Wow. Honestly, Tom Taylor is recapturing some of the magic that we lost as Robinson rushed to wrap up some plots before he left the series. In a way, we're seeing the fight with Darkseid that we missed the first time, since this series started with the end of the last fight with him. At this stage, the mysteries left unsolved -- like what Sam's connection to weapons dealers was or where Kanto, the Assassin of Apokolips, is -- no longer feel as urgent. We need to get through the Darkseid invasion and then we'll worry about the rest.
But, it doesn't mean that we're left mystery-less just focusing on the fight with Darkseid. After all, we still don't know who Batman is. This Batman says that he should've been there when the other Batman died, giving the impression that he's Earth-2's Robin (be it Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, or Damian Wayne). But, when Lois calls him "Bruce," he doesn't seem to recognize the name, calling into question whether he really has any connection to the original Batman. Moreover, he tells Major Sato that the original Batman thought highly of her, something that she reveals may have been a bluff when she declares that she never met the original Batman. So, we still don't know who he is or what motivates him. (All that said, shooting the Joker through the head certainly implies the sort of personal grudge that a Robin would have.)
We also don't know what inspired Superman's heel turn. We do discover that Darkseid may have had the capacity to re-invade Earth this entire time, though I'm not really sure where that leaves us vis-à-vis "Earth 2" #15.1. Desaad seemed unable to open a Boom Tube in that issue, though we did learn that someone called the Tunneler (who presumably can open Tubes) was connected to Michael Holt and Superman does activate the gates in this issue when he locks down Holt. But, how all those plots fit together exactly is still a mystery. Moreover, it's still unclear where the Atom, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl are, not to mention Big Barda and Mr. Miracle.
But, it's not all mysteries. We do also get some meaningful action here. Flash proves himself the hero of the bunch when he hurls a rock at Superman's head to buy the World Army time to evacuate its headquarters. Their race teases out their characters, with Flash displaying a naive hope when he tells Superman that he had a poster of him on his wall and Superman a callous humor when he breaks Flash's ankle and tells him that it's always nice to meet a fan. Moreover, we're reminded that everything is on the table here in a way that it's not in the mainstream titles. When I saw Khan with a pole through his gut, I worried that he'd wind up dead, something that wouldn't happen to a major character in the DCnU without me knowing about it beforehand. Taylor seems to get the excitement that comes with that, perhaps even better than Robinson did. In that way, you wonder if Flash's broken ankle might end his superhero career. I doubt it, but, just the fact that it could happen reminds you of the stakes that this title is able to raise.
It's really anyone's guess where we go from here. But, it's a relief to be focused on a narrower set of questions that directly connect to the plot at hand while at the same time reading an author no longer in a rush to tell a story. It's nice to be excited about this series again and see Robinson's great work be respected.
**** (four of five stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment