Not-So-New Comics: The January 24 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Avengers #677:  The authors keep up the pace admirably in this issue.  Just before the explosion hit, Voyager managed to teleport the team to a back-up Avengers headquarters Tony Stark built in the early days of the Avengers.  It provides Toni Ho with a place to work, and she goes about setting up a communications system from fiber-optic cables and TV towers.  Meanwhile, we get our first sight of the actual combatants, as the Grandmaster and a mysterious figure choose from a set of pyramid-shaped objects; Grandmaster chooses earth and the other figure chooses fire.  On Earth, columns of blazing light appear in Cuzco and Rome, and Sam and Rogue put together teams to address the threats.  Cuzco is facing a firestorm, so Sam takes Torch, Red Hulk, Synapse, and Wonder Man.  Meanwhile, a group of “aliens” the team mistakes for the Black Order appears in Rome, so Rogue chooses "heavy-hitters:"  Thor, Hercules, Lightning, and Cannonball.  Dr. Voodoo and Wanda decide to stay to investigate the heroes in stasis, and Quicksilver fumes over Rogue not choosing him.  We’re then treated to one of the funniest sequences of all time when Sam defends his selection as a “heavy-hitter” because he’s “nigh vulnerable when...” and Quicksilver begs him to stop since he’s known him since he was in shortpants.  Rogue’s team arrives in Rome and takes on the Lethal Legion, which makes quick work of them.  Quicksilver arrives to help just as Voodoo and Wanda’s attempt to “unpause” the Vision works.  But, it pauses Quicksilver, and the Blood Brothers seize the moment to pound on him.  Meanwhile, Sam and his team arrive in Cuzco to find other members of the Lethal Legion taking on the Black Order.  In other words, it's all pretty epic.

Detective Comics #973:  From the moment Batwoman’s father gave her the gun capable of killing Clayface, it was pretty clear she was going to have to use it.  But, Tynion does a solid job in making that not seem a foregone conclusion (even though it was), as the Belfry team tries everything it can to save us from the inevitable.  In the end, though, you’re left with the sense Clayface himself wanted it this way.  After Cass injects him with the serum Dr. October developed, he’s appalled by the havoc he’s wrecked and the lives he’s taken in his rage.  Cass tries to convince him he’s a good person, but Clayface refuses to hear it; he realizes he doesn’t get a happy ending.  (In "Detective Comics Annual" #1, "monsters" not getting a happy ending is a theme.)  After all, no one has an answer for the actual problem, namely that he’s absorbed too much clay after the Mud Room collapsed on him.  Even Dr. October’s serum can’t account for the added mass.  So, Kate takes the shot, and we’re going to see where the chips fall now.  With the Belfry destroyed, Tim’s realized his dream is dead.  Tynion made sure to show us how important that dream was to him, as we see in a flashback him telling Batman it was the only time he really felt like he belonged in Gotham.  It nicely sets up the conflict between Tim and Batwoman that Future Tim predicted.  Meanwhile, Lonnie turns on the First Victim for using the protesters as cannon fodder and flees Gotham.  But, before he does so, he gives Spoiler a thumbdrive with clues he’s assembled about the First Victim’s origin.  All in all, Tynion wisely takes out a few irons before adding new ones to the fire.  It helps you feel like you're getting a glimpse into the chaotic lives these characters live, opposed to other series where it feels like you jump from isolated arc to isolated arc.

Doomsday Clock #3: We’re still tracking a bunch of stories here, so I’ll group them together for convenience's sake:

- For reasons we’re not told, Dr. Manhattan moved the Comedian to the DCU (or DCnU, I'm still not sure) before hit the ground after Veidt threw him from the window in the original "Watchmen."  (Wouldn't Veidt be curious why he didn't splatter?)  It seems pretty clear he did so to use him against Veidt, since the Comedian knew exactly when to meet Veidt at Luthor’s HQ.  If so, it seems to mean Manhattan knows Veidt's plan and doesn't want to be found.  Veidt and the Comedian spar, and the Comedian eventually throws Veidt out the window (just as Veidt did to him).  Veidt manages to break his fall, but he’s arrested (in his comatose state, presumably) for the attempted assassination on Luthor, who survived.

