Comic Book Case

Batman #13 (YOU BRILLIANT BASTARD!)

As Bane begins beating the crap out of Batman and talking to him about how similar the two of them are, something else is happening. We find out Punchee and Jewel are actually alive and create a casing with bubble gum (yeah turns out Jewel has special powers) and turns into a raft while Bronze Tiger goes to meet Wesker. Finally Batman tells Catwoman the time is now and she attacks Bane from behind, breaking his back (as Batman kept saying would happen). The Psycho Pirate then goes up to them to work his powers but is met by Wesker and it turns out that Wesker can't be affected by Psycho Pirate because Wesker will always listen to Scarface, the persona inside his head which emerges like a second personality. Batman goes up to Bane and tells him not to come after him because it won't end well for him and the team escapes with Bane telling his men to bring him Venom. Wesker will be sent to a better facility, Bronze Tiger will be on parole, Punchee will be able to visit Jewel once a month, and Catwoman will go back to Arkham.

This issue was just awesome and it really showed how epic Batman was on a larger scale. With "I am Gotham" we saw what Batman can do in his own element of Gotham City, how he can control an area, his sense of timing, we see the champion in his arena. "I am Suicide" showed us what Batman does when he declares war on people, he assembles a team of people best suited for the job and creates plane within plans. The story as a whole was also really great and I think it just takes time to get used to King's stories especially if you are coming off of Snyder's run which was very action paced. I enjoyed this a bit more than "I am Gotham" but what really sold this was Catwoman, who was largely absent in Batman's life, the story here has her in a totally different light and her dynamic with Batman really makes me wonder again why people like him with Tahlia.

Detective Comics #947

Spoiler stands before Batman's team and the Victim Syndicate and lays down the law as she is able to shut down a lot of the tech the people are using since she helped Tim make it. She tells Batman that this isn't how the world should be, that people shouldn't have to run out of hospitals because people wanted to fight him, his crusade is hurting people and while the Victim Syndicate is just as bad, they have a point. Batman apologizes to the Victim Syndicate, that he should have been there to catch him when they got caught up in the debris and that he will help them now though Spoiler isn't buying it. She tells Batman that he has to retire, shut down the Batcave and Belfry and convince his allies to hang up the capes and cowls and end it or she will reveal 100% evidence proving who he is. Batman says no, that's now how the world works and Batwing and Clayface make their cases as Batwoman disarms her of her phone. Spoiler runs off, saying that if Batman won't stop then she will continue to stand in his way.The story calms down with Clayface talking to Glory, and Batman and Batwoman talking about what has happened, that Stephanie's phone didn't have the means to expose him, and that Batman will let her be and will just keep an eye on her and that he plans to offer Harper a job helping out. Batwoman agrees to talk to her father for information. Meanwhile Tim Drake tries to break out of wherever he is and he does only to find himself back in his cell.

This was a fun conclusion and I like how it ends in a very classic Batman fashion, with words. I've been giving Stephanie some flack this arc but I think it's easy to understand her and this story I think helped us understand what she's capable of like we saw in "Night of the Monster Men". Her argument is a bit naive as Batwing points out, that if Batman and the others just stopped then people wouldn't get hurt, it's the idea that Batman creates his own enemies. But this honestly isn't true, and ultimately, Stephanie reminds me of a line from Infinite Crisis "A perfect world doesn't need Superman." Stephanie now devotes her time to in a lot of ways, stopping Batman from getting involved in crimes for the safety of others, which she does when she disables the Bat-Signal, forcing the GCPD to handle the bank robbery on her own. Clayface and Batwing also had great moments, with Clayface saying he does what he does so he can make up for what he's done and Batwing talking about why he does what he does. With Batwoman going to talk to her father and Azrael set to join soon, I still find myself excited to see what else is going to happen.

