Posted by Richard Pulfer on May 6th, 2008
The American Heritage Dictionary defines superfluous as “Beyond what is required or sufficient, extra.” Well, it doesn’t get any more extra - and in my opinion - unnecessary than DC’s summer event “Final Crisis.” Don’t believe me? Let’s run down the numbers.
First, the name. It’s been two years since Infinite Crisis, the harrowing and effective send-up to 1985’s Crisis on Crisis on Infinite Earths. DC will argue it’s technically been three, but counting the epilogue “One Year Later” and “52″, which covered the events of the year before, it’s been about two. Getting crossover fatigue yet? Just wait.
If you pick up DC Universe 0, you see a glimpse into the events of Final Crisis, but unlike previous promos, you just can’t help but grimace. This is because the past promos have been cryptic and ominous, where as this one is blunt and tactless.
How much more blunt can you be, for example, with Batman: R.I.P? Is this DC’s sick one-up to Marvel’s Captain America? Are they really planning to kill off the Batman? Whatever the case, Joker says Batman will be “hurt so bad, you’ll NEVER recover.” The problem is, this just isn’t necessary. The aftermath of Infinite Crisis gave Batman a manageable clarity - taking this away is a step back, not a step forward.
Then, in the pages of Wonder Woman, you have the Amazon’s replacements - the Spartans. Yes, DC has finally done it - they’ve took it right from Frank Miller (since 300 is technically Vertigo, I guess they can). But it looks so clearly ripped from the film reels of 300, right down the red cloaks and their bearded leader, that I have to ask . . . WHY? Why can’t you be creative than THAT?
Infinite Crisis’ Villains United was pretty awesome. You had Lex Luthor assembling a badass team of top dogs - Black Adam, Deathstroke, Talia Al Ghul, the Calculator and Dr. Psycho - along with offering membership to mostly every supervillain along every corner of the DCU.
But in Final Crisis, we get Libra, the ranting weirdo throwback who founded the Injustice Society in the 1970’s. Think Cobra Commander mixed with Billy Graham. Midway through his first Hallelujah, I expected Captain Cold to just blast him where he stood. The idea of anyone standing behind this nutcase - instead of Lex Luthor - is baffling, considering the Rogues are for the most part capable and intelligent characters, not crazed heretics like this guy.
And finally, there’s Barry Allen, whose enjoying the fanfare of the press, who mistakenly believe the newly-returned Flash has been absent from comics since his death in 1985. Considering the DCU has never been without the Flash since then, it just doesn’t seem necessary - especially since Wally West came back after Bart Allen’s death.
Now for the comics of the week. Countdown to Mystery #7 is the penultimate issue of Steve Garber’s last mini-series, with a co-writing credit from Matt Sturges. The issue follows the rise of the new Dr. Fate (hopefully) as well as the going-on’s of Eclipso - now reunited with his first alter ego, Bruce Johnson, in the DC Universe.
Rann/Thanagar: Holy War #1 is the essential sequel to the Rann/Thanagar War which lead up to Infinite Crisis. Using many of the same characters from both that series and 52, I think this is a pretty enjoyable pick for anyone in the mood for space drama at DC.
There’s also an interesting series called The War that Time Forgot, which features soldiers from the past, present and future of DCU - including Enemy Ace and Tomahawk - in a strange island that time forgot. And yes, that means dinosaurs! Illustrated by Neal Adams and Jimmy Palmiotti, this one just looks fun!
The big news on the Marvel side is Avengers/Invaders, which presents a team-up between both Avengers teams, still fractioned by Civil War, and their Golden Age counterparts, the Invaders - and yes, among them is a young Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. While its certainly temporary, no one wants to see our WWII veterans give the current team of Avengers a much needed smack in the back of the head.
Invincible Iron Man #1 ties in with both the movie and current Marvel continuity by pitting Tony against Ezekiel Sane, the younger ruthless son of Obadiah Stane. But as Devin pointed out in his Top Ten Observations About Iron Man, the current Iron Man may not be compatible with Jon Favreu’s intensely likable character. There are also like 80 . . . okay 6 - variant covers for this one.
Mighty Avengers #13 re-introduces Nick Fury with a new group of Howling Commandos in this Secret Invasion tie-in. Considering we’ve seen two of Nick’s SHIELD buddies replaced and possibly killed in the pages of Secret Invasion, this is certainly a welcome addition to a crossover that is so far leaps and bounds above Final Crisis.
Nova #13 - my favorite book - also pits Nova against his former ally, the Silver Surfer, and his boss, Galactus, when Nova intervenes to stop the World Eater from doing what he does best. Despite whatever happens in Secret Invasion, this is still the one reason Marvel rocks these days.
And of course, there’s Secret Invasion itself - the second issue apparently asks the question everyone asked way back in Civil War - is Tony Stark a Skrull? Bendis has long said no, but there’s so much more going on in this story you should definitely buy this book at the first opportunity.
X-Factor: Quick and the Dead #1 checks in on Quicksilver, who hasn’t been doing so well since his sister wiped out most mutant powers in the universe - something he more or less brought about. This one-shot promises massive ramifications for Marvel, and considering Quicksilver has brought upon major upheavals for both mutants and Inhumans alike, I’ll tend to believe it.
Next, there’s Young X-Men #2, which pits a new team of X-Men against the old New Mutants team, who have apparently re-formed the Brotherhood of Mutants. Or so we’re told. Personally, I’m betting this is all a training exercise put together by Cyclops to decide who makes the cut for his new team, but we’ll see how it goes.
As you can see, there’s plenty to pick up this week, so enjoy!
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A series I’ve picked up recently, as they’re only two issues into it, is called “Wolverine: First Class”. While the book bears the Ol’ Canucklehead’s name, the real star is Kitty Pryde. This book focuses on Kitty’s training in the earlier years of the X-Men, and Professor X has decided that none other than Wolverine would make a good mentor for her. The best thing is, each issue is its own story, and I don’t have to worry about the current crossover-happy continuity to enjoy these lighthearted stories.
I’ll add that to my list the next time I go to the comic book store - I’ve only seen a little bit of First Class so far. Thanks for the comment, Shawn.