Comic Book Case

All-Star Batman #8 (It's like Perchance to Dream but darker)

Batman is on the hunt for Jervis Tech A.K.A. the Mad Hatter believing he is the one supplying the group that has been attacking. He finds Hatters new base, a really fancy high end mansion purchased with the money he got for selling technology. As Batman interrogates Hatter, Hatter asks about the first time they met long before Zero Year when he pitched a new hat that would alter your reality to see what you wanted to see but over time it would make it hard to distinguish fantasy from reality. Hatter implies that he not only knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne but that all those years ago he placed a chip on his hat that got into his blood. After watching him try and fail to stop crimes he decided to activate the chip one night (the night he resolved to be Batman), as Batman himself seems to be losing his grip on reality during their fight. Hatter goes so far as to say that ahis entire life has been very Alice in Wonderland with it's Pocket Watches (grandfather clock to get into the cave) Rabbit Holes (Bat Cave) Jabberwok (Bane) Queen of Hearts (Harely) etc. but even further as Hatter implies that his entire life has been an illusion. The real Bruce Wayne is recovering from a injury unable to walk and the Joker, Bane, all of his enemies are in reality his support group trying to help him return to reality and walk. Batman says it isn't real and that all he has to do is break the illusion, detonating the bombs he set throughout the property on his way here. He does and after some fighting is able to get Mad Hatter to talk about who is after him.

This issue was very much a sort of fusion of the episode Perchance to Dream of the Batman Animated  Series and the final Scarecrow illusion in the game Arkham Asylum. Both stories involve Bruce being in a world where he isn't Batman and that it would be much easier to just accept that or that he is really just as crazy as his enemies. Where the former example made Bruce feel it would be better to quit via showing him everything he wanted, I think the former is more in line with the story as they both have Bruce giving into a form of madness though in Arkham Asylum he has fight people saying he's crazy where here he has to resists the urge that it is all inside his head and that his enemies are actually his psychosis telling him they're enemies. It's an old theory for Batman, but lighter than the other ones. As an issue I would put this a bit higher than the Mister Freeze story but I felt that one was a bit dull, showing Batman as an unstoppable force while this one really plays with the senses. The story is told form Batman's perspective, almost a retelling but as Mad Hatter expand his influence it feels like he's the on narrating it, that he has taken control of the story and when Batman overcomes him it goes back to him. It's subtle and you could almost miss it on the first read through. I often find Mad Hatter a hard villain to take seriously, primarily because of the Arkham Games which I feel just do the same thing and even his appearance in the series Batman Dark Knight showed off a much different and darker character. This one here appears to have little in common with either as he isn't overly obsessed with Alice for any reason and just likes the aesthetic. His tying in to Bruce's history I felt was a good way to help the story out as we know so little of him when we know Two-Face, Freeze, and Ivy  well enough. Another good issues from Snyder.

Trinity #7 (I blame Wonder Woman for this)

Ra's Al Ghul has been summoned to a dank dark cave in an unknown location and so has Lex Luthor still in his Superman armor. The two of them butt heads before Circe reveals that she summoned them there to show them Pandora's Pits, pits that the other evils from Pandora's box went into, unwilling to pollute the innocence of mankind. As the three approach, something springs from the pit and taking the form of monster comprised of bits of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman and it only with the combined work of all three of them can they force it back. Luthor himself wants to destroy the pits but Ra's is hesitant because of what could happen if they do destroy it but Circe shows them a drawing on a wall that shows the three of them in what appears to be them being worshiped by a group of masses.

This issue was a good setup to a new story. This felt like something out of the Batman Superman movie from the Superman Animated series but with Wonder Woman added in. The idea of Lex, Ra's, and Circe being together and even working together is a great idea in itself, a sort of Dark Trinity and I already kind of wish this had been what started the book off already. The problem I have with the story is Circe as she is such an unknown in the DCU for those who aren't familiar with Wonder Woman's books. Lex and Ra's are longtime enemies in the DCU from both a comic, cartoon, and animated front but Circe......she hasn't even been in New 52's Wonder Woman books. She had one appearance in Justice League: Unlimited. This is a problem for me as in the scene where they all fight the Superman/Batman/WonderWoman monster, where Lex and Ra's talk about their enemies, the dialogue about from Circe just feels so vague. Otherwise a great start.

Superman #19 (Sooooo now what?)

