excel.  Walker and Morales continue to paint vivid pictures of reality running together as Superman's enemies begin to attack time itself.  Chris Sprouse's stylized pencils show us a Legion as fun and as colorful as the team at the height of their popularity.  High quality, all around.

Legion Of Superheroes #1 - A Review

As regular readers are well aware, I’m a big fan of Doctor Who. But enthusiastic as I am about sharing my love of the show with others, I realize that the adventures of The Doctor can be difficult for a new viewer to get into. This point was driven home to me recently as I was talking with an actress friend whose exposure to the show was limited to three episodes that she watched while sick. Based on her description, I figured out that she was referring to Utopia, The Sound Of Drums and Last Of The Time Lords - the last three episodes of Series 3. Not that this meant a thing to her, though she said she could tell there was a lot going on and it seemed interesting… but there was so much she didn’t understand that insulated her from fully enjoying it.

Why do I mention this? Because I imagine the feeling she had watching those three episodes of Doctor Who is the exact same feeling that I had reading Legion of Superheroes #1. The problem being, of course, that there should be a world of difference between a three-part season finale and the first issue of a comic book.

Most of this issue focuses on two trainee Legion members – Dragonwing and Chemical Kid. They are sent on a mission with several more experienced Legion members to investigate a military outpost that has stopped reporting on The Dominators – an alien empire that has long been an enemy of The Legion. Scenes of other Legion members are interspersed into the main plot, where we learn that several members of the team resigned and that everyone is mourning the loss of someone named Oaa.

I said last week that reading Legion Lost was like walking into a theater in the middle of a bad play. Legion of Superheroes #1 inspires similar feelings of confusion but at least this time we have the traditional editor boxes giving us the names, codenames and powers of the various characters. Even ignoring those helpful notes, the quality level of Paul Levitz’s script is much higher. The action scenes are very well paced and Levitz does a good job conveying personal character traits in a short amount of time, with factoids like Dream Girl and Star Boy being a couple or Chemical Kid’s homosexuality being conveyed subtly, with very little expository text.

The artwork by Francis Portela matches the script for quality. Portela does a good job separating the various characters and giving them distinctive appearances apart from uniform design and hair-styles. The action is well-conveyed and the storytelling from panel to panel flows well. The only issue I had is that the effects used to convey Chameleon Boy’s shape-shifting are inconsistent. Early on, he changes to another form so smoothly it took me a while to realize that he had changed and that we were not looking at a new character. Yet in a later scene a series of lines around his body were used to convey the change before he morphed into some kind of insect. Even the cover-art depicts his powers functioning in a different way, the end of his arm caught in mid-shift from hand to some kind of gun!

Ultimately, the biggest problem with this book is that it assumes far more familiarity with The Legion of Superheroes franchise than a first issue should – particularly one published as part of a supposed company-wide revamp! Indeed, that point – and the fact that nothing about The Legion seems to have changed - may be the thing about this book that might interest those trying to solve the mystery of Flashpoint. If nothing else, this issue seems to offer some hint as to who the mysterious hooded woman is and what her motivations and powers are.

I imagine that long-time Legion fans will be pleased with this product but the rest of us will be left behind in the dust. I think DC would have been better off trying something similar to what Mark Waid did several years ago when he tried to revamp The Legion if they really wanted to attract new readers. This is a good comic but it’s a terrible first issue.

Legion Lost #1 - A Review

I’m not sure what to make of Legion Lost. It doesn’t feel at all like a first issue, much less the first issue of a book that is part of a line aimed at new readers. I did not feel welcomed or reassured as I did with other New 52 titles. I felt more like I’d walked into the theater in the middle of a bad play.

The action centers upon a group of heroes who travel back in time to our era to catch an escaped villain. Presumably they are part of the Legion of Superheroes, though that name is never used in the whole book. For a variety of reasons, they wind up arriving 30 hours after said villain but they do manage to recapture him… after he’s already enacted his plan to change their time by releasing a virus in their past. The issue ends with the team stranded in the past and some of their number having disappeared after their time machine broke down.

