Comic Book Case

Detective Comics #944 (That was pretty intense)

The Victim Syndicate introduces itself, led by The First Victim. They show themselves to be a credible threat to Batman and his team, poisoning Spoiler with the littlest of effort and paralyzing Batman in a matter of moments. The First Victim addresses Batman and their groups demands, they want Batman to unmask and swear never to fight crime again or they will go after everyone who supports him, the GCPD, his team, etc. The Victim Syndicate wants to punish Batman, saying that their lives have been ruined in one form or another. At the same time, Clayface and Harper try to get Stephanie to safety they meet another member of the Victim Syndicate, Glory and she seems to know Clayface very well, and Clayface tries to reason with her though it fails to work. Later at the Belfry, Luke, Batman, and Batwoman go over the intel. Five of the six members are identified as being caught in the crossfires of Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Clayface, when they fought Batman. Luke says he is willing to stay on and help with all the tech Tim left in Belfry as well as make his own changes though Batman and Batwoman tell him to run any changes by them first. Batman goes to see Spoiler but Lesie Thompkins says she needs rest though little do they know, the First Victim has found his way to her room.

So this issue was pretty intense. It picks up while the team still isn't at 100% after the battle with the Colony. The Victim Syndicate's attack is pretty awesome, especially with the smoke Batman uses to set the stage, which was used more to the Victim Syndicates advantage. This idea is really not that unique a story, Peter Tomasi did a similar story in Batman and Robin way back in New 52 but that story was about a bunch of two bit idiot criminals who tried to take Batman on and then failed epicly. This time the group is built on really just being caught up in the crossfire of Batman's battles with criminals and that is awesome really. It's a lot like what really sold the idea of Civil War in Marvel or The Incredibles. The First Victim talks about the lives Batman has destroyed, the homes, and evne the jobs, and how he gets away with it because he "wants to help".  Clayface and Stephanie are clearly the heavy hitters of this particular story as Stephanie will have a confrontation with Batman next issue and Clayface seems to be having some sort of breakdown as whatever Glory showed him rattled him pretty bad and even before he was having trouble keeping his form, it's becoming a Victim Syndicate on both sides.

Captain America #7 (Does HYDRA begin to rise or fall?)

HYDRA has begun its movie, this time in liberating country of Sokovia that has been ravaged by war for decades. This movie will garner support for HYDRA as they will be liberating a country that the rest of the world has only offered supplies to. S.H.I.E.L.D. meanwhile is doing its own thing, breaking a prisoner out with the help of Steve Rogers and Black Widow. As HYDRA's forces reach their end goal, the country's dictator is barricaded in his study only to find Red Skull sitting there. Novotoy expects to be killed but Red Skull says HYDRA is planning to withdraw to make it look like Novotoy pushed HYDRA back so S.H.I.E.L.D. will help them which is what Red Skull wants to set a grand trap for them. Steve and Black Widow escort their prisoner out, a man named Alias Denz who won independence for Sokovia years ago but was arrested after trying for free elections. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to help him help Novotoy fend off HYDRA though Director Hill tells Black Widow that they only want to help them keep Red Skull out and that they don't really think he'll win. On Steve's side, he tells Doctor Selvig what else they have to help them as Steve has essentially declared war on the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, and Red Skull. Steve reveals who is in the vault, Helmet Zemo, son of Baron Zemo.

This was a really solid issue and I think one of my favorite flashbacks to Steve's past in a while. Young Steve is making good use of his time, showing that despite his health, he is smart, capable, and a good leader. This issue also got us back to Red Skull who has mostly only been talked about and hasn't done much in the present day. It also kind of shows how right Red Skull is about the west in how it would never help Sokovia and continue to let Novotoy exploit and oppress the people. HYDRA is gaining support of the people via their attempt to save them. It was nice to see that Steve had a friend during his time studying at HYDRA, but does Helmut Zemo also have the same memory altering affect that Steve did? Steve talks a lot about how government's and people compromise and make excuses for letting bad things happen. S.H.I.E.L.D. is totally ok with keeping a cruel dictator like Novotoy tormenting people so long as he can stop Red Skull. It's the bit of nuance that I liked about this book.