Superman tries to get Lois to remember who Jon is but according to Lois, she and Superman aren't even married which forces Superman to call out Mxyzlptlk and convince him to play a game though according to Mxyzptlk that is what they used to do, this won't be a game. He transports them to his own personal dimension but it is also oddly blue which he says is because it is the color of Superman's essence. When Superman says he wants Lois to stay with him during the game, Mxyzpltk says that is so like him, in every version, every dimension, the two of them always seem to be connected to each other. Even the cosmic "busybodies" haven't been able to keep them apart (possibly hinting at his New 52 counterpart dating Wonder Woman). He talks about other things, like how Superman was split in two at one point creating separate energies of red and blue, the same red that Lana Lang gets her powers from. Mxyzptlk decides to move on with the game and creates the Infinite Planet, a giant version of the Daily Planet; Jon is at the top and if Superman can get up there he can take Jon and Mxyzptlk will go away forever. He tells Superman that he has to into the tower and travel upward but he has to hurry as his energy and his memories will fade with time (very Chain of Memories). Jon meanwhile finds two red energies that he seems to be able to understand and says they feel like his parents but not exactly and the Jon decides to help them find what they are looking for in exchange for helping him find his actual parents. Meanwhile, Superman's memory almost fades as he reaches the top until Lois is able to help him focus and it is only with the help of Jon breaking out using the two red energies to break out of the globe and when he is free he finds himself being held by a Superman and Lois Lane made of red energy.

This issue was pretty heavy. While Mr. Oz isn't present at all it implies that he or at least something was messing with the DCU. Mxyzptlk implies that Blue Superman was the hope and optimism that was taken from the New 52 Superman. This was a criticism of the New 52, that it lacked the optimism and hope that made DC great. The question that rises is was this done to other heroes or was this an accident? Superman being "incomplete" in sense explains why in Multiplicity, the alien known as Prophecy didn't want him despite him collecting different versions of Superman. Some things about the universe apparently cannot be changed like Superman and Lois Lanes connection which makes sense as even Superman raised in the Soviet Union found himself connected to Lois Lane. With the arrival of the New 52 Superman and Lois I have to wonder what will happen next? Will they fuse back together or can they not leave this dimension? With one issue left I find this to be an excellent way to end off the issue.

Action Comics #976 (It's Doctor Manhattan)

Mxyzptlk isn't happy with the appearance of Red Superman and throws a fit though he says that them not knowing who Jon is had nothing to do with him. He torments them about how much they don't know, even about the things they don't know, namely that someone else was behind the two of them splitting. He says that Superman and Lois can go but he and Jon have to leave as well as their entire altercation will attract "HIM". Jon finds the orbs again but this time they are blue and they sound different but Jon recognizes them as his parents and they help himu knock Mxyzptlk down. Mxyzptlk offers Jon one last chance to go with him before the REAL trouble arrives but Jon says no as he disappears. Jon tries to get the Red Superman and Lois to remember him but they still don't and only by fusing with the Blue Superman and Lois that they remember him. Mr. Oz watches the three of them as they reappear in their own dimension. He that no one thought that they could restore what was broken, even "HIM". The two Superman rejoining has created a new reality created from the timelines of the two of them. Ironed out so it fits and all those connected to Superman will be affected. Mister Oz wonders who ultimately has the final say at the end of this, Superman or "HIM"?

So it is a bit weird as we ask the question of who EXACTLY is affected by the rejoining of Supermen? Is it just the people in the book like Bizzarro, Darkseid, Lex, etc. or is it the entire DCU? What does this say about Wonder Woman's short romance with New 52 Superman or even this new Lois Lane's relationship with Lana Lang in Superwoman? Will she all of a sudden remember things or is it just a vague patch update? Overall I have to say this was a good issue and a fun arc overall, I liked it if for no other reason that it got me back into Action Comics over the rather dull and annoying Green Arrow book and I might pick up Superwoman. I'm glad there wasn't much interaction between the two Supermen and Lois, they're just not different enough or similar enough to warrant real back and forth dialogue. Both the build up to Mxyzptlk before and his dialogue after his appearance really did sell the story for me as he came off as both slightly tragic and more frightening than I think he's ever been. Also, the HIM was a bit not so subtle this issue as the last picture is one of the planet Mars, which was the planet Doctor Manhattan went to in Watchmen. 

Detective Comics #953 (UBU!)

Our story opens soon after the events with Shiva with Cassandra remembering when she asked her father David Cain about her mother to which he constantly tells her to drop it. Karlo, who is supposed to make sure Cassandra stays in the Belfry but he pretty much just gives her a book of Shakespeare plays before he lets her go only to be attacked later by the League of Shadows. Batman later finds Cassandra and the two fight or rather Batman takes the punishment  she's giving him because he won't call her Orphan. Batman later gets a call from Alfred about someone having been in the cave only for him to be attacked, forcing Batman to head to the cave as as Cassandra runs off. Batwoman herself arrives at the Belfrey to check on Clayface only to be attacked by the League of Shadows who drag her in front of Jacob Kane so he can watch them stab her. Cassandra engages Shiva, wanting to know why she abandoned her but Shiva doesn't respond and instead offer to fight, pointing out that like her, Cassandra can "see" death (referring to her ability to read body movements and know how to kill people as easily as possible). The two fight but Cassandra's heart isn't in it and she is quickly defeated and Shiva drops her into the sewer. Batman arrives at the cave and instead of Alfred he finds Ra's Al Ghul and Ubu in the Batcave.