It’s really hard to care about any of these characters. There’s barely any introduction to the characters and there’s little attempt to give any of them characterization past “team hot-head”, “angry loner” and “sensitive girl”. And unlike previous Legion comics I’ve read, there is no helpful list of character-names, code-names and powers at the start of the book. I don’t think this sort of thing is a necessity for a team book but it really could have helped in this first issue. Characters address one another by first name while looking at entire groups and it isn’t clear who is speaking to whom in several scenes.

This brings us to the artwork, which isn’t anything to write home about either. The proportions and perspective are weird at times, with most of the characters looking very inorganic and posed. It’s not the worst art I’ve ever see. It’s not even the worst art I’ve seen in the New 52. It’s just… standard.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would want to continue reading Legion Lost after this first issue. The characters are bland and presented as being utterly incompetent, spending more time fighting one-another and repairing their broken equipment than tracking down the bad guy. Heck, they don’t even fight the villain! He just passes out after being confronted by a little girl and they retrieve his body while he’s out cold! All in all, this is a complete mess. If you haven’t bought it yet, don’t.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Adventure Comics #5

GOOD THING: Whatever your feelings about the metatextual exercise behind this two part story, (i.e. Superboy Prime - now a parodic strawman of People Who Complain About Comics On The Internet - goes on a rampage after finding out he is schedule to die in this comic) I think we can all appreciate the sight of Dan Didio screaming in terror. :)

BAD THING: I thought for a while that this ending was legit and that Superbody Prime really is being given all he ever wanted back as a reward by the "gods" that have played with his life for too long. And then I saw that his long-lost true love is wearing a black ring... despite not looking any more decomposed or undead than any of the other Black Lanterns. So it looks like Prime is about to get the Hope sucked out of him. Probably. For his sake - and ours, because I'm sick of Prime's whining - I hope this IS the end for him.

The Final Verdict: The heck of it is I don't know if this is skippable or not in regards to Blackest Night. I'd say go ahead and pick it up if you don't have problems with stories where the fourth wall is broken with great enthusiasm.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Adventure Comics #4

BAD THING: Your enjoyment of this issue may be limited by how much you enjoy The Legion of Superheroes and how amused you are by the concept of Superboy Prime being an unsubtle parody of the stereotypical comic book fan.

GOOD THING: That being said, if you do like metatextual humor, this is a REALLY funny issue. The plot, such as it is, centers upon Superboy Prime (who is currently trapped in our universe) reading this comic, finding out that he is supposed to die in the next issue and desperately trying to find any information he can about the next issue... all while being taunted by a Black Lantern Earth-3 Lex Luthor.

Oh, and the Legion back-up story isn't too bad either, even though I really don't care about Legion and some of the backstory was lost on me, though it was explained well.



The Final Verdict: A good issue, if you have a decent sense of humor regarding the character of Superboy Prime and the concept of characters who know they are in a story. I found it hillarious but your mileage may vary.

Not sure if this has been on scans_daily before or not...

... but I figured one of you wacky people would know for sure. And could identify what issue of Legion of Superheroes this scan sent me is from.

This panel does inspire many questions. Why do fashions in the 30th century resemble those of the late 70s/early 80s? Why are pants forbidden to women in bars.. OF THE FUTURE!? But the question that most concerns us is this...

Why is it the first thing Charles Xavier did once his legs healed was travel to the future and mack on Kitty Pryde's descendant?

The 4 Even Creepier Comic Book Characters of All Time

SOURCE: The 6 Creepiest Comic Book Characters of All Time

Should I be the least bit saddened that I can think of four even worse characters to round this out to an even ten?

I suppose so. Regardless, please enjoy or be horrified by The 4 Even Creepier Comic Book Characters of All Time



4. Arion

Creepy Because Of: Magical Incest/Forced Pregnancy/Magical Rape

It's a fact of life in fantasy worlds and superhero comics: most wizards are dicks. Even the relatively harmless and friendly ones like Gandalf are quick to remind their friends that you shouldn't meddle in their affairs, because they are subtle and quick to anger. Sure, they'll bring the fireworks to the party. But they'll also be threatening to spoil an innkeeper's beer or to turn harmless gardeners into something unnatural once the Guinness runs out.