Wonder WOMAN #10 (totally badass and adorable)

Barbara Ann and Steve are able to convince the higher up to let Diana out and about if for no other reason than that if she wanted to leave she could rather easily. Diana is instantly enthralled by the world of man as Barbara Ann translates for her. While eating, Diana shows the Golden Prefect (her lasso) as one of the gifts she got from her Patrons and it allows them to understand each other as well as say what they really think about each other, with Etta Candy and Minverva comforting each other and Steve showing hearts as he looks at Diana. Before anything else can happen, the mall is attacked by a terrorist group and Diana and Steve try to stop the shooters and save people. Diana shows off exactly what she can do as she stops the shooters, deflects multiple bullets with her wrist guards, and then COVERING AN EXPLODING GRENADE WITH HER BARE HANDS and all while people record it on their phones. With the guards down, Steven checks the shooters out and sees a tatoo on them, a black tree, the same one Doctor Minverva saw.

This issue was fun and really did feel like the story was finally moving forward. Diana is really just adorable as she gets along with just about everyone and she has the sort of infectious energy and I have to give points to the artist for that. Steve is also just as sweet as he kind of dotes on Diana but he doesn't have much to do until the end as Diana, Etta, and Barbara Ann monopolize most of the time. The attack by the terrorist group was simplistic and awesome and it would be fair to say this is Diana just now realizing how strong she has become courtesy of her Patrons and Steve himself shows that he's no slouch.

Superman #11 (pretty fun)

Jon and Damian have lost their badges and their capes and are climbing a mountain top to get them. This is their punishment for fighting in the lab. When they reach the top, Maya appears and tells them that they need to work together to complete a series of tests to get their badges and capes back but Damian refuses and jumps on a train with Jon running after him. Meanwhile Batman and Alfred watch from the Batcave while Superman is actually there. Jon catches up to Damian only for them to be attacked by Golitath as the train is heading off a cliff but Jon is able to get Goliath to fly them off the train before it goes crashing down. While riding on Goliath, Jon and Damian have a short talk with Jon trying to break ground with Damian to no avail before they fall asleep.The next morning they are awoken to a hurricane with Ring Around the Rosie written on it courtesy of Superman and neither of them can agree on a course of action. Batman has had enough and tells Superman to abort the test and Superman tells them that they have failed all the tests and that he and Batman will have to find a new way to get them to understand. The two of them arrive at the Batcave to find Superman, Batman, and Alfred attacked by a combination of the DNA from Batman's enemies (Clayface, Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, Joker, etc.) The two boys try to fight on their own but quickly decide to work together to save the three. Alfred says that the boys have earned their wings and that they are SuperSons (new book plug) and gives them their capes.

I love this issue just because of how fun it was. Jon and Damian really do play off each other really well, being such different sides of the same coin. I had honestly thought this was going to be longer, like a two part story at least with them working together but it does make sense that not only would they fail, but that Superman and Batman would do this test. I think it being longer would have probably spoiled the upcoming book with the two of them, the dynamic between them reminds me a bit of watered down Mugen and Jin from Samurai Champloo or Naruto and Sasuke from Naruto. Batman and Superman of course don't take up a lot of the story but are driving forces, even though the two of them don't have the same chemistry as they did with the other Batman and Superman, the two of them still agree on the idea of their sons, they both know how important it is that they be able to work together and they even provide a great heartfelt and comedic scene to end the book together. I do love this book too much.

Green lanterns #11 (pretty cool)

Frank Lamnisnki has become a Green Lantern and he is loving it, after flying around just enjoying himself he sees a boy and his dog get caught up in a hurricane and he saves the boy and and after some grandstanding, saves the dog.Meanwhile, Simon and Jessica talk to Nazir about where Rami and the Phantom Ring could have gone and after some heated moments, Jessica asks her ring to detect signification aberrations in the Emotional Spectrum and that gives them a trace, Olaithe Kansas. Frank is eating up the local news as he talks about how he saved the day as the Simon and Jessica show up to arrest him for stealing the ring but Frank plays the press against them, pointing out that Simon is/was a criminal and Jessica can't even make a construct. It leaves a bit of an impact on them but Jessica says that Hal Jordan put them in charge and if Hal was here, he'd knock him out. The idea of Hal seems to set him off as his costume changes color to that of the Phantom Ring and then he starts to go red but calms down a bit and tries to regain control of himself but he starts to lose it again claiming that he's a hero and that no one can take the ring from him, he then explodes in orange and becomes an Orange Lantern.

