Comic Book Case

Batman #16 (Bane and Batburgers)

The time has come, Bane is arriving in Gotham City to take back the Psycho Pirate and kill Batman. Bruce meets Dick, Jason, and Damian at Batburger to tell them not to engage Bane and that after Tim he will not let Bane kill them to get to him, The three protests and joke (especially about how they have all died before) but Bruce puts his foot down though they have all agreed not to listen. Later Bruce goes to take Claire to her first of five sessions with Psycho Pirate, as he and Alfred take her down to the Batcave, they find Dick, Jason, and Damian hanging by their necks, with the words "I AM BANE" on their chests (probably fake).

This issue was really fun and funny. Bane has declared war on Batman and Gotham City after the events of Santa Prisca and Bronze Tiger has brought us up to speed on Bane's mindset, having been on Venom before and feeling the withdrawals of it. Bruce knows better than anyone how dangerous Bane is and after the loss of Tim, he's once again taking all this himself. The comedy of this came early on at Batburger, the fact that the employees dress like superheroes, the menu (Night-Wings) as well as the back and forth between Dick, Jaosn, and Damian. Tom King is really good at fleshing these characters out and Bruce reminds me a bit of Bruce from the TMNT crossover book he had.

Detective Comices #950 (Tales of Ba Sing Se in Gotham City)

So this issue is not really a continuation of the story so much as an aftermath of our characters, primarily told form the perspectives of Cassandra Cain, Luke Fox and Jean Paul Valley, and a flashback involving Tim Drake. Cass's story I think is the more emotional whereas Batwing and Azrael's are about us getting to know the man behind Azrael. Cass has a really great story of her essentially wanting to communicate with people but finding herself unable to with words but becoming entranced with dance and that makes sense. Dance and martial arts are both forms of expression and follow similar principles. We see how Cass envies Harper who wears her emotions on her sleeve, how she values Batman's opinion of her over anyone else, how she can relate to Basil Karlo and how he risks losing himself to the monster he fears he is, and how she idolizes Batwoman. She wants desperately to communicate these feelings with words but she can't so she has started hanging out at the dance hall and has been learning to dance and when she dances, she lets out how she's feeling but no one sees it, save LADY SHIVA! Meanwhile, Batwing and Azrael's is really interesting in terms of Azrael's armor which has an A.I. that interfaces with his nervous system, telling him where to strike. We then go even deeper into his own story, about how the Order of St. Dumas made him think he was an angel set to help the world, and it was finding out he wasn't that humbled him and strengthened his faith in a higher power. Finally we have a scene taking places months earlier with Tim asking Batman what exactly it is he's doing. Batman has Dick Grayson who was in SPYRAL, fighting against a super secret criminal organization, he has Jason in the criminal underworld, Damain working with the Titans, and now he has Tim working the Belfry, Batman has Robins (Little Birds) in places he can't be, working angles he can't get to. Add this to the fact that he seems to be training Duke for something else entirely, Tim wants to know what war Batman is preparing to fight before the comic ends.

This was a fun book that I think would get anyone to read Detective Comics if they weren't already. Tynion doesn't let any of his characters feel left out, even Tim Drake who is believed to be dead is showing how big a player he was. Cassandra Cain again is such a heartfelt story as I think a lot of people have found themselves unable to communicate how they feel but with Cass it's at an entirely different level. With Karlo, he's finding his situation getting worse as even with new technology to help him maintain his normal form, it puts the remaining Karlo DNA at risk and if that is gone or he spends too much time in his Clayface form then that DNA and his mind will deteriorate. Luke shows us that he has trouble grasping things that can't be explained rationally but it also showed us that despite what Jean Paul thinks or believes, the Order of St. Dumas may not be done with him yet. I just loved this issue and this book.

All-Star Batman #7 (OHHHH)