- Rorschach gives Batman Korvac’s journal.  We learn Rorschach's family died in Veidt’s attack on New York, so he’s appalled he’s working with him.  After Alfred shows Rorschach to a room while Bruce makes his way through the diary, Rorschach scrubs his head in the shower until it bleeds, trying to scrub away the stain of Veidt.  Rorschach dreams of being stuck in traffic desperate to get to his parents the moment the alien arrives in New York, and it seems the monster's psychic assault is responsible for his mania.  Bruce awakens him from his dream, telling him he knows where Manhattan is.  But, Bruce just really leads him to an empty cell in Arkham Asylum, telling him he belongs there.  (Cold, Bruce. Cold.)

- In a returning motif, a man waits in a nursing home for his daughter and son-in-law to arrive on Christmas Eve while the other residents watch an old black-and-white film.  It stars Carver Colman as gumshoe Nathaniel Dusk.  The case involves a cop’s brother-in-law who was murdered while playing chess with another man.  It’s unclear which one of them was the target of the attack.  A guard at Arkham is also watching the movie, and he tells a friend that one of them was actually a murderer.  (The friend tells him not to spoil it for him.)  Meanwhile, in the annex, we learn Colman "in real life" was beaten to death with the Oscar he won.  In investigating the crime scene, the detectives found a hidden room full of clocks and watches as well as a letter from Colman's mother blackmailing him.  He had told a story of being a simple farm boy who left for Hollywood full of dreams but that story was obviously untrue (particularly given his mother's mob ties).  At this point, it's unclear to me why Johns included this part of the story, but I'm sure we'll see.

- Marionette and the Mime go to a bar, and one of the gang members there threatens her for dressing like the Joker.  She doesn’t recognize the name, and a fight ensues.  I have to say, Frank does a brilliant job here.  We get a hint of sunlight reflecting off the "gun" the Mime fires at the gangster holding Marionette, the only hint he’s actually touching item when he mimes them.

I'm still not sure where we're going, but Johns and Frank make the right call keeping this issue more focused on the "Watchmen" characters and less on the DCU ones.  I found the use of Superman extremely jarring in issue #1 where Batman barely registers here.  Once Johns really starts integrating the two worlds we'll see how happy I am.

Nightwing:  The New Order #5-#6:  I'm not sure what story Higgins wanted to tell here.  

First things first, he does a solid job wrapping up the story.  We learn Superman killed Batman under the influence of Black Kryptonite, and it’s the reason Dick detonated the device to remove everyone’s powers.  After he and the Titans successfully break out Jake, they flee to Metropolis, where a depowered Clark is working with Lex Luthor to try to reverse the bomb’s effects.  They believe Jake's DNA possesses the key for Lex to fashion a cure (for reasons I don't know if Higgins every reveals).  But, once Jake donates his blood, Dick is furious Jake has agreed to stay with the Titans and not flee with him.  He calls in Kate and uses a device to induce sleep in Jake; Kate allows them to escape as she and the Crusaders assault the Titans’ HQ.  After awakening, Jake tearfully laments he couldn’t support Dick the way Dick did Bruce, where he (Dick) reminded Batman that the world still had light.  It inspires Dick to have a change of heart just as Luthor is able to repower Clark.  However, Lex has an ace up his sleeve (obviously); he’s created a bomb that will give everyone superpowers.  Unfortunately, it’ll destroy Metropolis in the process.  (Of course it will.)  Jake calls everyone to arms to stop the bomb, and they manage to do so.  Huzzah

