Always a sucker for a good origin story, I'm picking up more of these than my regular monthly pull. Lets see if it was a wise decision.
The Phantom Stranger #0
Didio takes another shot at writing after his surprisingly good Omac series. It fills in more back story from the FCBD issue and reintroduces another long time mystical character to the DCnU, but there's really not much of a story here. The new biblical origins of the Phantom Stranger are hammered home even more clearly and yet Didio is very careful not to use any names. A couple of interesting ideas are put forward and the Stranger is tied in more closely to his "guest star's" boss, (or they're both intertwined more closely with Shazam, it's not entirely clear), still, I'm not sure these are worth losing the mystery aspect of the Stranger. One thing I am sure about, the prose is downright purple and the Phantom Stranger isn't much of an active character in this book. The couple of twists have me curious enough to check out issue 1 but I probably won't be long for this series.
Green Lantern #0
Geoff Johns introduces a new Green Lantern and lets just say... he's not very subtle. Overall, the story is quite strong, in an in your face kind of way, and actually holds up a bit of a dark mirror to today's society. The reason the ring chose this man is set up in last month's Green Lantern and the story actually sets up some topical topics to be addressed in a super hero comic and gives some nuance to the character, nonetheless, I think a lot of people are going to be calling foul over his life details. One interesting thing this issue brings out, by making the heroes appear only about 6 years ago, the 9-11 terrorist attacks could now conceivably have happened in the DCnU and be a part of the public consciousness. I suspect flying men and alien invasions would probably still trump it but at least it could be a legitimate cultural reference in the DCnU. Another thing that came up is a really weird vibe off Amanda Waller, has she changed more than just her dress size?
Earth 2 #0
It feels a little early after Earth 2 #1, (not to mention Justice League 1-6), to be reading this story. Once again we're seeing the Earth 2 heroes at war with Apokolips. Apparently on Earth 2 the war lasted a lot longer and occurred in many stages, more like a traditional war than the blitzkrieg of Earth 1, (or whatever the main DC Earth is called). Anyway, we learn that the trinity weren't as alone initially as we were led to believe and that some of the damage happened in a different way then you might expect. Robinson does drop a line that's either really cryptic or a really bad attempt at not giving more information. Let's hope for cryptic.
Worlds' Finest #0
This issue shows Robin's first case and Supergirl and Robin's first team-up, (on Earth 2 of course), against the background of the Apokolips War. The family dynamics really shine through for both Helena and Kara, conveyed especially well thanks to the facial expressions by Kevin McGuire. There's a nice little moment where it's suggested Earth 2's Batman has lost perspective, as he's not paying enough attention to Gotham. Can't say I thought I'd ever see that in a comic. Overall, nothing ground breaking but probably my favourite issue of the series so far.
Replies
Action Comics #0
Not a lot to say about this one. We get to see more of the early relationship between Clark and Jimmy and Clark moves into his first apartment. Superman lets his cape get stolen, makes his public debut in a much less grandiose way than previously, and controls his own PR by naming himself. A pretty quiet story, focusing more on the man than the superman. In the backup, we get a little more history on Captain Comet.
Stormwatch #0
This one confirmed the link between Stormwatch and Demon Knights while Jenny Quantum learned the history of some of the prior century babies. A couple of interesting connections were revealed with one character who looms large over Demon Knights and on the Who's Who page, a reference to a Milestone property. Also, the DCnU's reasoning behind the organization's name was revealed. This issue seemed like a good primer for the series, introducing the characters better than the first issue while stitching together connections to other parts of the universe and setting up future plot lines. As someone who doesn't read this title regularly, I thought it was quite an effective issue.
Dial H #0
I was on the cusp of dropping this series but the zero issue may have convinced me to keep reading a little longer. Rather than learning specific history about the dial, we instead get a historical tale about a previous dial user from the days of ancient Greece and Babylon. (Persia maybe?) The way this ancient dial must be used is appropriate to the time and very inventive. The end of the story gives us a crucial piece of information that will change the whole complexion of this comic.
This was a great use of a zero issue.
Detective Comics #0
Detective Comics decided to take a page from Batman Begins and show some of Bruce's training prior to becoming Batman. I'm sure some people will like this but to me it seemed rather yawn worthy. The backup story showed Bruce first getting back to Wayne Manor, (and Alfred), after his training. It was kind of ironic that theme of the backup story seemed to contradict the theme of the main story. I've been enjoying Hurwitz's Scarecrow story in Dark Knight but if this had been my first exposure to his work, I wouldn't be picking up anything else he wrote, however, YMMV.