Poison Ivy is on her way to Death Valley to work on an old tree that she does every year until she is encountered by Batman. Batman doesn't come to stop her but to ask for her help, even calling her Doctor Isely. It seems that some ancient bacteria was let loose when the two of them clashed and it's making people, a young girl specifically sick and she doesn't have much time. Ivy says he's hiding something from her and he confesses that a strike team has been after him since the events with Freeze and possibly since he tried to get Harvey Dent to the safe house. The strike team is also after Ivy and the tree she's been working on and believe that if she knew about the virus, she'll try to weaponize it. Batman talks about her research and how he doesn't think she's a criminal and that she actually comes here to make cures, not weapons. Ivy talks about the Tree of Life that scientists in her field believe in, that it provided fruits that could cure diseases and are still reported to be around today though are rare. The first thing these trees produced were pheromones that could make people feel happy, sexual, creative ect, that was the purpose of her research before her accident. Batman says that that wasn't what she told Bruce Wayne when she presented the work to him and and she confesses she told him what she thought he wanted to hear, and the result was he refused to let her explain and shut her down, forcing her to put what remained of her research in herself and that's how she became who she was. Ivy the pushes Batman again on what he isn't telling her and she realizes the girl is probably already dead but it is spreading  Batman says that she died an hour ago and the disease is spreading. Ivy kisses Batman (IVY CONTROL!) and talks again about her research and how she came across a special pathogen that she almost didn't know what to do until she came back here. As the strike team arrives, she tells Batman to protect her and with some help from Ivy's plants the's able to fight them back but they manage to set the tree on fire, destroying all of Ivy's work. She tells him to leave but Batman reveals that he wore wax lips so he wasn't under her control and he tells her how Bruce Wayne set up a fund in her name for botanical projects and the girl was on the top of the list, he did to help the girl and Ivy, he leaves apologizing for being to late. Ivy stops him and gives him a plant that might help stop the bacteria and tells him not let them name the disease after the girl, Lily.

This issue was fun and I really want to read Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death or rather finish it. Ivy has always been an interesting character, but she's never had much to do, making her a villain has always seemed a bit lazy and I was hoping she would be more of a villain this time. I like how this story follows the incident with Freeze, a story which I felt was lacking in some places. I am a bit upset that it seems Ivy and Freeze won't have the same story length that Harvey had but it does seem that there is bigger story going on. The back and forth between Ivy and Batman is great and like any good Batman villain, Ivy comes off as his equal but also shows Batman's strength as a character. He doesn't see people like Clayface, Ivy and Freeze as monsters, just people who need help. 

The Unworthy Thor #4 (Were almost there!)

Odinson reaches Old Asgard and with the help of Beta Ray Bill, his trust goat and new Hell Hound friend, he attempts to reach the hammer. Black Swan and the Collector along with the Unseen attempt to stop Odinson and throughout all of it, the hammer is calling "where is my Thor?" to Odinson. Odinson attempts to grab the hammer as the comic ends.

So there wasn't much to this story outside of what happened in flashbacks and I felt that was where the real story was and at some point I may just review all those flashbacks as a whole. We see a young Thor trying to grab the hammer and being comforted by his mother, we see a Thor talking with Jane Foster about how he fears one day he will no longer be worthy to wield the hammer and later after the events with Nick Fury where a cancer ridden Jane Foster attempts to comfort him. There are talks of how he worked hard to become worthy fighting dragons, saving villages, rescuing children, and then how being worthy is a daily struggle. What is interesting is we never saw when he actually was worthy to wield the hammer. Both times his mother and Jane Foster comfort him about being more than just a hammer. Odinson himself contemplates about how he will be worthy now and how he feels something is wrong with his mother. It's become a really interesting book and not just because I wanted to see it by default.

Green Lanterns #16 (Fear in the streets)

Simon and Jessica arrive in Gotham City just in time to help Batman with a raving lunatic swinging a bat saying that to protect his friend/husband/ from Batman he'll kill him. It turns out that this sort of thing has been going on a while, people experiencing fits of terror and killing people with the only thing they have in common is they are afraid of Batman. Simon thinks it's Scarecrow but Batman says it's not possible because it's happening at multiple places throughout the city at the same time and none of Scarecrow's methods like gas or chemicals. Batman says it's the Sinestro Corp but Jessica and Simon say their rings would have alerted them to Yellow Ring energy. Batman and Simon then argue about Simon's gun (Gordon taking issue with it not being registered) and it gets out of hand before Jessica calms them down and hacks into the laptop of the guy they apprehended and find a series of videos on blog about being afraid of Batman and the rings pick up Yellow Energy. Heading back to the Bat Cave to analyze the videos. At the Bat Cave they try to analyze the videos more but as they do, Alfred attacks Simon Baz, knocks him down, takes his gun and points it at his head, yelling that Batman has to be stopped and that if anyone moves or even sparks (rings) he'll blow Simon's head off. The comic ends with more people are watching blogs videos and Yellow Energy streaks out into them  with Scarecrow reciting the Sinestro Corp's oath as Sinestro's logo shows up on one of the screens.