If the book ended here, I'd be OK with it.  It wouldn't have been the most scintillating mini-series ever, but it would've told a coherent, contained story.  However, the epilogue confuses the story I thought Higgins was telling.  For some reason, this incident results in the undoing of the power restrictions; the Crusaders stay in place to keep metahumans in check, but for the most part restrictions on their activities and movements are removed.  Conversely, I could see this event reminding everyone why they put the restrictions in place in the first place.  After all, whether they intended to do so or not, the "heroes'" shenanigans almost destroy Metropolis.  Moreover, we get a personal happy ending here — with Jake graduating from college with his parents at his side and naming his infant son after his father, the best man he’s ever known — that feels woefully unwon.  Part of what I liked about this series was that Dick was a complicated and conflicted character; it seemed to undermine the narrative by turning him into a paragon of virtue.  After all, Jake didn't raise an eyebrow that his father happily put people like him into stasis for years?  He also just suddenly forgave his mother after her absence from his life for years?

All in all, I'm not sure I can recommend this mini-series.  It's an intriguing idea, but Higgins just muddies the waters with the random happy ending.

Phoenix Resurrection:  The Return of Jean Grey #4:  OK, now we’re getting somewhere.  The team enters the egg and encounters a group of dead X-Men.  Older Hank comes to the conclusion the Phoenix created this world as an incubator for Jean.  It's realized only Jean works as a host, but it bumbled its previous attempts to control Jean, so it's trying to get it right time.  It fits with Jean’s conversation with Annie earlier in this issue that she had a dream she was a goddess and the goddess was tying to prepare her for something (as we saw last issue).  Kitty hypothesizes the Phoenix lured the X-Men into the egg because it wants a fight to finish Jean’s conversion into the Phoenix (in a violence-begets-violence kind of way).  Younger Hank wonders if the manifestations in the real world weren’t Jean trying to send a warning to the X-Men.  Kitty suggests they send in someone to talk to Jean, to try to convince her not to succumb to the violence.  Young Scott offers to go, but Logan tells him that Jean isn’t the Jean he loves: it’s the Jean he loves.  Kitty reminds Logan he’ll have to kill Jean if she starts to become the Phoenix, and he confirms he knows.  I have to say, Rosenberg really nails down one of the key questions this miniseries had to answer with the Phoenix finally realizing only Jean will do.  It answers the “why now?” question:  it’s time because the Phoenix has explored other options (as we saw in “Avengers vs. X-Men”) and has now settled on Jean.  But, I’m curious to see if that means Jean is going to somehow be able to control the Phoenix?  I guess we'll see.

The Wild Storm #11:  Man, this series gets creepier and creepier.

- The Doctor and Jennie Sparks are lying in bed together (yay!), and Jennie tells the Doctor IO and Skywatch are going to go to war.  She sought out the Doctor because she believed she’d be one of the few people like her on the side of the human race.  The Doctor asks if there are others like them, and Jennie says there are; the Doctor suggests they go find them.

- Mitch and his team reveal they have a plan for stealing information from Skywatch.  They obviously can’t launch any more satellites into orbit, because it’s not part of the Treaty with Skywatch.  But, they plan on using the satellites' "information exchanges" against them.  (I think.)  They'll fake a global hack of satellite communications, flooding Skywatch with North Korean bots and slipping in an infiltration package amidst the bots.  The package would then steal the information it needs, and then be ejected with the bots as Skywatch's defenses expel them.  (I couldn't help but think of the "float away with the rest of the garbage" line from "Empire Strikes Back.")  The incursions' goal seems to be confirming Cole and his wild C.A.T. are working for Skywatch, an obvious breach of the Treaty.  They plan on using that information to essentially offset IO’s theft of the Breslau suit; in other words, they're trying to equal a wrong with a wrong.  Miles OKs the plan.  (Of course he does.)

- The Ginger, as Henry calls her, asks Bendix why he’s so eager to break the Treaty, since it means exposing IO and Skywatch to an unsuspecting public.  Henry acknowledges that it would be a disaster for the public to learn that all these agencies have medicine and technology they don’t have, particularly given humanity outnumbers them.  Bendix then reminisces somewhat fondly when the two sides came close to war before, when Skywatch attacked a science city IO was operating with the USSR because it was building launch facilities (something the Treaty didn't allow them to do).  It was supposed to have been a non-casualty event according to Bendix, but it’s hard to believe that, as we see their ships were armed to the teeth.  The city fired on the incoming ships, and Skywatch returned fire, leaving only 35 people alive of the 20,000 who lived there.  One of the survivors, to Henry’s regret, was John Lynch, the IO director.

