Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The April 5 Non-Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #20:  King takes us down memory lane here, as Bruce's mother (yes) narrates the developments of the last 19 issues for us and him.  According to Martha, Gotham and Gotham Girl offered him hope, opening the door to the possibility they could take over his role as defender of Gotham after he inevitably fell.  In other words, it all wouldn't end in flames when someone eventually defeated him.  But, Gotham (the city) got to them first, and now he's just trying to hang in there long enough to save Claire; she'll be the one to save him.  This "conversation" happens in Bruce's head as he starts to die from the beating he receives from Bane.  But, Bruce doesn't get a happy ending, living with his parents in a painless existence in the afterworld.  Bruce tells his mother he simply saved Claire because she needed saving; he's essentially beyond hoping for things like a secured legacy.  I buy that, but I have to say the dead-mother narration was a weird way of getting us there.  Moreover, Bruce delivers this position by way of a typical comic-book save:  he leaves his mother in the afterworld as he magically summons enough energy to defeat Bane, despite Bane having clearly overpowered him for most of the fight.  Combined, these two choice make the issue feel off-kilter, like it can't decide if it's an exploration of Bruce's motivations or a slugfest with his greatest opponent.  It unfortunately doesn't work as both.

Nightwing #18:  Seeley initially seems to give us a happy ending here, as Dollotron Robin inspires Dick and Damian to (wordlessly) accept how important the other one is to him and go after Shawn.  They travel to Pyg's studio in Paris, where they confront him as he's ready to cut out Shawn's supposed baby.  Seeley thankfully allows Shawn to escape from her fate as another victim of "Women in Refrigerators" syndrome as Damian frees her and she engages in ass-kicking of her own.  After defeating Pyg, Damian chases down Dollotron Robin, who he believes stole the Batmobile; instead, he finds himself enraged when he discovers Deathwing did it and killed Dollotron Robin.  Before we can reflect on Damian actually feeling something akin to grief for a child poorly treated at the hands of adults, Seeley kicks the story up a notch.  Actually, it's like 12 notches:  Pyg is revealed to be working for Dr. Simon Hurt, who engineered this entire ordeal so that Robin can die at dawn and Dick can realize his "true potential."  Color me impressed.  I thought our biggest concern in this arc was whether Shawn would lose the baby she was carrying.  But, Seeley has put a lot more on the table by resurrecting Hurt, possibly the Devil himself, in the DCnU.  Who knows where we go from here?

Pathfinder:  Worldscape #6:  I admit Mona lost me a little at the end here.  We learn that Fantomah has been planning for decades to lure Kulan Gath into the jungle and that she held the real Scepter all along.  (The one Gath took from Camilla's dead body at the end of last issue was a dupe, though we're not told exactly how or when Fantomah made the switch.)  But, Mona never really tells us why Fantomah was plotting against Gath.  If he and Camilla never actually had the Scepter, why would she care?  Allegedly Gath severed portions of the jungle from Fantomah and turned it against itself and her, but we never really saw that.  As a result, it feels like a ex post justification.  I only really remember Gath in Shareen or at the Pillars.  Why would he use the jungle to make an enemy of Fantomah?  Mona makes matters worse by using her as the deus ex machina to bring this series to a close.  With her controlling the Crown and the Scepter, most people opt to simply go home, and the Worldscape is left to deal with itself.  With Fantomah in charge of the Crown and Scepter, it seems like she could send home most people, leaving behind only a willing contingent to guard the indigenous fauna and flora from new invaders.  But, again, Mona doesn't get into that.  Everyone just has some mead (and, in Sonja and Valeros' case, some sexin') and goes home.  For an arc that spent so much time carefully spelling out everyone's history and relationships, it's a surprisingly abrupt send-off.

