Comic Book Case

Batman #9 (have you heard about the Suicide Initiative?)

Our story starts with Bane remembering his early life growing up in prison at the ages of four and up, how he had to survive off of rats, and how every night the water in his cell would rise and he would have to kick all night to stay afloat. Fast forward to present day and we see him with the Psycho Pirate who tells him that Venom no longer dulls the pain of his childhood and that instead it will the Psycho Pirate who does. Meanwhile, Bruce visits Clair one more time, her nightmares are only getting worse and after looking at a pictur eo his parents he resolves to take Waller up on her proposition Batman is in Arkham Asylum, selecting special inmates to go to Santa Prisca. Kite Man, Ventriloquist, Bronze Tiger,Jewlee and surprisingly Punchee who was masquerading as Gordon. Finally Bruce comes to the last person on his list, someone found guilty of 237 counts of murder and set for death by lethal injection, Selina Kyle, Catwoman.

I honestly found myself enjoying every bit of this issue, especially the end but what I liked more was the use of lesser known villains. This was something that I really enjoyed in the short lived series Beware the Batman. Bane was actually very interesting because at first we though he may needed Psycho-Pirate for something more nefarious but no, he needs him to make him feel brave and strong, a feeling he used to get from Venom. Batman meanwhile is a man on a mission, he is willing to dig out inmates from Arkham Asylum to help Claire get better but with the exception of a few, like Bronze Tiger and Catwoman, it just seems weird. This isn't the first time Batman has worked with his enemies recently as in the Endgame story Snyder wrote, he had the Bat Family team up with his more normal rogues gallery. The reveal that Catwoman is guilty of so many deaths was certainly surprising and I wonder when we will find out about that. I don't remember hearing anyone talk about it happening in her old book so I wonder if this means at least her own book will be coming soon?

Justice League #7 (a great use of characters)

The League has lost themselves to their fear as Superman goes to kill a Batman who wants to die, an Aquaman and Wonder Woman who want to actively take over the world, a Cybrog and Simon Baz who are afraid of people, and a Jessica is afraid of everything again as Flash is afraid of slowing down. While in her protective bubble, Jessica is able to clear her head as Flash, going at his super speed is able to hear a voice of the cause of all the fear. Jessica coughs up some black shadows, it's the enemy they fought last issue, when Simon and Jessica used their rings to defeat it, it went into the ring and was connected not just to the ring to the league member that held her and Simon. Jessica uses her ring to to fully purge the shadow entirely in a big explosive light. But Jessica can still feel the fear residing in the league members. Jessica can't deal with the feeling of fear she felt, she has resolved to leave the team, but will still be a Green Lantern and will still date Barry.

I don't think I gave this issue the justice it deserves and maybe I'm also liking it more than it deserves. Superman dealing with is fear of Batman not rusting him, Batman dealing with the fear that he is no better than who he fights. Cyborg and Simon both fear they don't belong but Simon believes he doesn't belong anywhere and Cyborg believes he stands out too much. Aquaman and Wonder Woman fear that they will never achieve peace simply by doing things the way they have. Jessica ultimately feels all of this, all of their fear spreading and spreading just from the league. She does everything to purge the fear from them but all she does is get rid of the thing that enhanced the fears, everything they felt was always there. It's a classic story idea, that something enhances or exaggerates a person's fears but what makes it different is that the issue ends with everyone totally aware that what they felt may have been exaggerated, but they were always things they felt. That is where the beauty of the story lies.

Green Lanterns #9 (so he's a wimp is what I'm hearing)

Franklin Laminski is a pilot with big dreams for himself, until he felt fear for the first time while testing a new jet. He is saved by Hal Jordan and becomes inspired to be a Green Lantern. Frank has never really been a standout guy, he's a middle child, and he was never really thought of as a winner or someone of importance, a middle child; he's often been overlooked and disregarded. Even his career in the Air Force has him being totally overlooked. He becomes obsessed with being a Green Lanterns and when he sees John Stewart as a Green Lantern and hears that the rings choose someone based on willpower, he devotes himself to showing whatever ring is out there that he has what it takes. He works out, he does dangerous things like be a guard at Arkham, and even becomes a vigilante, One day, the rings comes before him says he is worthy, and then says he isn't worthy and leaves. Later on, while Simon and Jessica Cruz are members of the Justice League, Frank is approached by a mysterious figure who tells him about the Phantom Ring and that he can take it from the Green Lanterns. The figure reveals himself to be none other than Volthoom!

You remember a while back when we went over the relative train wreck that was Meredith Finch's Wonder Woman and we talked about that little loser Aegeus? Frank Laminski is essentially him but better in a lot of ways. Where Aegeus came off as some loser who just felt entitled to things because he wanted them, Frank feels entitled to things because he's never been important but Frank's problem is that he never seems to really put in effort. Frank comes off as definitely more human and relatable, he wants to be a hero, he wants to stand out, and he's willing to do anything to get  it. The scene where the ring chooses and denies him is actually kind of frightening but it also implies that there is something that is stopping him from actually getting a ring. Volthoom showing up is a big deal in itself and I wonder what it is he hopes to achieve using Frank, is he planning to take the Phantom Ring for himself and knows that he's too weak to deal with two Lanterns and a Guardian? Only time will tell but this was a really get starting point to a character who last issue we had no idea who he was.

Superman #9 (so now the story begins?)