- At Halo, Angie perfects her suit due to Marlowe’s facilities, though ominously has some leftover liquid after taking out the suit and reconstructing it.  (I’m sure that’s not significant at all:  just “leftover screws,” as Angie says.)  Meanwhile, Kenesha is planning their incursion into IO when Cole gets a call.  He meets Zealot on a rooftop, and she warns him IO knows he’s alive and believes he’s working with Skywatch.  He says that’s insane, but she notes he has a teleporter so it’s not so crazy.  Cole asks for more information, grabbing Lucy’s arm, and she reminds him she taught him pretty much everything he knows about combat.  He backs off a bit, and she tells him to remind Marlowe she has a code and to say hi to Kenesha.

X-Men:  Blue #20: As everyone says in this issue, we’re dealing with a time-travel story, so everything I write here is going to be complicated.  The X-Men make short work of the Brotherhood, primarily because Hank pulls in the previous teams they’ve met — X-Men 2099, Generation X, etc. — to help.  The Brotherhood flees, and the kids reunite with a now-freed Professor Xavier.  Xavier explains how he sent a post-temporal suggestion through the timestream once he realized the Brotherhood’s plan, which is why Magneto built the time machine.  The kids point out time has changed, since the original Brotherhood are now dead in the past (murdered by the future Brotherhood posing as the X-Men).  But, when they return to the future, the original Brotherhood isn’t dead.  Jean takes it as confirmation Xavier was right when he said it means the children are destined to return to the past the exact moment they left, as if they never left.  It’s the only way to explain why the present (their future) doesn’t change due to their presence in the present.  They’re all bummed by that, particularly Bobby, who would be destined to remain in the closet for at least another decade if they return to the past.  It’s definitely an interesting open question I'm intrigued to see them explore.  Bunn doesn’t just end there, though.  Magneto uses the time machine to catch the future Brotherhood trying to return, and Bunn implies Magneto kills them.  It raises the question what happens to the team and Magneto now that the main point of his desire to work with him seems to be resolved.

Also Read: Amazing Spider-Man #794; Marvel 2-in-One #2; X-Men:  Blue Annual #1

Not-So-New Comics: The September 27 Non-Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman:  The Murder Machine #1:  So far these "Dark Nights: Metal" tie-in issues haven't been too bad, despite my initial skepticism.  In this issue, Tieri contemplates a pretty compelling "What if..." scenario, as Bruce is desperate to resurrect Alfred after Bane and a bunch of criminals kill him looking for Batman.  Cyborg helps Bruce complete and launch an artificial-intelligence version of Alfred, but they quickly lose control as Alfred starts eliminating everyone "he" deems a threat to Bruce.  (It's a long list.)  Cyborg begs Bruce to destroy "Alfred," but he can't bring himself to do it.  He's quickly overrun, joining with "Alfred" to become the titular murder machine.  He comes to our world for the same reason every other Dark Batman did, furious his Earth was condemned to die when the Light Universe's Earths gets to live.  He makes short work of Cyborg in the Watchtower, allowing him access to S.T.A.R. Lab's computer system and thus Detroit.  (The Dark Batmen seem intent on destroying the Justice League members' home cities, for reasons I don't entirely understand.)  Not only is the plot solid, but Tieri really makes you feel like you're reading a story that could happen on "our" Earth.  The story is really anchored in the characters themselves, and this accurate characterization make the story intuitively believable.