Trinity #4 (Nice)

This time our trio finds themselves on the shores of Themyscira and find themselves face to face with a group of Amazons led by Queen Hippolyta and a young Diana. The trio prove themselves to be who Diana says they are via a series of trials and Hippolyta says that SHE can stay but that Batman and Superman are not allowed on the island regardless and they are banished to the Dark Quarters. As the trio are rafted away they are joined by a young Diana who wants to help and wants to understand Diana more so she brings out the lasso of truth and wraps it around the two's arms and it helps them understand each other as well as Batman and Superman understand what they are saying at all. They are then attacked by a serpent and find themselves in the snakes belly along with other snakes and young Diana missing. Batman is trying to tell Diana something as she cuts their way out but before he can say it they find themselves face to face with Mongul.

Trinity has another good issue that I think was a bit ruined by the fact that we knew this place was next and again it reminds of the episode "For the Man Who Has Everything" where Mongul traps Superman in a world of his dreams. Diana doesn't have to really try to accept that it isn't real so much as she has to keep telling herself that. It also relied more on dialogue than the other two, I liked the little nod to her own book when she talks about she won't let snakes take her again. Like the other two places, Trinity shows a great talent for showcasing the characters, Clark wanting to meet his father, Bruce wanting to console himself and Diana honestly could have been darker but it shows her own dedication to the truth, she knows this isn't her home but she isn't swayed, as much as she'd like to be. I wonder how it would have been if the order was changed and she was first?

Green Lanterns #13-14

Our story opens up with a flashback to Volthoom, his new Emotional Spectrum powers driving him insane and the Guardians forced to use Rami's green rings to apprehend him. In the present, Simon and Jessica literally battle their fears and it goes as well as could be expected with Jessica doubting herself more and Simon being told that he still has a gun because he doesn't feel safe without it. Meanwhile, Volthoom and Rami have a conversation about what Volthoom's been doing, the Malthusian Transfer and that Frank Laminski is going to explode if he doesn't get the ring off because of how unregulated the ring was, without a power battery, Frank will be just like Volthoom when he had the first Power Battery put inside him, uncontrollable and eventually he will explode. Simon and Jessica finally break through their fears, with Jessica realizing that she is a Green Lantern because she has always lived with fear and overcome it and Simon refusing to let the construct go after his nephew. As they approach Frank, the Phantom Ring switches him up again, going through Red, Blue, and Indigo.

As an Indigo Lantern, Frank seems to realize that what he's been doing is wrong and he tries to take the ring off but when he does he snaps out of it but Simon knocks him down and Jessica puts the ring on to keep him from getting it. The Phantom Ring overrides her ring and turns her into . . . .  a Green Lantern, realizing that she is the only thing in her way, she removes the ring and uses her own to subdue Frank. Rami later shows up, with a sphere of energy that he says is Volthoom and says that the three of them will protect the planet, sending the two GL's who answered the beacon back to Oa. The last image is that of the sphere Rami is holding, inside is not Volthoom but instead Rami.

These two issues were really fun and I think a great way to close one chapter (hopefully) while continuing others. Jessica seems to have realized that she is a Green Lantern, that Will Power is her strong suit because she deals with fear everyday. Simon seems to still feel he needs to use the Phantom Ring but is willing to put putting it on on hold. Volthoom and Rami's back and forth was interesting, it reminds me of the short conversation Gallahad and Lancelot had in The Librarians or Hohenheim and Dante's back in forth in the 2003 version of Fullmetal Alchemist. The two immortals discuss their history but not in a big enough way to give too much away, the two were friends, Volthoom helped the Guardians but Volthoom became too dangerous and he was locked away. This was honestly a great story that shows just how far this book can go but I really hope we can go a different route with Jessica and get Simon to resolve his trust issues with the ring.

