Comic Book Case

Green Lanterns #17 (Simon finally gets to shine)

Batman is able to calm Alfred down with help from Jessica and Simon feels a bit intimidated by Batman more over the issue of the gun as it was almost used to kill him. Simon keeps his distance from Batman as he works and notices how he works and Batman finds the location of the "Fear Batman" videos. When they get to the spot, Simon and Batman have a back and forth about how Simon keeps the gun when he has a ring and Simon finally relents and admits he has the gun because he's afraid that the ring won't be enough one day and he's afraid. Batman says that the ring isn't what he's afraid of not being good enough; Simon's afraid that it is himself who won't be good enough and tells Simon that he will never know until he tries. They eventually track the Yellow Energy signal to Scarecrow who has been able to tinker with the ring he got in the book Sinestro to be able to tap into the Yellow Energy and use it to scare people to sort of get high off it. Simon almost succumbs to the fear but before he uses the gun, he chooses to bank on the ring and just one shots Scarecrow. Simon decides to give up his gun and Batman, inspired by Simon's humility says that he's been waiting for a GL he can work with (Hal and Guy are idiots) and one day he will call on him for help.

This issue doesn't make a lot sense in some ways. The issues deal with Simon keeping his gun because he doesn't believe in the ring, but I feel he should have learned that later. I honestly thought he would have learned to trust the ring after the whole Phantom Ring debacle, especially with how Jessica seems to be getting closer to her ring in a way that I don't think even more experienced Lanterns have achieved. Batman says he can't work with Hal and Guy because they are idiots (and also don't listen and would be hard to work with) and John and Kyle aren't available. In terms of Jessica, I'd figured it would have been her that he would want since he was the one who calmed her down in Justice League but he could be playing it safe as he and the League knows there is so much she can handle due to her anxiety. Jessica herself was largely in the background this issue and honestly Green Lanterns is more Jessica's story that Simon's. Scarecrow was a good choice for this and it works in a lot of ways because he hasn't been seen since Sinestro but since when could he understand something as advanced as Lantern Ring? If he had been working for CADMUS or ARGUS then I'd believe it but this is just too much. Batman was rather Batman and the debate about the gun was good but nothing too special, and I was surprised to see that Simon wasn't in the JLA but it would seem that the JLA would better serve Jessica. A fun little harmless story but confusing. 

Batman #17 (the battle begins)

Batman arrives at the Fortress of Solitude to see Superman as well as who he has had Superman put in hibernation: Dick, Jason, and Damian. Batman says that if he wakes them up they will go after Bane again it will get them killed and that no one will die. Meanwhile, all throughout Gotham, other people close to Batman are being kidnapped; Bronze Tiger has been taken while he's getting off the Venom, Selina Kyle is gets captured while she was in disguise at the ruins of the orphanage, and finally Duke Thomas and Gordon are taken by Bane personally. While all of this is going on, Alfred is bringing Claire to the Asylum for treatment under the Psycho Pirate under the guise of him being Doctor Arkham and her being Thomas Elliot in a super secret cell created by Mister Miracle. After calling Alfred to check in, Batman sees Bane a flare in the city lit by Bane, accompanied by Gordon, Duke, Selina, and Bronze Tiger.

This was a bit of an underwhelming issue that I think would have worked better if we didn't see those four people getting kidnapped and we just saw Bane with them at the end. It's even weirder that Bane chose to dress Selina up in her Catwoman suit, unless we are expected to believe she was wearing it the whole time. It's not a bad issue, but I guess with the way last issue ended - with Dick and the others strung up in the Batcave - that this issue would be the action. I get the idea that Bane spared them because they weren't part of it, as Bane went after people directly involved in the whole thing with Psycho Pirate and the Gotham and Gotham Girl story. The scene with Alfred I think was really great, and the same with Gordon, Tom King knows how to write those two really well so it's always great to see them. David Finch, I honestly don't like how he draws blood and I wasn't a fan of his work on Wonder Woman, but again I find myself totally loving what he's done with Gotham and Batman, they have the right amount of edge to them.

Trinity #6 (Victory through understanding)

Superman is dying as Mongul wreaks havoc in his body and White Mercy tries to convince Batman and Wonder Woman to help him though Batman is skeptical. White Mercy says that while it was his job to to get the three of them to this point, he experienced who they were through the visions, Superman's joy at meeting his father, Wonder Woman's loyalty when faced with her fellow Amazons, and Batman's strength in the face of his trauma. By studying his emotions, White Mercy has learned what it means to be human and the only reason he continued to help Mongul escape was because they would not be able to beat him in this world. so he uses Batman's body (Bruce to Poison Ivy) to stop Superman and tell his mother what's going on while Wonder Woman carried the unconscious dying bodies of the other two. White Mercy uses the kyrptonite Batman kept on Bruce to knock Mongul out, and remove the Black Mercy from him and the same for Bruce, and Wonder Woman, who has the power to see the truth (whatever), breaks out on her own. Mongul is gone and the White Mercy as well but it seems Ivy has lost her memory and asks for a ride home as she doesn't know where she is.  There adventure over, our trio sits in the destroyed barn, talking about how it looks better with a whole blasted in the wall.