Another really solid issue. It's nice to see that Simon and Jessica are consistently works in progress in regards to them as Lanterns, they still aren't ready to really be lanterns for one reason or another and in this case it's because they don't believe the ring is right for them. This is an interesting parallel to Frank Laminski, who doesn't doubt himself or at the very least, doesn't show it. Frank is clearly someone who could be compared to a sort of evil Booster Gold in that he'll do anything to be a hero, even if it goes totally against what it means to be a hero. The Phantom Ring also shows that it does require a strong emotional fortitude, you have to have control over your emotions otherwise you won't be able to stay with the emotional spectrum you want.

Batman #11 (good issue, but foul play)

Our issue opens up with a flashback to Batman bringing in Catwoman for the 237 people she killed and then it fast forwards to Santa Prisca where Batman has her go with Wesker to locate Psycho-Pirate. On the outside, Punchy and Jewdee along with Bronze Tiger head in to meet Bane. Catwoman and Wesker talk about the puppet Scarface and according to Wesker, Scarface tells him what to do and he's much happier when Scarface isn't around while Catwoman seems to be rather envious of that as she seems to be compelled to do exactly the opposite. When they locate Psycho-Pirate's cell, Catwoman tells Wesker to stay there and interrupts Bronze Tiger's conversation with Bane as he attempts to trade Punchy and Jewdee for help killing Batman as a distraction. Catwoman kills the three of them and tells Bane that Batman is in the grates.

This issue was short and sweet where the last two were rather drawn out. I honestly didn't Catwoman betraying them as a possibility, as the previous issue didn't really hint at it. It seems that Tom King is setting up a new type of Catwoman, honestly we haven't seen her in a Batman book for a while and with Sott Snyder's All Star book doing other villains in canon, I can't help but see what will happen later for her. I still want to know what Wesker's purpose is overall, Batman was very clear in how he was the key to their survival. Overall, a really good and surprising issue.

Trinity #3 (So they will always die huh?)

The trio arrives in Gotham City or a version of it the night Bruce's parents are killed. Bruce is frantic to reach them, wanting to see them one last time but according to him the city is all wrong. Meanwhile, a young Bruce Wayne is talking to Doctor Quinzel about his nightmares and how certain smells trigger his memories of the night and she recommends him some medicine that will cut off the olfactory part of his brain and he agrees. Young Bruce and Alfred talk for a while and as he takes his medicine, Alfred turns into a what looks like Scarecrow from the Batman Animated Series before his eyes and he falls through the window. Superman is able to save him but Bruce also sees him as a monster and struggles out of his grip. Batman (looking like a bat monster) grabs Bruce and comforts him while thinking to himself, telling young Bruce that the deaths of Thomas and Martha (and in Bruce's mind, Jason and Tim) were not his fault. Young Bruce keeps crying until Diana (looking like minotaur) puts her lass in his hands and finally says it isn't his fault as the illusions disappear. Later, Poison Ivy is seen holding Jon in the barn as Lois drives a truck through the barn door.

I was wondering how they were going to do the Crime Alley scene as it is the most overdone moment in DC Comics. I was honestly hoping that it would be like it was with Clark in how Johnathan Kent didn't have his heart attack but instead they make it about Bruce coming to terms with how what happened to Tim and Jason wasn't his fault. Superman and Diana tell him how they as heroes can only do what they can and teach their sons to be ready and that the dishonor the dead by obsessing over them. I'm wondering if Doctor Quinzel talked to Bruce all those years ago or if this was part of Ivy's plan. We know from this issue that the world they are in is not a perfect copy so the question is, exactly where are they? They can't just be trapped in their mind. The same could be said of Alfred's appearance, he does look like Scarecrow from the animated series and Johnathan Kent didn't die in the Superman Animated Series so is that where they are? I can't wait for what happens to Wonder Woman.