Justice League #3: I'm having a problem with almost all the "New 52!" series where I can barely remember what happened in the previous issue. For example, I don't remember Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Superman battling winged-monkey cyborgs, but I know they fought something, so I could be wrong. Plus, something attacked Victor, so I'm assuming it was the winged-monkey cyborgs. (You'd think winged-monkey cyborgs would be a little more memorable.) Despite this problem, Johns and Lee give us some great moments here. I thought everything involving Diana was great, from her sharing an ice-cream cone with the little girl to her meeting the other superheroes for the first time. I also loved the buddy story we essentially have with the guys, with Bruce badgering Green Lantern to concentrate, Flash expressing shock that Bruce doesn't have powers (and informing us he thought Bruce was a vampire), and Hank getting jealous after everyone marvels at Superman using the truck like a baseball bat. Other moments are less great. I thought Aquaman's arrival was a little ho-hum and I'm still confused by the exact nature of Victor's "Promethium skin graft." (It seems like his dad just magically had on hand the right pieces for the exact parts of Victor's body that got burnt. To be fair, I'm not sure how Cyborg originally got his cyborg parts, so maybe Johns isn't deviating too far from Cybor's origin story here. At any rate, though, it seemed overly convenient that Victor wasn't killed in the attack and that his dad knew just how to fix him.) Looking ahead, it appears that Victor now has some sort of link to Darkseid, so I'm assuming next issue the team is going to find him and take the fight to Darkseid. One of the problems with this arc is that, knowing that it happened five years ago, I'm impatient for it to end so we can see how they all interact now. I'm particularly intrigued to see where we leave matters with Darkseid and how it sets up -- or doesn't set up -- the events of "Final Crisis." Although I understand Johns taking his time getting the chance to re-tell the origin of the Justice League, something no one else has really gotten to do, he still needs to keep the story interesting enough to make me not want to hit the fast-forward button.
Superboy #3: Another "meh." Another "I don't really remember what happened last issue and I don't really care enough to go look." I realized halfway through this issue that I need to divorce myself from the idea that I'm reading about Conner Kent, the former Superboy. Although this Superboy may technically be a rebooted Conner, he's not the Conner we knew, the somewhat confused but seriously earnest young man trying to overcome his troubled legacy to make a better world. However, the problem is, if I'm not reading about the old Conner Kent, then why am I reading this series at all? I can't say I'm particularly interested in the new Conner Kent or his struggles. The original "Superboy" series' first few issues did a great job covering similar ground, Conner learning about life outside the tube, while still delivering a fun read. This series is just pretty grim. I also can't say I'm all that interested in "Red" or her powers. I hate to say it, but I'd say this series is the first one on the chopping block for the DCnU for me. I'm giving all the DCnU series until issue #5 to convince me, but I don't know if this one can do that. We'll see, I guess.
Teen Titans #3: [Sigh.] OK, I didn't dislike this issue exactly. I enjoyed Bunker and Red Robin's banter. I laughed when Kid Flash remembered he needed to go to the bathroom when he started unfurling the fire hose. I'm still intrigued by N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s plans for teenage metahumans. But, Lobdell is relying WAY too much on coincidences to make me feel like I'm reading a well scripted story. I mean, Red Robin himself notes that it seems a stretch to believe that Bunker happened upon him by coincidence. As I've said before and will likely unfortunately say again, I don't consider having your character acknowledge how ridiculous your plot is to be an excuse for having a ridiculous plot in the first place. I also don't remember seeing Bunker on television in issue #1, as I'm told we did, so I'm confused why Red Robin thinks he's working for N.O.W.H.E.R.E. (Of course, Bunker working for N.O.W.H.E.R.E. would be the only understandable reason why he winds up "stumbling" upon Red Robin, since, if he is working for N.O.W.H.E.R.E., he was likely sent to find him.) I'm excited to see how the fight with Superboy goes next issue, but, honestly, something needs to happen in this series soon, or I'm thinking, sadly, it's also on the chopping block.
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