Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The July 19 DC Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #27:  Um, OK.  I mean, I'm not saying Kite Man's story isn't suitably tragic.  His genuine panic over not knowing the difference between a joke and a riddle shows us how outclassed the street-level criminals feel in the expanding war between Joker and Riddler.  It displays how the nuance they see in their war go over the heads of everyone else.  But, Kite Man?  Seriously?  He doesn't really convey the gravitas King wants us to feel about this war.  Plus, he's weirdly flip at the end when he reveals himself to Joker, as if he's just a thug looking to set up an enemy  and not a guy looking for revenge against the man (Riddler) who killed his son.  I don't really understand King's decision to take us on this detour.  So far he hasn't really shown us a street-level view of the war; most issues have been long narrative sequences accompanied by images that hint at the details of the war.  As such, it's weird that our first real look at the war occurs in such a remote corner of it.

Nightwing #25:  I admit I don't totally understand how Clock King's time vest works, but I guess I should just let it go.  Suffice it to say, Dick wins the battle by using said vest to save the criminals from the bomb Blockbuster planted on Tiger Shark's ship, but loses the war as Blockbuster takes control of Tiger Shark's criminal empire after all those aforementioned criminals flee Blüdhaven.  It's clear Tiger Shark has a solid plan, but Dick's response is equally solid:  he finally finds a job, as a croupier at the casino Blockbuster "inherited" from Tiger Shark.  But, he loses Shawn in the process; he finds the job only after she leaves him for not putting his feet on the ground.  That said, Seeley implies it might only be a short-term break, as Pigeon seems to be influencing this decision.  After all, it seems hard to believe she'd break off the relationship after one fight, so hopefully we'll see them reunited soon.

The Wild Storm #6:  Marlowe gives Angie a fairly skewed version of the rivalry between IO and Skywatch here, noting IO would love to have the transportation technology on Earth Skywatch has in space and Skywatch would love for Earth to serve as its supply station if IO would let it.  But, Skywatch owns the sky and IO runs Earth, so they can't accomplish what they want to accomplish.  Angie reveals she knows Kenesha isn't human, and Jacob reveals he isn't one either.  He tells her their safehouse is the place where people who don't belong live, and he asks her to join his effort to stop IO and Skywatch.  Angie is hopefully smart enough to realize Halo likely isn't an altruistic organization, even if we're not entirely sure what Marlowe's angle is yet.  Separately, Mike agrees to Trelane's offer for him to join Skywatch after successfully defeating the Wetworks team Miles sent to kill him.  (He also wisely negotiates for a new apartment with security as well as medical treatment and a new team.)  Meanwhile, Bendix's assistant points out Angie's suit has a "Breslau II counter-detection system," making him realize her drysuit has technology stolen from him.  I'll admit I was a little confused here, because I thought the entire premise of Miles' anger at Angie was the fact she revealed IO stole the drysuit from Skywatch.  But, Bendix and his assistant make a distinction between "unauthorized" and "stolen" technology, implying some parts of the drysuit contain technology Angie wasn't authorized to have (though maybe IO was) and other parts contain technology no one is authorized to have (presumably the Breslau II system).  I doubt we're going to get a better insight into this distinction given Bendix's response:  to rain fire from heaven.