On one level, this is understandable. They spend years studying things that most of humanity is ignorant of and cannot even begin to grasp; like graduate students, only much more useful. After all, if you were Doctor Strange and you were engaged in daily struggles to protect reality from invasion by things that would cause most of your fellow heroes to vent their bladders about two seconds after seeing them, wouldn't you be a little annoyed by Reed Richards showing up unannounced on your doorstep and asking for help with this "scientific phenomena I have yet to adequately explain yet" every time he invented a new star-gate?

On the other hand, most of these wizards take their annoyance with the stupidity of everyone around them and use this as a license to do whatever they want in the name of a vague "common good", because they know better than you. And no magical character illustrated this truth better than Arion, who just recently became a full-fledged villain of sorts in Kurt Busiek's Superman. However, all of his recent activities pale in comparison to his actions as a hero in which he...

a) manipulated Power Girl into thinking she was his granddaughter from the ancient days of Atlantis and that he brought her forward in time to save her from a plague that threatened her life.

b) used his magic to impregnate Power Girl without her knowledge or permission, so that she would give birth to a great hero who would be needed to save Atlantis.

c) later admitted to having lied about Power Girl being his granddaughter or Atlantean and - before dying - noting that he had done so as a promise to her mother. This turned out to be total bunk after it was revealed that Kara was Superman's cousin from a parallel Earth...



3. Grimbor The Chainsman

Creepy Because Of : Bondage.

The guy calls himself "The Master of Bondage". Do you really need any more explanation than that?

Honestly, the concept behind Grimbor is not a bad one and it is possible that he might have been used in a less creepy fashion in another time and another place. After all, there's a lot of potential in the concept of a master of traps. And you have to give props to someone who - with nothing but sheer inventiveness and a near-obsessive eye for detail - created a series of devices that enabled him to single-handedly take on The Legion of Superheroes.

So where did it go wrong? Well, part of it was because he was introduced back in the Mike Grell years when everyone was wearing swim-suit style costumes that were even less suitable for crime-fighting than skin-tight Spandex. And the other part of it was that in his first appearance, he was partnered with a woman called Charma. Charma had an unlikely mutation that caused all men to obey her every command and all women to want to kill her. She used her powers to throw The Legion off-balance in one way or the other as Grimbor (a respectable lawman she ensnared with her powers) did what he did best.

As unsettling as this is, things got full-blown creepy at the end of the story when the pair was defeated and it was revealed that Grimbor had constructed a special device that canceled out Charma's powers and left her helpless.

It got worse in later appearances when we found out that Charma was killed in prison after her restraints were removed, her powers kicked in and the female population tore her apart - literally. The news reached Grimbor - who still loved Charma despite the knowledge that she had used her powers to cause him to love her - and he swore revenge on The Legion and showed up two more times before vanishing into limbo, only to be resurrected for bad Legion Slash-Fic and... gods help us... The new Legion of Superheroes Cartoon.



2. Comet

Creepy Because Of : Bestiality/Mind Control.

Proof that there is no creepy classic comics idea that cannot be made worse by having Peter David write it, I present to you the Post-Crisis Comet.

I won't go into the full back-story of this version of Supergirl. Suffice it to say, those who thought that Supergirl couldn't be made any more complicated after she was reinvented as a shape-shifting artificial life-form from a parallel universe were proven wrong after Peter David bonded her with a Satan-worshiping teenage girl and then turned them both into an angel.

In that same spirit, Peter David introduced a new Comet. This Comet appeared, at first, to be a Sepiroth clone with horse-legs and ice-control powers. It was never revealed if he had any other horse-like anatomy, though it was presumed that if he did this would go a long way toward explaining just why Supergirl seemed to fall head over heels for him in record time.

But it turned out that the truth was far more complicated and far more stupid than any "hung-like-a-horse" joke.

The truth was that Comet was another angel - just like Supergirl. An angel who had been formed by the fusion of a Hispanic lesbian stand-up comic and an unfortunate jockey turned superhero, who had been trampled to near-death by a horse, given the powers and partial anatomy of a horse by a super-villain group and then died on one of his first missions after rebelling against the villains and setting out to become a superhero.