As Clark and Jon read the wall they wonder if someone else is here and where the cube is and one of those questions is answered as someone comes and shoots them telling them to leave. The man's name is Captain Storm and he's been trapped here with is friends and he's been protecting the grave site for years. Clark and Jon tell him about the cube and Storm has an idea where it might be and with the help of fresh prosthetic and pterodactyl whistle, they are off. They reach a mountain full of old WW2 technology (planes, subs, etc) and on top of it is a white gorilla with an eye like the one the octopus had back in issue 2 and he controls the dinosaurs surrounding him. The trio engages in a really intense battle against he gorilla and his dino army but Jon later finds the cube and as he gets it it activates but Captain Storm elects to stay behind to keep the dinosaurs from following them back. Clark and Jon end up back in the Fortress of Solitude and Clark says they will bring him back and get the answers they need concerning the animals with the special eyes.

This issue was just FUN. A WW2 soldier on a pterodactyl teaming up with Superman and his son to fight an island of dinosaurs led by a gorilla with weird crystal eyes, to quote John Campea, it's viagra for the eyes. Captain Storm is a great one of character and this adventure was a great one of thing. It is also nice to see that the events of issue 2 are going to be part of a bigger story if this was anything to go off of. The fact that the octopus and the gorilla had the same weird eye implies that someone or something is setting them for Superman or maybe even Superboy. There was a lot of great moments involving Clark, Jon, and Storm, one thing I've always liked about this book is that while it is hard to remember sometimes that Jon is just a boy, it never feels annoying or out of place when he acts that way. Jon is very much one of the best characters DC has turned out in a long time.

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1 (my favorite Watchman)

Daniel Dreibberg is a smart lonely child whose only joy outside of his mother and making things is his hero Nite Owl. He creates a tracking device to put on Nite Owl's care and tracks him down and asks to be his sidekick to which Hollis surprisingly agrees. When Daniel gets home he sees his father beating his mother, she tells him to go up to his room as his father tells him to watch. Later that night Daniel's mother tells him his father has had a heart attack and that she can't remember the hospital number so he'll have to do it later. At the funeral, Hollis approaches Dan and tells him that they will start his training. Hollis teaches Dan how to fight, how to profile criminals effectively and help him with his own inventions. One day Hollis announces that he is retiring and Dan asks why, that night a new Nite Owl descends upon the city, donned in a new costume, it's Dan aboard his new plane Archimedes. His first night goes well but he meets someone else in ship, Rorschach who says he wants to team up and the two do. In 1996, the duo are invited by Captain Metropolis to join the Crimebusters and the two meet Silk Specter with whom Dan is instantly smitten with. Captain Metropolis decides to break them up into teams of two at random, with Nite Owl working with Rorschach, and Silk Spectre with Doctor Manhattan much to Nite Owl's dismay. As the two walk off to their sector of the city, he tells Rorschach that he really felt that he and Silk Spectre were supposed to be teamed up together (which we later find out he was but Doctor Manhattan used his powers to change the papers).

Out of all of Watchmen, Nite Owl is by far my favorite and this just proves it to me. Daniel is very much the ideal Robin in a lot of ways but the fun thing is that he was never a sidekick, going by the issue itself Hollis essentially just trained him to be his replacement in a way similar to Silk Spectre as we will see later on. What I do find interesting about Daniel is that he wasn't born into this like Laurie, instead Daniel wanted to be a hero because he admired Nite Owl and wanted to be a part of it and I think it came down to him not liking his father. Hollis was in a lot of ways, the father he always wanted and ultimately got. He's a lot like Tim Drake fused with Terry McGinnis, a smart, gifted student who wanted to be a hero because he admired him so much. I don't think Daniel would have even needed to be Nite Owl, I think he would have been happy just to be helpful to his hero. However, unlike Veidt who became Ozymandias to answer his need for a better world, I like to view Dan being Nite Owl as him being the person he wants to be. He wants to use his gifts to help people for the sole purpose of helping people and that's why he's a hero.

Earth 2 Society #17 (so were in the Matrix?)

Our heroes find themselves in a city devoid of life in the wake of Fury opening the Pandora Casket. Powergirl chews Fury out over her opening the casket and Fury herself is overcome with guilt and shame over what she had done. As they explore the city, something grabs Powergirl, and pulls her into one of the buildings. It's Sandman but not the Sandman she knows from her Earth, (from the JSA books) and the two have a short fight with Sandman shooting her out of the building. Lois later mentions how this city looks like Metropolis from their old Earth, not the hollow shell they were given by Brainiac. As they continue trying to understand what's going on, they are attacked by an army of Sandman and they attempt to fight them off and with a little help from Fury who finds her will to keep going they are able to make it out just in time for Val Zod and the others to show up to help.

This issue is a bit weird but the appearance of Sandman does make me happy and I'll admit to squealing a big. It's hard to tell what exactly happened when Fury opened the Pandora Casket but it almost feels like they've fallen in between Earths or are underneath their old one. Fury's guilt is understandable here but Lois and Kara berating her was a bit hypocritical since Helena and Dick were also set on using the casket. Fury only used the casket to keep Humanite from using it. Exactly what happened to everyone else and where they are along with the arrival of the casket has proven to be a good story so far but I wonder if this is actually helping the book as I seem to be the only one talking about it. This book has a problem with not really managing it's resources well enough, my question is after this what will happen? Let's say that they get their old Earth back, and a new generation of heroes has arrived, then what? Anyone can write a big arc but if your book is nothing but big arcs, you don't have a book.