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The January 25 Non-Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batgirl #7:  This issue is uneven, with Larson making Barbara almost insufferable as a "social justice warrior to the maximum!" while at the same time injecting some excitement into the series with the introduction of Penguin's son, Ethan.  The conflict in the issue revolves around the homeless in Burnside.  Gordon Clean Energy has apparently turned Burnside into San Francisco, forcing out everyone in the 99 percent.  Barbara feels guilty (since it's her fault) and launches into a tirade when she overhears two hipsters at a party complaining about the homeless.  She attracts the attention of Ethan, whose company has developed an app to help move the homeless to "safer" locations.  But, no one is vetting the volunteers, and a villain named Fright uses the app to procure homeless people as research subjects.  (We're supposed to recognize Fright, because Barbara does, but I don't.)  Barbara makes quick work of Fright and uses her date with Ethan to gather more information about his plans.  The problem is Barbara doesn't do the thing she really should do to help, namely make Gordon Clean Energy a more responsible neighbor.  If its location in Burnside is driving up rents, she should move the company somewhere else in Gotham or do something to address the problem, like making sure the company is investing in affordable housing.  Even if she's not going to take over the company to do it herself, she should talk to Alyssia about it.  (Is Alyssia still running it?  Maybe it's time to rethink that?)  She's behaving as if she sold the company to a private-equity firm and can't control its behavior.  But, instead of doing something about the problem, she's actually washed her hands of technology entirely and enrolled in a library-science program.  I'm fine with her doing that (it's a nice nod to her past), but it's hard to reconcile that with her outrage over a situation she caused.  (Also, how fucking long was she in Asia.  It seemed like two weeks, tops.  How did Burnside gentrify so quickly?

Bloodshot U.S.A. #2-#4:  I know it won't last, but let me just say how happy I am Lemire lets Bloodshot and Magic have their happy ending.  Lemire wraps up pretty much every loose end since "The Valiant," from Kay emerging in control of Deathmate to the CEO of P.R.S. getting his comeuppance to the Bloodshot Squad getting to make their own futures.  Lemire (or whoever picks up this series) could go a lot of different directions from here, and I'll admit I'm not sure if I'm going to follow.  We so rarely get these sorts of wins in comics, and I may actually just let the win stay a win.  If so, fare ye well, at least for now, Ray Garrison.

Detective Comics #949:  It seems as if we've seen the end of Bruce's team of misfits here, as Batwoman decides to go to war with the organizations trying to obtain the monster venom.  Combined with Red Robin's "death" during "Rise of the Batman" arc and Spoiler's defection during the "Victim Syndicate" arc, we really only Clayface and Orphan left.  I'm disappointed, because I really loved this premise and would've been thrilled to see it last longer than nine months.  But, I also have to admit Tynion and Bennett wrap up the story nicely, if we are indeed seeing the end of this group.  Everyone is where they are at the end of this issue for specific reasons that evolved over the course of the last 16 issues.  We don't often get that in comics, so I have to tip my hat to the authors, even if I'm disappointed with the outcome.  Onwards and upwards.

Pathfinder:  Worldscape #4:  In the past, "Pathfinder" series have been pretty straight-forward romps.  The plot usually hasn't been too complicated, generally a step above a smash-and-grab adventure.  But, Mona really ups the ante here.  In this issue, we learn Kulan Gath pulled Merisiel through the gates 20 years ago.  His magic identified her as the "master thief" he and Camilla needed to unify the Scepter and the Crown.  We learn Tarzan was one of the few people ever to come into possession of both items, but he thought it too dangerous to keep them together.  He went into seclusion with the Crown and gave the Scepter to his ally, the warrior Queen Pha.  Over a period of six weeks, Meris helps Camilla and her team recover the Scepter from Pha, conquering the city of Shareen in the process.  Interestingly, this Camilla claims she wants to unify the two items to empty the Worldscape, allowing everyone to return to their homeworlds.  It's unclear how she becomes the despot we saw at the start of this series.  But, we'll surely learn.  At any rate, upon arriving, Meris caught a glimpse of the jungle goddess, Fantomah.  After a failed love affair, a distraught Meris begs for her help, and she appears, sending Meris home with no memory of her time in the Worldscape.  Enigmatically, Fantomah says they can help each other before dispatching Meris, so it's clear Fantomah has plans for Meris this time.  When Meris arrives again in the Worldscape, she remembers everything...including Kulan Gath, present at her arrival and announcing she'll work for him again.  For how complicated it all sounds, Mona does an amazing job of presenting it coherently, and I'm really, really excited about where we're going from here.