Oh, and did I mention that this angel had the power to control the force of Love? And that he/she/it used to make Supergirl fall in love with he/she/it?

Yeah. Yeah.



1. Marcus Danvers

Creepy Because Of: Mind Control/Rape/Forced Pregnancy/Incest

You can read a summary of this story elsewhere. It appeared in Avengers #200 and is easily the sickest thing I've ever seen, by far. Oedipal doesn't begin to describe it.

The short version is that Marcus is the son of Carol Danvers (aka Ms. Marvel) and that Marcus...

a) was the result of his father - the villain Immortus - using his vast powers to create a pocket dimension, where he took as a mate a woman who could have been Ms. Marvel's twin. Despite being a virtual god, he still couldn't get laid without using machines to mind-control his chosen lady.

b) was left to his own devices in the pocket dimension after his dad erased himself from time (don't ask) and - with an idealized image of what his mom had been like and no moral guidance to tell him otherwise - he decided to use dear old dad's machines in order to do as dad had done and mind-control a woman into sleeping with him.

c) made arrangements for his chosen woman (Carol Danvers) to be impregnated WITH him, making her both his mother and his lover.

d) mind-controlled her into becoming a submissive bimbo who was ready to follow him back to their his pocket dimension.

What truly made this story horrible is that all the rest of the Avengers found out about this and not a damn one of them did ANYTHING when Carol announced her intent to leave Earth forever to go and stay with her son/lover forever.

Looking To The Stars: The Future of DC

Just when I try and get out, they pull me back in.

No, I'm not still going on about my job with the comic store. I'm talking about DC Comics. My abandonment of most of Marvel Comics is well known by this point. And with all the upcoming news about bold new directions and characters dying and bland non-specific hype coming out of DC recently, I wasn't seeing myself buying much more from DC either.

And then came the good news. A whole spattering of good news, in fact. Good news that has assured me that I won't be completely turning into an indy comics guy anytime soon.

1. Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns writing Superman.

I've never been a big Superman fan. As a kid, I always preferred the more cerebral heroes who didn't punch their way through everything. And back then, Superman didn't do much but punch his way through every little thing. More recently, but rarely, many writers have been able to balance the simplicity of Truth, Justice and the American way with more complex storylines that tested Superman's spirit as well as his muscles. And with two of the writers who are the absolute best at maintaining the mix of Silver Age sensibility with modern storytelling at the helm, it looks like Superman will be a very good book to recommend to new readers when the new Superman movie hits the big screen this summer.

2. James Robinson on Batman.

My favorite Batman story of all time is a little story called Blades. Barely a story about Batman at all, the focus is upon a new Gotham vigilante dubbed The Cavalier who winds up teaching an inexperienced Bruce Wayne something about good intentions and heroism. It was the first thing I ever read by a writer who would quickly become one of my favorites and the indirect source of my nickname.

So it is with a good deal of joy that I can note that Starman author James Robinson, after an extended stay in Hollywood, is apparently returning back to DC to write not one, but two titles; Batman and Detective Comics. Batman has suffered from some truly horrible writing in the last two years and I haven't bought a Batman book since the time when Jean Paul Valley was still up and kicking because of it. So yeah... I'll be giving both these titles a shot.

3. Ron Marz on Ion.

Longtime readers will know that it was Green Lantern, and Kyle Rayner in specific, that got me into reading comics as an adult. Now as much as I am loving Geoff Johns bringing the GLC back, and what he is doing with all the characters... I've been kind of sad seeing Kyle shoved to a supporting role, even if he does hold a post as teacher in The New Corps. And a lot of people, who STILL can't get over the fact that Kyle still draws breath even though they have Hal back in a position as a respected hero AND a Green Lantern, are still insisting that Kyle will die during Infinite Crisis.

So here, in order, is my news for anyone who is a fan of Kyle Rayner.

GOOD: Kyle will be surviving Crisis.

BETTER: Kyle will be getting his own solo title under the nom de plume Ion.

BEST: Ron Marz is coming back to write it.

In short: Eat it, H.E.A.T.!

4. Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes.

On that note, not only is the new, non-confusing REAL Supergirl going to survive Infinite Crisis...