As a whole this story was really fun and I feel that if we were going to ever properly reboot DC, this would be the way to do it with the Trinity. I did feel the end was a bit cheesy but it did show the strengths of our characters but Mongul himself felt wasted, especially with the implied history the book gave us when I don't recall the three of them ever encountering Mongul in New 52 so this must be a Rebirth thing with the old continuity slipping back in. Honestly, this book here is why I don't like the idea of Superman dating Wonder Woman or Batman dating Wonder Woman, they are a trio and anything along those lines instantly changes how they work. This is a story that should always exist in one form or another and I never felt there was this kind of unity in New 52 though it seemed to think it did. I wish we had more of a story for Diana or at least something that was in Justice League, where the three are just stuck somewhere with nothing to do but talk, some Breakfast Club kind of stuff.

JLA #1 (Small Victories, Big Failures)

Batman and Vixen talk about the state of the new team with Batman talking about how the Justice League is in the sky but the JLA will be on the ground dealing with more home threats. Vixen questions whether or not this can work as the team doesn't get along that well and that Batman has never been on a league he never ended up fighting. Across the country the JLA does get some good stuff done like Black Canary and Ray putting out fires, Lobo saving dolphins, and Frost and Atom working at the command center. Things look fine until an alien group arrives lead by someone named Lord Havok who says they are here to save the world to prevent it from falling down the same path as theirs. The JLA goes down to help though the team is a bit hesitant as a whole. When they engage the aliens as they terrorize the town- I mean s"save the town"- the team finds itself pushed back really hard and as Ryan gets taken by Lord Havok and is about to be killed, Batman offers himself instead.

I like how this issue really felt like the JSA with them putting out fires and saving aqua life. Vixen herself says the team doesn't really work and honestly she is right. People still don't trust Killer Frost and Ryan still isn't sure if he's ready, Batman didn't even want him on the team. Black Canary seems to work well with others who aren't named Lobo and Lobo is just well Lobo and likes to point things out about the others. Maybe an alien threat wasn't the best idea for this but Batman does seem to have faith that they can do it and I think he's betting his life on them working together. I really do like the emphasis on Batman's eyes in this art as they seem to just be so small and bright, it makes him look like he's looking through you.

Wonder Woman #17 (snake therapy and friendships)

Diana is still in the asylum and the snake is still talking to her from her wrist and it is hard to say if the snake is tormenting her or just being an illusion created by her broken mental state, though going by what is happening on Themyscira, it could be the former. The snake does seem to want information from her, more than likely the location of Paradise though if the snake is connected to the tree and the tree is on the island how does it not know where it is? Meanwhile Steve, Etta, and the Minotaur (whose name is Ferdinand) is lately head to Diana. At the same time Doctor Minerva meets up with Cale of Godwatch and Cale, after some threats to her friends, gets her to become the Cheetah again but under more control and being able to find Themyscira. Steve and Etta bring Ferdinand to Diana and Diana greets him as a friend.

This issue was rather interesting if for no other reason then we get to see a lot big pieces being moved. Godwatch hasn't really revealed it's intentions but we have seen even more that they have resources that go beyond Sasha Bordeaux as they can mobilize troops and are even capable of giving a more controlled Cheetah Curse. The Amazons also are taking more of a point as they finally see the tree, the same tree that Diana said didn't belong on the island and Queen Hippolyta is gravely worried about Diana as her troops surround the tree. The snake is interesting enough as he questions Diana's identity, Woman of Wonder, Wonder Woman, God of War, God of Peace, Avatar of Truth, it almost seems as if the whole point of this is to ask exactly who is Wonder Woman. I also wonder exactly when this is placed within continuity as while we could argue that Batman's adventures happen in between league work along with Superman and GL's Wonder Woman's story is just so big I'm not sure if it happens before Rebirth actually starts or something. 

Detective Comics #951 (where have I heard this before?)

Lady Shiva has resolved to bring the League of Shadows to Gotham City. Batman and Batwoman talk about how to help Orphan be more social. Batman says they should take her to the ballet (implying he did know that she liked the ballet) and Batman also admits to Batwoman that if he and Orphan fought for real then he'd lose. Batman goes to meet with the mayor who last issue had said he wanted to actually help the city as opposed to the blind eyes he'd been turning to corruption. When he gets there he finds him pinned to the wall with multiple blades in his body and as he says that it was the League of Shadows, he dies just as the police find Batman with the dead mayor. Batman escapes and confronts Jacob Kane in his cell and he says it was the League of Shadows and this is how they operate, inducing chaos that will cause the most destruction and use it as a smokescreen. Batman says the League of Shadows isn't real and that Jacob is just trying to justify what he did. Jacob says that he needs to accept it, that Batman will dive into the chaos and find it too much for him and he will be back as the League of Shadows will take everything from him. Batwing alerts them to the news and the see the two newscasters slowly being laughing themselves to death uncontrollably. Reports come in of a riot breaking out involving  people laughing hysterically and gas coming up from the sewers. Batman says that the League of Shadows is just too easy and that it could just be someone inspired by the myth over anything else. The team goes to break it up and find out what is going on only to find some of the people approaching them with swords and sais with black ominous eyes.

This reminds me a lot of the Court of Owls story. It has Batman, denying the existence of a secret group, group turns out to be real, and something involving a list of important targets. It isn't that this is bad, far from it but it is just a bit too similar for me in some places. It is interesting on a personal note that Lady Shiva has returned to the DCU as I just finished reading the first twelve issues of Batgirl with Cassandra Cain having a dynamic with Lady Shiva and Shiva has again taken an interest in Cassandra, now Orphan. The fact that the League of Shadows seems to have access to Joker's toxin shows how far their web extends as they either had to have gotten it from either Joker or the Batcave, or they could have made their own. The interactions between Kate and her father are touching and despite how anyone feels about Jacob, I don't think anyone can deny that he loves his daughter. I honestly am excited about this new part of the story and even more about what happens after.