I had forgotten these zero issues were coming, and thought you were starting a thread about DC's Zero Month (October, 1994) and the Zero Hour event. There have been lots of threads about older comics lately. Just goes to show that everything in comics repeats if you stick around long enough!
I personally think there are some characters who should never have a definitive origin. Phantom Stranger should be one of those.
It does seem kind of wrong having a single set in stone origin for the Stranger, even if it did allow them to insert a kind of interesting twist. More than having a defined origin though, we shouldn't be in the Phantom Stranger's head. Unfortunately, the zero issue is almost entirely first person narration.
I'm not too hopeful for the series.
I bought the Green Lantern issue among others, but haven't read it yet. I admit I had to laugh out loud at a comment I saw online, though, that said the new GL looks like a combination of Ambush Bug and Kick-Ass. It's so true. Come on, people, he needs a better design than this.
Always a sucker for a good origin story,
I'm just the opposite--I could care less what story they cobble together unless it's meaningful to the character and very few are. That's where I think a lot of superhero movies go wrong. They spend so much time in the first movie explaining everything that all the time gets eaten up. He just is, let's get going! If we like him, we can come back later and fill in the mumbo-jumbo.
It doesn't really matter to me if Flash got his powers from hard water, lightning-fused chemicals, a magical elf, a secret formula he has to recite, etc. None of it matters to him.
The origins are important for Superman, Spider-Man, DD, probably Batman, and GL to some minor extent (only to explain his relation to the Guardians). Iron Man's was interesting until they cured his heart. On the other end of the spectrum, Thor's origin is embarrassing.
I'm surprised at how many series and revamps of Superman's origin there have been. At some point, it's all shuffling the cards in the same deck and what difference does it make?
-- MSA
I agree that having an extended origin just to explain a character's powers is kind of pointless but I actually think the majority of modern origins are meaningful to their characters and even the less necessary origins give us a clear window to see how becoming a hero has changed and evolved the character.
When you get to a character like Batman or Superman, it can get a little tiring seeing the same basic origin over and over again but it does show how our modern viewpoint has changed our understanding of the character, (not necessarily more perceptive, just how it's changed with the times). Whether this makes a story different enough to be worthwhile is debatable but a good creative team will always be able to shape a story to make it interesting.
Whether this makes a story different enough to be worthwhile is debatable but a good creative team will always be able to shape a story to make it interesting.
I'm harder to please in that regard. With Batman's origin, the only two significant things dealt with are:
1. Was it a random killing?
2. Did he catch them?
The first is a silly thing to come up, but everyone likes to add their own spin, and pretty soon the baggage gets unsupportive. And for the second, who cares? A case can be made for it being better either way.
The thing that never gets focused on is what happened between the death and Bruce going off to college? I'd think somewhere along the line, those years would've gotten more attention than a few pages here or there.
Except, you know, for that one story about how he moved to Smallville...
-- MSA
"When you get to a character like Batman or Superman, it can get a little tiring seeing the same basic origin over and over again"
I've always loved how they dealt with Batman's origin in the very 1st episode of the Adam West BATMAN series.
It came up again, in similar fashion, once, in the 2nd season, and again, once, in the 3rd season.
Team 7 #0
The second wave 3 title is a lot stronger than the first. This is your assemble the team issue and we get to see Canary and her husband-to-be recruit most of the other members while John Lynch justifies the team to unseen power brokers. This series should get a lot of mileage from being set in the past as we get to see both how different headliners develop and, perhaps more interestingly, how the DCnU deals with suddenly having super heroes. This one is going on my pull.
Batgirl #0
Barbara convinces her father to let her tour the police station, ostensibly for a school project, but more to satisfy her curiosity about the police's reaction to Batman. As so often seems to happen, this is the time some hoods stage an assault on the station to bust their accomplice out of lockup. In the ensuing chaos, Barbara gets separated from most of the cops and is forced to defend herself and her tag-along little brother before Batman arrives to bail them out. Ultimately, the whole incident solidifies her thinking and convinces her to take the plunge and become Batgirl.
I have to say, this story really worked for me. The first issue seemed kind of clunky to me and I haven't been following the series but if this issue is any indication, it seems to have gotten a lot stronger. Anyone out there reading Batgirl regularly? Has Simone stepped it up a notch or is this a non-representative issue?
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 6 Next