This issue was rather enjoyable if for no other reason than the back and forth between the Lanterns and Batman and I think it's interesting how the Gl's always have an interesting back and forth with Batman. He and Hal were rather antagonistic with each other, Guy loved getting on his nerves, John had a rocky dynamic with him, and he seemed to get along most with Kyle (as well as anyone can with Batman). With Simon and Jessica it seems to be a mix of fan love and misunderstandings. Jessica reminds me a bit of Ms. Marvel here in that she is a huge fan of his and it would make sense that she would like him as it was he who calmed her down and brought her into the Justice League. With Simon, they've had a rocky dynamic for a while but the gun issue I would say is there only problem. Simon says he needs the gun and it will save lives but Batman tells him he can't bring a gun into Gotham and it went back and forth for a while. Simon even calls Batman out on all his other gadgets but Batman points out that if he knew how to use the ring properly he wouldn't need a gun and I think Simon implies Batman might be racist which is why he doesn't like him having a gun (he doesn't know he's Bruce Wayne). The fact that the gun Simon prided himself on is being used against him is a fun aspect because Alfred wouldn't be able to take the ring and again, the whole thing reminds us that Simon doesn't trust his ring. 

Superman #16 (Should have seen it coming)

The being known as Prophecy has kidnapped our Superman and says that he isn't a Superman but an anomaly though he will absorb his power just as easily. He says that he needs their powers to defeat something that is coming for their worlds and while Superman tries to tell him he's going about it the wrong way, as in kidnapping Supermen and Superwomen, killing anyone who gets in their way, and trying to do it all himself is the wrong way to go about it. Meanwhile the Justice League Incarnate finds Superman's signal and when they do, Racer sacrifices himself to create a Musical Thule Engine a thousand years earlier than possible and the Supermen Prophecy has taken are restored to strength and together an entire army of Supermen defeat Prophecy before he disappears. Later Superman (in Clark Kent attire) and Kenan Kong go eat Chinese food and Kenan asks him questions. The final page shows us Prophecy in chains before Mr. Oz who congratulates Prophecy for his ear to the fabric of space and time as well as his resolve to fight but says that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that his method was rather unsound.

I like how this issue kept teasing Doctor Manhattan as the antagonist but looking back on it that would be foolish because if he wanted Superman, then he would have taken him ages ago (but think about how cool that would be if New 52 started with wondering where Superman was). I originally thought this issue might be more of a nod towards the multiverse and the Justice League Incarnate but we found some important stuff. Our Superman isn't like the other Supermen and even Prophecy doesn't know exactly why and Mr. Oz is connected to it. I wonder if Mr. Oz is working with or against Manhattan or if Manhattan is even the enemy here? Overall a surprisingly good story but too big for just three issues.

Justice League of America Rebirth #1 (now this is nice)

The time has come for Batman to assemble the new Justice League of America, a league not of super powered gods but of mortals. He and Killer Frost get Black Canary, Canary gets Lobo, Batman and Lobo look for Ray Palmer but get Ryan Cho as the Atom, Ryan gets the Ray and Batman gets Vixen. Batman tells them that they are here to fight the battles on the ground that the people can know, to make them feel like they can be heroes. He tells them all that something is coming that is bigger than anything they know and they have to be ready. Heroism is a community and it starts here.

This issue was really fun because it did show us a lot of the characters and how they stand with one another along with why they are there outside of their abilities. Batman wants Canary because she can serve as a conscience to the group, Vixen because she cares more about her work than what people think of her, that it comes before the costume and glitz. It's clear that Ryan was chosen because he has the Atom suit and Ray possibly because of what he himself fights for. They don't really get along, especially Lobo and Canary, or Canary and Killer Frost. It was mentioned in the interviews that Lobo will sort of be calling team members out on their hypocrisy and in a lot of ways Lobo is that person that everyone thinks they understand so they don't try to. He reminds me of Kikuchiyo from the anime Samurai 7, another character who people thought they understood and could dismiss save for the person who recruited him who seemed to know more about him than he let on. Actually, this whole issue felt very Seven Samurai and I like it. I was a bit upset that this wasn't going to be like the Justice Society, but it does seem to have the same underlying purpose, creating a superhero community, that's why it uses heroes that don't have their own books or even belong on a team. I'm honestly excited to read this book if for no other reason than Justice League not really doing it for me.