Not only will her book be continuing...

But she will be getting a second title, apparently paired with The Legion.

Hmmm... come to think of it, isn't Superboy Prime still alive and kicking and just begging to go to a place where heroism as an ideal is very much needed?

I'm not suggesting anything here... save that this may be a very good time to be an old-school Silver Age comics fan.

5. Keith Giffen on Blue Beetle.

Rumored for a while, but now confirmed. Glad to see there's still some room at DC for a little levity. I'd hate to have the only thing I see from Giffen be the amusing, but impossible for me to get at my store Defenders.

So yes. I'll be around a while longer. Much to the chagrin of El Editor Grande Daron, who will be quite disappointed to know that despite his predictions of doom last week, I did not get a single bit of hate mail in the past week over my statement that Gail Simone has the best grasp of the Ollie Queen/Dinah Lance relationship of any writer at DC and that anyone who dares disagree with me is arguing against solid fact, not opinion.

Hey that wasn't Daron, that was ME, your most vertical editor, Kevin S Mahoney! I write in a thick blue font, very unlike Daron's!


But more on that, and how Gail has indirectly made my life as a Green Arrow enthusiast much more difficult, next time...

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.

Looking To The Stars: Whole Bunches Of Reviews!

This past week was, according to many sources, the biggest week for new comic releases in the past two years. Now, I know a lot of us didn’t have the time or the money to pick up everything and not everyone is as fortunate as I am to work in a comic shop where I get a chance to browse through almost everything on a weekly basis. So in order to keep you all in the know, here’s some quick thoughts on what comics were worth getting and what comics should be avoided at all cost.

Action Philosophers #3
One book everyone should be reading that has, thankfully, been renewed past its’ initial four-issue engagement. This is the “Self Help for Stupid Ugly Losers” issue, detailing the lives of psychological philosophers such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. You can read some free previews at http://www.eviltwincomics.com/ap.html
Score: 8 out of 10.

Adventures of Superman #644
Superman and Zatanna team up to take on Toyman, whom it turns out was also altered by Zatanna’s magic when the League was “fixing” villains. Not essential to the on-going plot of Infinite Crisis, but a good story nonetheless.
Score: 6 out of 10.

Amazing Spider-Man #524
A Spider-Man comic with very little Spider-Man, we take a break from the action to set-up the next big storyline and resolve the plot with Mary Jane making the tabloids. JMS continues to be the only writer on a regular monthly title who seems to have ANY idea of how to write Peter Parker in the wake of his joining The Avengers.
Score: 8 out of 10.

Batman #645
Okay. So Leslie Thompkins is a murderer. Alfred has apparently been killing people for years to protect his young master’s secret. Dick Grayson has gone to the dark side in a rather vague timeline that continues to defy easy classification. Hush was teamed with a brand new Clayface. And Jason Todd is back from the dead. Is there any way the Bat books could become any more convoluted? I’ll save you the money on this one: Jason Todd was never apparently buried in the first place. Drawn out, pointless and more confusing than Chinese algebra.
Score: 4 out of 10, and that’s only for the art.

Daredevil #77
Ever read Stan Lee’s Spider-Man? How about Frank Miller’s Daredevil, particularly “Born Again”? Apparently, Brian Michael Bendis hasn’t. Spare you the fine details but the plot in the book right now handily ignores a good deal of back story involving The Kingpin and his criminal record and is pushing the idea that despite countless people who could easily send Wilson Fisk up the river, the Feds have NOTHING on him and are ready to set him free so they can put away Matt Murdock for vigilantism.
Score: 3 out of 10, again only for the art.

Defenders #3
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Hulk am… exhausted! Starman am… amused!
Score: 8 out of 10.

Fantastic Four #531
Scratch my earlier statement. JMS is the only writer on a monthly title at Marvel who seems to have any idea of how to characterize ANYONE.
Score: 8 out of 10.

Flash #226
I miss Geoff Johns already. Blah on all fronts.
Score: 3 out of 10.