Civil War 2 #8 (Neat and stupid)

Civil War 2 ends with one epic battle between Iron Man and Captain Marvel and honestly, that was the best part of it and Civil War 2 as a whole. While Medusa tries to get Maria Hill to call them off, Ulysses is having another vision and Medusa decides to bring him to Carol and Tony and have them see the vision but not before Carol delivers a giant blow to Tony, knocking him out of his suit. By the time Ulysses gets there he envelops everyone in a series of visions; of monster battling on Earth, of X-Men attacking what looks like the Inhumans,  of Miles Morales holding a dead Captain America in front of the White House, and others before we find out that Ulysses has evolved into something beyond Inhuman and he goes off to join a bigger universe. 

Later, Beast goes over Tony's damage with Carol and Beast says that he is dead in theory but he doesn't know much else. Tony has been experimenting on himself and that whatever he has done to himself is keeping him alive but Beast is hesitant to even draw blood. Later Carol meets with the President who offers her anything she wants for her dedicated service and she says she has some plans.

Honestly, Civil War 2 had some good points, like any big event book it did get me interested in characters I don't usually read like the Inhumans and even Carol Danvers, but that honestly is where it ends. Civil War 2 was a one sided argument hidden behind good character writing. You understand where the characters are coming from but no one actually makes an interesting argument to Tony's about how factual the visions were or how good it is to profiling people. The argument seemed to be "it's better to be safe than sorry" but the scene where Carol holds a woman indefinitely for a crime she MIGHT commit honestly left a worse impact against her, just like She-Hulks did in the beginning. In the first Civil War and like Injustice, it is easier to find yourself seeing each other's points regardless of who you actually sided with. This book wasn't as bad as I had been saying for the most part, hedging its bets at the end but overall this was one of the weaker event stories ever.

All Star Batman #5 (Fun ending to a fun story)

So the first story of Snyder's All Star Batman was really fun if I do say so myself. Instead of reviewing the issue entirely I want to talk about what this story tells us we can expect in the book and upcoming stories. Batman will be faced with a villain from his rogue's gallery (the next one being Mister Freeze) and we will see what looks to be, not a serious reboot but a new take on their history and character. We can expect that this may be the book where Duke Thomas will shine as he has yet to really do anything in either of the Batman Books, implying that his fate is ultimately in Snyder's hands, his creator. We can possibly expect other small time villains like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and we can possibly see characters like Gordon and Alfred regulated to the background but not useless. Since it is Scott Snyder, we can ultimately expect Batman to have the snot beat out of him, which happened in this story a lot and we can possibly expect a new character. Honestly this reminds me of something Paul Dini said about Batman villains in that they all reflect part of the human condition and this is in part what makes Batman's rogues so great.

Superman #14 (Multiverse Murders!)

While driving down the road, Clark almost hits someone a bit familiar, SOVIET SUPERMAN (from Superman Red Son), he's injured and he tells Superman that he was attacked by someone called Prophecy and that before he escaped, he heard that they were also looking for someone from this Earth, Kenan Kong (Superman in China). He says that he found Superman in the dimensional wake of his escape and saw a blue light emanating from him. Before he can get more information they are attacked by the creatures that attacked Soviet Superman, saying something about a list and that this Earth's Superman isn't on the list. The two Superman battle the creatures and their battle is interrupted by the Justice League Incarnate who help take out the creatures. The Justice League Incarnate is comprised of heroes from the multiverse/ distinct Earths like Mary Marvel of Earth 5, Aquawoman of Earth 11, etc. The Superman (we'll call him Superman-M) says that someone is kidnapping Supermen from across the multiverse and they don't know why. Meanwhile Kenan Kong Superman (Superman-K) is attacked and brought to a prison full of other Supermen like Captain Carrot, who is taken out of his cell and turned into a regular rabbit.

This issue was interesting and has a fun premise, someone is going after different versions of Superman, except ours. It isn't the first time Superman has had to deal with different versions of himself as in both Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis. This could be because he isn't really this Earth's Superman, that one died. It was nice to see characters from Grant Morrison's Multiversity, and I kind of wish I had bothered to finish it. I was hoping we would be getting back to the status quo of the family oriented adventures we had earlier on but I would wager that this could be part of upcoming Superman Lives story coming up. If you know anything about it drop a comment.