Detective Comics #965:  OK, we have a lot going on here.  We open with Tim going over his origin story with his jailer, and Tynion outright ignores "Teen Titans" #0 in so doing.  Hurrah!  If you recall, that issue ret-conned Tim's origin so that Bruce wound up telling Tim he was Batman (as opposed to Tim deducing Bruce and Dick were Batman and Robin).  To underscore the point, Barrows essentially redraws parts of "A Lonely Place of Dying," making it clear the past is once again the past.  But, Tynion isn't just fanwanking us.  Tim has this discussion with Mr. Oz because Oz reminds him he believe Bruce needs people, the core tenet of "A Lonely Place of Dying."  Then, he tried to get Dick to return to Bruce's side to keep him from going over the edge; now, he created the Nest to achieve this goal.  But, Mr. Oz is skeptical Tim can leave it to someone else to play this role; he believes Tim needs to be actively involved and questions whether his decision to leave the team would stick.  But, we barely have time to process this discussion as Tynion reveals Mr. Oz is Jor-El.  However, Jor-El implies he wasn't really Tim's jailer as he, too, had been a prisoner in the place where Tim is held.  If I'm reading between the lines, he's telling us Dr. Manhattan imprisoned him.  Jor-El leaves to plot against (presumably) Dr. Manhattan (thus more or less confirming he wasn't really there to jail Tim, since he leaves him free).  Tim sends a distress signal to Gotham, and Batman answers it; Tim is surprised when he tells him to free him, since he's a prisoner, too.  Tim does so, but he encounters a Batman he didn't expect:  it's a future version of himself.  Before he left, Jor-El told Tim his future was dark and encouraged him to give up his costumed life, no matter how much it called to him.  It's easy to see why he felt that way, as this Tim is d-a-r-k:  he's even packing the gun that killed Thomas and Martha Wayne.  But, Tim may not have to worry about his destiny much longer, since they might both be dead soon:  Tim apparently not only freed his future self from his prison cell, but also Doomsday.  Dun-dun-DUN!  This series has been a little rocky lately, but I have to say Tynion reminds me why it's generally been my favorite Batman series on this stands for the past few years.  We have a plot working on multiple levels, enough action to balance out the talky bits, and insightful characterization that advances the story.  Great stuff from start to finish.

Nightwing:  The New Order #2:  This issue is similar to "Detective Comics" #965, as Higgins uses an excellent sense of the characters to advance the plot.  Jake has been hiding his powers from his father for close to three years, afraid his father would think he was "bad" since Jake understood his father saw superpowers as "bad."  Dick is devastated to learn from Mr. Terrific that inhibitors won't work, and Dick swears to Alfred he won't allow Jake to go into stasis.  He hopes to use his connections to get Jake an exemption and waved onto "the League," but it's too late:  Jake has clearly tripped the scanners, and the Crusaders appear at their door.  In the best moment, Alfred stands in front of Jake with a bat, refusing to let the Crusaders get to him (something his father didn't have the courage to do).  Dick pleads with Alfred to stand down, but Alfred refuses, saying they're in this mess because too many people have stood down.  Damn straight, Alfred.  One of the Crusaders kills Alfred and Dick is escorted from his home as his son is removed in chains.  Maybe siding with the Man wasn't such a great idea, huh, Dick?

Not-So-New Comics: The August 23 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Secret Empire #9:  Spencer does a solid job of keeping up the suspense here.  It's hard to get us on the edge of our seats the way he did in early issues, given it's pretty clear how the story is going to end:  the heroes will take on a Cube-powered Captain Nazi while Dream Steve convinces Kobik to restore him to reality.  But, the story unfolds well; I only had two nitpicks.  First, I would've loved some sort of chart showing which side possessed which shards.  I initially thought the heroes had two shards -- one from Ultron and one from the Savage Land -- but last issue they only seemed to have the Ultron one.  That said, I don't care that much; it's why a chart would've been helpful, since it would've been simple to understand the status quo.  (Instead, we get the weird "cast of characters" page that adds nothing to the story.)  Second, it's hard to believe Sam managed to free New York from the Darkforce Dimension and bring down the Shield with only one shard (assuming his use of the shard allowed those events to happen).  If true, you'd have to imagine Steve doesn't need some Cube-powered suit to take out the heroes.  He might not be able to rewrite history without the final shard, but it seems like he could easily just wish away his opponents.  At any rate, we are where we are.  Spencer includes some grace notes here, like Carol and Sam taking a moment to reflect on how fun it is to kick the HYDRA troops' asses.  But, for the most part, it's really about following the silver ball through the Rube Goldberg machine while we wait for Kobik to right her wrongs.

Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #6:  I love Peter David, and I'm willing to ride this one until the end with him.  However, I'm surprised I don't really have a great read on Ben Reilly as a character after six issues.  (Conversely, Miguel O'Hara was a fully formed character after just the first three-issue arc of the original "Spider-Man 2099" series.)  David portrays Ben as desperate:  he's trying to save Diva's daughter simply because he doesn't have a lot of great options when it comes to employment.  But, honestly, it's sort of hard to believe.  He could pretty easily just use his Spider-Powers to rob enough banks to set himself up nicely and then decide what he wants to do.  Instead, he just seems to be hanging around Vegas in search of a larger plan.  In other words, after six issues, I still don't get the core conceit of this series.  He's not wandering the country like an outlaw like he used to do or serving as a city's reluctant hero like Kaine did in Houston.  He's just...there.

Detective Comics #963:  I've mentioned previously it's sometimes hard to remember what changed from the DCU to the DCnU, particularly when it comes to Batman's continuity.  For the most part, everything stayed the same, except for some outrageous changes that DC wisely promptly ignored (like Joker manipulating Jason's life essentially from birth to Tim not figuring out Batman's identity).  However, sometimes the change feels more abrupt, as is the case here with Anarky.  Anarky was playing a key role in Fabian Nicieza's run on "Red Robin" when the DCU came to an end, and I think that version of the character is fresh in most of our minds.  Moreover, Buccellato and Manapul introduced a completely different character using that moniker in their own run on this title.  As such, it's hard to tell what character we're getting here.  I acknowledge I don't get all the Bat-family titles.  Maybe he's already debuted in "Red Hood and the Outlaws" or "Teen Titans" (or "Batgirl" since I stopped reading it).  But, it's this uncertainty that detracts from the story Tynion is trying to tell here.  I get why Spoiler would be attracted to Anarky in the abstract.  But, since it's impossible to know what this Anarky feels, it's also hard not to feel at least partially confused.

Iceman #4:  I really, really, really wanted Bobby to make out with Daken.  [Fan sigh.]  That said, something still isn't clicking for me and this series.  At times in this issue, it was an effort to make my way through the dialogue, something I don't think I should've felt given the sexually charged banter the fight between Bobby and Daken brought to the table.  But, I'm hoping Sina finds his groove in the same way I hope Bobby does.  Each issue feels like an improvement, and I'm hoping we'll really be cooking with gas (or, I don't know, freezing the lake?) in a few issues if it keeps improving.

Nightwing:  The New Order #1:  To use the cliché, Higgins leaves us with more questions than answers here, but so far it's a good thing.  First and foremost, Higgins doesn't tell us why Dick decided to turn against the metahuman community.  All we know is he activated a device that stripped 90 percent of metahumans of their powers; the remaining metahumans either were forced to take inhibiting drugs or, if they didn't work, imprisoned until a "cure" could be found.  It's a pretty serious shift to the fascist, and Higgins certainly has to explain how it happened at some point.  It appears Dick had a child with Starfire, so my original guess -- that a metahuman killed Barbara -- might not wind up being true.  Moreover, Alfred himself opposes Dick's approach -- particularly the indefinite detention of metahumans who don't respond to treatment -- making it even more unclear why Dick himself would take this position.  But, we also have the larger question:  why give us this series now?  Did Higgins just decide to launch this miniseries because he had the idea, or will we see either the themes or the outcomes of this miniseries impact the "real world?"  I'm intrigued.

Also Read:  Generations:  The Unworthy Thor and the Mighty Thor #1; Pathfinder:  Runescars #4; Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #3; Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra Annual #1; X-Men:  Gold #10