JLA #119
Leave it to Geoff Johns to be the one writer to come up with a truly credible reason why Batman would fly totally off the handle regarding the JLA dabbling with mind-alteration outside of the generic “I am the dark and moody knight” spiel that keeps getting hammered and hammered and hammered into us. The secret ingredient is love, kids!
Score: 9 out of 10.

JLA Classified #12
Worst book all week. The art’s crap and Warren Ellis either has no clue how to write the Justice League or has no interest in doing so properly. The whole thing reads like a rejected Authority script with all the personality and humor sucked out, which, given that Ellis reportedly had more than a few of his scripts rejected during his run, is not too far out a suggestion.
Score: 0 out of 10.

Legion of Superheroes #10
The plot thickens. A generation unites. And a Legionnaire dies! The best Legion in years.
Score: 8 out of 10.

Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere #4
With Mirrormask out in theaters this Friday and the new book Anansi Boys also out, it would be easy for this Mike Carey adaptation of the famous Neil Gaiman TV series to get missed. That would be a crime, because even if the master didn’t pen this one himself, it is a worthy tribute to the original.
Score: 7 out of 10.

New Avengers #11
Aside from one page of artwork suggesting that somebody with a MAJOR father complex (wink wink) is the mystery ninja, there is nothing to suggest that the mystery ninja is anyone BUT the person that we all knew the mystery ninja was supposed to be. Either way, I can’t be bothered to care. Go reread the first few issues of The Tick instead of this “Ronin” storyline. At least that one was MEANT to be cheesy and funny.
Score: 2 out of 10.

OMAC Project #6
A rushed, clichéd sci-fi cop-out ending. So we’re supposed to believe that when they were designing the OMACs, it never occurred to anyone to make the Nanites EMP proof? Given the number of heroes who could generate an EMP that seems a little unlikely. Then again, so has most of this series. Still, we get to see Hal Jordan verbally pimp-slap Batman again, so it’s not totally worthless.
Score: 4 out of 10.

Plastic Man #18
The greatest book in the world that nobody is reading. Shame really, as this issue boasts one of the best bits of superhero satire in months. Pick it up before it disappears.
Score: 8 out of 10.

Red Sonja #2
The only book to come out this week that was over a month late and worth the wait, if only for the expanded page-count. I’d gladly sacrifice the alternate covers (a gimmick this book does not need) in order to get this out on a more regular basis. Incidentally, for the intellectual sorts out there who refuse to buy any book with multiple-covers of pin-up art? Don’t judge a book by its’ cover; this book is a fitting companion to Dark Horse’s Conan book.
Score: 9 out of 10.

Sentry #1
While Romita Jr.’s art continues to degenerate into a dark sloppy parody of Frank Miller, at least we can depend on Paul Jenkins to write a decent script. I wasn’t a big fan of the original Sentry series well written though it was, but at least this book stays true to the form of the original.
Score: 6 out of 10.

Spider-Man:House of M #4
I’m still not sure what the heck happened to Peter in this book, but I still think this is one of the better things to come out of House of M. And I love the irony that Peter’s alternate life is being saved by the three people whose lives he failed to save.
Score: 6 out of 10.

Superman/Batman #22
Me am so not confused by Bizzaro and Batzarro dialogue. Me am not loving shameless mockery of team who is NOT The Ultimates.
Score: 7 out of 10.

Ultimate Iron Man #4
You know, as charming as Orson Scott Card’s soap opera villains were when I was a kid reading Ender’s Game, they just don’t do anything in a book that is aimed at older readers.
Score: 4 out of 10.

Ultimate Secret #3
What if they threw an alien invasion and nobody cared? Saved from being the most pointless book of the week by two things; the decent art and the fact that as boring as this book is, at least everyone sounds somewhat in character as they sit around talking and not doing anything. Well, everyone except Thor who is now buying beer for minors and talking about the true warrior spirit despite being a peace-loving hippie in the Ultimate universe.
Score: 3 out of 10.

Finally, if you haven’t seen Serenity yet, go forth and do so! I was just introduced to the amazing universe of Firefly this weekend by some friends and this sci-fi movie is (for once) actually accessible to someone who knows NOTHING about the TV series. So you have no excuses, apart from not being able to afford the ticket, to not give this movie a shot.