This issue was pretty heavy and it seemed to totally be everything it promised. While Shiva and Cassandra's fight was nothing special; it happened before to the same affect in the old comics, though with the difference this time that Cassandra knows Shiva is her mother. Cassandra is very much the main character this arc and she plays off Batman and Karlo brilliantly as it shows them off pretty well at the same time. Karlo sympathizing with her inability to say exactly what she feels echoed to his childhood and the giving of the book of Shakespeare plays mirrors what his uncle did for him when he was a kid, using the words of others to say what he really feels. With Batman, it seems like he is trying to help Cassandra get accept that she doesn't have to be her parents and that they don't define her (irony) and this is shown by him refusing to call her Orphan again. Like in pre-52 universe, Cassandra wants to be normal and is upset because even her mother doesn't care about her outside of her abilities. In regards to the League of Shadows, they truly are everything Jacob Kane said they would be, as they have created chaos, turned the police against Batman, locked the city down, and taken out every member of Batman's team in a matter of nights. It's Court of Owls with less edge but more efficiency. 

Mighty Thor #5 (Was never going to be that great at the end)

Our story opens up with the Unseen talking about how he is and at the same time isn't Nick Furty and how his greatest regret is what he said to Thor that made him unworthy to wield his hammer. Meanwhile in Old Asgardia, Odinson places his hands on the hammer and feels a wave of energy and he feels like Thor again, he says he is worthy and that this isn't HIS hammer and lets it go. He says that he will not let others take this hammer and fights everyone back including the Collector before the hammer puts Old Asgardia back. Thanos later gets reports from his subordinates about their failure and discovers that his new supporter who told him about the hammer if Hela, Queen of Nifflehiem and Mistrress of the Damned and promises Thanos something he's always wanted in exchange for helping her; death, before the two kiss. Odinson later tells Beta Ray Bill what Nick Fury told him that made him unable to wield the hammer and says that the hammer will stay hear until someone is worthy and needs it. A while later, an unknown figure appears for the hammer, saying it has been calling him and that a War Thor is needed to save the day.

Ultimately, what we got at the end wasn't what I wanted but I would be lying if I said this didn't feel much better. The idea that Odinson would just need a hammer to feel like Thor would have ultimately been a bit of a downer for his character. At first I was super upset about him not taking the hammer but it was great to see him let it go. One of the complaints we as readers had was the idea that just because he didn't have the hammer that he wasn't Thor and now we see him not seeking his self worth in the hammer, even one that isn't his. We find out what Nick Fury said that made him unworthy, "Gorr was right". The idea that the gods were not needed and that mortals were better off without them in their lives. The idea of Gorr being this big a presence in Thor's life makes sense, especially when you take into account of Thor: God of Thunder also by Jason Aaron had. Nick Furty telling him that Gorr was right about the gods and by extension him, was probably something he was always afraid of, it means that he is unworthy to protect mortals, which is what he uses the hammer for. Beta Ray tells Odinson that that may be true, but Odinson devotes his entire life to helping mortals, putting his immortal soul on the line each time. Odinson seems content with just having the hammer resonate with him, as if it is telling him he is still Thor. It's a fun idea really, Odinson may not be "Thor" int he obvious sense but he is still a Thor, though the unworthy one. 

Wonder Woman #19 (ehhh?)

So Ferdinand hugs Diana and it seems she is back to normal as Etta and Steve give her a run down of what has been happening since she was brought in. Meanwhile, Barbara Ann is feeling the effects of the Cheetah Curse which Cale says she will fix AFTER she gets what she wants. On Themyscira the Amazons wonder if Diana is all right as their frustration over just sitting and waiting in front of the tree but they get a vision of the Patrons showing, up indicating that Diana is all right. Diana, Steve, Etta, and Steve's team along with Ferdinand head to Cale's base only to find Doctor Cyber, who finally meets Wonder Woman face to face. Diana asks what is going on and why they want to get to Themyscira and Doctor Cyber tells her that this is because of her. They are like this because of the gods who wanted to go to Themyscira, they are just pawns in a game that started because Diana left her island. Diana has Ferdinand, Etta, and the team take the now discovered Sasha Bordeaux to the hospital to keep her safe while she and Steve head for Themysicra but not before they are attacked and Diana is shot.

This issue felt like it wanted to get to Diana being shot first and as a result, everything else was rather rushed. We don't know how Ferdinand helped Diana get over her mental breakdown other than seeing that she seems to be all right. I do like how this issue seems to be punishing me for skipping those other issue. For those of you that don't know, Doctor Cale's daughter lost her face at the hands of Phobos and Deimos who want to get to Themyscira. Doctor Cyber was a person who is now bound to a computer network in a scuffle with Wonder Woman. All Cale is doing is trying to get her daughter back to normal and she is willing to do anything and hurt anyone to get to that point. The fact that Diana has accepted that she's never been home does seem to have been accepted but the answers to everything do seem to lie in Themyscira where Barbara Ann is able to get to thanks to now being the Cheetah again. All roads seem to lead to Themyscira, whoever is lying to Diana about her past, who sent Phobo and Deimos, but I think we all know it's Ares. Phobos and Demos are the sons of Ares and Ares was the first antagonist she fought and even he wanted to know about Themyscira. I'm hoping it isn't and maybe it will be Circe or someone we haven't already seen.