Also Read:  Reborn #4

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

Batman #9:  Batman assembles his own Suicide Squad in this issue with the goal of breaking into Santa Prisca, and I have to admit I'm excited.  King does the right thing by starting off things slowly.  Some authors would've leaped into the action, showing Bruce punching his way through Santa Prisca while assembling the team in flashbacks.  But, jumping into the action would've failed to build the tension that King so deftly creates here.  As the issue progresses, Dr. Arkham objects to the criminals Bruce wants to release and Bruce ignores his complaints.  It all builds to the revelation at the end of issue of the worst offender:  Selena Kyle.  She's shown at first with a mask, and we're clearly supposed to believe her to be the Joker (even though he currently doesn't exist) because she's apparently in jail for 200+ counts of murder.  I assume those charges are related to her mob-boss days, though King doesn't make that clear.  Hopefully at some point he'll flesh out those details.  But, for the time being, I'm happy to live with the mystery and see where we go from here.

Captain America:  Sam Wilson #14:  I don't really have much to say here, mostly because Steve has executed his plan perfectly.  He stage-manages an attack on the Senator orchestrating the #takebacktheshield movement so Sam is unable to save him.  As Steve says, it not only removes a loose end (since the Senator can't tell anyone Steve asked John to go after Sam), but it also throws more logs onto the fire when it comes to Sam's continued possession of the shield dividing the country.  Spencer reminds us here why Steve is such a formidable enemy.

Death of X #2:  This issue is marginally better than the first one, but it still relies on you believing:  a) Emma and the Cuckoos can reach every mind on the planet, and b) Scott is desperate enough (or dumb enough) to incite a city-wide riot by informing the world that the Terrigen Mists approaching Madrid are deadly to mutants.  I don't really believe either proposition, so I still found myself rolling my eyes at times.  I get Lemire and Soule are trying to show that Cyclops is erratic at this point, but we're not given any reason why he's been pushed to this point.  After all, he's faced the destruction of Earth and mutantkind on numerous occasions; it seems unreasonable to think he'd lose his shit over the Terrigen Mists in the way he does here.

Nightwing #7:  Seeley hopefully isn't setting up the revelation that Raptor is Dick's father.  But, Raptor does seem to think of himself that way, and (again, so long as Seeley doesn't actually go there) it's what gives this issue the tension that keeps you turning the page.  Raptor was clearly in love with Nightwing's mother, though it's unclear if the feeling was reciprocated.  We learn he's been following Nightwing for years, and his comment the first time we met him about being a better mentor than Batman now make sense.  He views himself as a more appropriate father for Dick, one in tune with the circus way of life the Graysons lived.  (I wouldn't be surprised if we learn that Raptor filed for custody at some point.)  Raptor kidnaps Bruce from a public event in this issue, and suddenly we're looking at a battle royale between Dick's father figures.  Earlier, Bruce noted how tense things have been between him and Dick, and Seeley seems to be setting up a chance for Bruce to make it right.  Are they actually going to hug at the end of this issue?  The mind boggles.

Pathfinder:  Worldscape #1:  Mona throws us right into the action in this issue, and it's as disorienting for us as it is for the characters.  First, we begin with Kyra, Merisiel, Seoni, and Valeros fighting Thulgroon, their "old enemy."  This part is disorienting not only because Ezren and Harsk are nowhere to be found, but because I don't remember Thulrgroon at all, making me raise an eye at the description of him as an "old enemy."  Given Kyra is a recent addition to the band (and thus unlikely to share an "old enemy" with it), it raises the possibility the action that opens the issue happens somewhere in the significant future.  But, before we can explore that, the band is whisked to the "Worldscape," where Valeros awakens alone.  He's eventually imprisoned by an evil empress and forced to fight in her arena, where he confronts a similarly displaced Red Sonja.  Sonja confirms what another prisoner told Valeros earlier, that they need to win the games to become the Queen's Champion, getting close enough to assassinate her.  By then, we've also learned the characters have been plucked from their homes seemingly at random, and the queen appears to have something to do with that.  Before we can explore how she benefits from these kidnappings (beyond amusement in the arena), Merisiel is revealed to be one of the queen's advisers, shocking Valeros during his fight with Sonja and allowing her to stab him through the chest.  It's not exactly the ending I was expecting.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #20; Black Panther #7