Happy Birthday, Superman! + Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Superman Stories

Hey guys, it’s February 29th! Guess who is celebrating their birthday today? 😀

… … … …Okay, let’s try THAT again…

I swear to God, YouTube!!!

There we go! 😀 And yeah, go figure that, in official DC canon, Superman is a leap year baby. Personally, I would prefer to celebrate his birthday as being the date when Action Comics #1 came out, but since there is an actual birth date given for him in the comics, here we are. And for a man who has had stories told about him for nearly 80 years, who has saved the world more times than I could dare count, and has been rebooted and given multiple continuities devoted to telling various tales about him, naturally, everybody’s gonna have their favourites. As such, here are five of my personal favourite stories, both from the comics, the various animated series he’s been involved in, and the movies he’s been a part of. So, I suppose we should start off with the most obvious one that anyone who reads my blog knows is gonna be on here, simply because I’ve gone on and on about it already, meaning I won’t have as much new to say about it here…

#1 – Superman Unchained

In looking back on this book, it’s all the more clear to me just how much potential the New 52 Superman has as a character that is ultimately squandered. He is probably among the more imperfect versions of Superman to be shown off in the mainstream, and yet is shown to nonetheless be an inspiring and heroic individual primarily due to one thing: He never, ever gives up. He keeps trying, no matter how bleak things get, even when his own life is on the line, and even if the entire world pleaded for his sake not to. And sometimes, that means failing and eating dirt. But what’s always been most important to him is to never stop trying. Like all past versions of Superman have done when they are at their best, he inspires others to be better through his actions and his kindness. In addition to all that, though, there’re also great cameos by Batman and Wonder Woman that actually make sense within the context of the story and aren’t just shoved in to make a buck, there’s plenty of Lois Lane being awesome, Lex Luthor remains the great and evil puppeteer, and even Jimmy Olsen gets some nice moments in here and there. There are some clichés of modern Superman stories involved, like the military being leery and untrusting of him, and the reveal of another alien who has appeared on Earth to contest him, but there’s just something about the context in which it’s presented here that works a lot better. If you want a good Superman read set in the New 52, this is probably the one for you.

#2 – The Last Son Of Krypton

Probably my favourite modern reinterpretation of Superman’s origins. Granted, it could’ve been stretched out to a four or five parter so that the stuff involving Clark as Superman could’ve been expanded on more, but hey, he’s technically still getting started in the next few episodes anyway, so it works fine for what it is. It even addresses my biggest gripe involving Superman’s origins, which, if you’ve read my blog for a while now, you already know: HOW THE FUCK DID NOBODY ELSE ON KRYPTON KNOW THE END WAS COMING AND DIDN’T HAVE A MEANS OF GETTING OFF THE PLANET?!?! Here, though, the explanation given actually makes a lot of sense. Making Lois more of a rival to Clark kinda works well, too, and lets us see her really working her ass off and taking some serious risks, to where it’s obvious and forgivable that she needs saving so much. Any of us would under those circumstances, it just happens to be her. Granted, I don’t quite get why her skirt is so short that, when Superman carries her around, everyone beneath her is getting a shot of her underwear, but whatever. Point is, it’s a great first outing for the hero and look at his origins for a new generation.

#3 – The Mad Scientist

The more I think about it, the more I realize how this is pretty much the archetype of the classic Superman story: Mad scientist creates a device that’ll severely fuck up the world, Lois gets into trouble trying to do her job, Superman has to get involved, and through his quick thinking and incredible powers, he saves the day. And honestly, even after nearly 75 years, it still holds up really well. Yeah, there’s some stuff involving his origins that are talked about that I don’t agree with, like the idea of him being naturally super without the need for the sun, or the fact that he was raised in an orphanage, but, all things considered, not the worst version of his origins I’ve ever seen, either. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s in public domain right now, so there’s very little in the way of stopping you from doing so.

#4 – For The Man Who Has Everything

What DO you get for the man who has everything? Well, if you wanna stay on his good side, probably not what Mongul got him. This story’s actually been retold and reimagined from its original comic form at least a couple of times. The ones I’m thinking of are in the fantastic Justice League Unlimited series, and as an episode of Supergirl, entitled For The Girl Who Has Everything. Admittedly, I lean more towards the JLU version, but that could simply be because it’s the first one I saw. However, all three tend to show that the most painful and heartbreaking thing you can do to a person is to make them live out their perfect scenario and then force them to abandon it for the greater good. Also, the comic has probably one of Jason Todd’s best moments EVER. It’s emotional, it’s action packed, it’s For The Man Who Has Everything.

#5 – All-Star Superman

Oftentimes considered by many to be one of the all-time greatest stories of the Man of Tomorrow. Once again, the animated version is the one I first saw, but having read the comics since then, I can tell you there are things about it that they change from the original that I both like and dislike. In terms of the like category, I think I prefer the ending of the movie, where we see Luthor, in what could be his final days, finally understanding Superman and what he stood for, what he himself could’ve been all along if it’d really mattered to him, and while he doesn’t necessarily redeem himself, he does make a gesture that perhaps will let his life have some positive meaning. In terms of the dislike, though, the pacing is a bit off, but that’s kinda obvious, due to trying to crunch down a 12 issue comic mini-series into a 76 minute movie. However, while there are of course some things that had to be cut, the one thing that I wish to God could’ve been kept in wasn’t. I don’t why, if maybe there was concern about showing this for whatever reason, but it is quite possibly the greatest scene involving Superman that you will ever see in your life. Here’s the context: Superman is dying. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, he is going to die. As such, in his last days, he is spending his time doing as much as he can for the world as possible, saving more lives and accomplishing greater wonders than he ever has before. And right as he’s in the middle of all that, his super hearing intercepts a call made by a single child…and this is what happens.

THAT is Superman. THAT is the Man of Tomorrow. How great is this scene, you might still ask yourself? Mark Waid called it the most moving scene in a Superman book ever, and he has read EVERY SINGLE COMIC ABOUT SUPERMAN. As I once shared on my blog, POW once awarded it as the greatest moment in comic book history. As TV Tropes put it, “If you took all eighty years of the character’s history and distilled it into a single pure moment containing all his best qualities, that one page would be it. He inspires strength, wisdom, kindness, freedom, value and hope in just a few words. And he saves a life.” And in terms of how it impacted the people who read it…well, let’s let this person tell you.

… … …I’d put down my fedora for this, but let’s be honest, I don’t really wear it much anymore. It’s gotten kinda old. Regardless, this is where we get into real talk, so just bear with me. A lot of people ask me from time to time how I can care so much about superheroes, when they’re just fictional characters drawn on paper. And, even I’ve asked myself on occasion why it feels like all I know how to write about are superheroes, or people and characters that are heroic in their own ways. This is the reason why: Through their stories, superheroes inspire people. They inspire us to be better, to be stronger, to be truer to ourselves, and to be kind and noble. I think that’s also why I watch Atop The Fourth Wall and find myself in the same corner as Lewis Lovhaug when he talks about comics. He once said that “Superheroes are basically the equivalent of modern-day knights-errant, they go out and help people and fight injustices. But a lot of the best superhero comics are the ones not actually about superheroes hitting supervillains or each other, anything like that. It’s the ones that show that superheroes are about kindness and decency and something far more noble than the adolescent power fantasies that people often critique them as”. I tend to agree. Sure, it’s always great to see superheroes give evil people their comeuppance, and of course I still love a good superhero brawl as much as anyone, but THIS is what they should always be about. They are kind, they are compassionate, and in their fictional tales, they show us what we can be in real life.

…Oh yeah, and one other problem one can have with the animated version of All-Star Superman is that he apparently kills Solaris. I don’t know enough about Solaris to know if he really qualifies as a living creature, so if he does, then yeah, that’s a strike against the movie. Really, the only reason I’m okay with it in Superman Unbound is because, by then, Brainiac was more…well…Um, Obi-Wan, you wanna help me out here?

Thank you. lol

And those are my favourite Superman stories. Got one that wasn’t on here? Leave it in the comments section, and don’t worry, I’ll likely be sharing more of my favourite stories and moments in a couple of years when The Man of Tomorrow hits 80 years old. And hey, be sure to leave any words you’d like to share with Superman on his birthday on your own, as well. Ja né!

http://www.dccomics.com/characters/superman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman

https://www.facebook.com/superman

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Superman

My Own Answer To My DC Multiverse Questionnaire – The Villains

So, as you saw in an earlier post of mine, a few days ago, I sent a number of people on Tumblr a sort of questionnaire, asking what they would do with their own world in the DC Multiverse. I guess with Multiversity being out (and being AWESOME, btw), with the possibility of the return or integration of the previous continuity on the horizon, and with other stories involving multiple universes being told in other books across DC and Marvel, it’s just really hitting me the mass potential that can exist in stories like these. But, just because I sent the questionnaire out in the first place does not mean that I am exempt from giving an answer myself. As I said before, I’ve done stories with my own take on the DCU, but that was more-so becoming my idealized versions of the characters. So, I guess this is how I would do my own world in the DC Universe, who would its heroes be, and who would its biggest villains be (besides alternate Earth villains or singular entity enemies like the Anti-Monitor or Darkseid). And since I did the heroes already, let’s take a look at the villains, starting with arguably the most memorable of all, Batman’s rogues gallery.

Batman’s Rogues Gallery

Of course, I’d want the big names like Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Black Mask around, but I’d also wanna introduce lesser-known villains and tweak some of the more well-known ones. For example, what if Victor Fries was actually an ally of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s, and the man to become Mr. Freeze was none other than Joe Chill, the man who killed Batman’s parents? What if Roxy Rocket, originally conceived for the 90’s animated series, was the one who played cat and mouse with Batman the most in Catwoman‘s absence (we’ll get to her in a bit)? What if Mirror, from Gail Simone’s run on Batgirl, was trying to kill Bruce Wayne for surviving when his parents didn’t? And then there’s the Joker. I think I’d want him to be more akin to Heath Ledger’s Joker in terms of, rather than having his skin bleached and hair turned green by falling into chemicals, he’s just a guy in make-up with no traceable fingerprints or identity. Also, I think I’d give him a bit of an Alex DeLarge Clockwork Orange twist on him in leading the Jokerz, though perhaps toned down a little from that in terms of…*ahem*, ‘Singing In The Rain’. After all, Joker should still keep that part of him that you can laugh at and/or with while still being frightened of him.

Poison Ivy’s Rogues Gallery

For Poison Ivy, who I envision as being akin to Greg Pak’s interpretation of Storm in this world, her villains would be a mix of wealthy tyrants (Veronica Cale and Knightfall in particular come to mind), other elementally-based baddies (Volcana, Killer Frost, and Livewire), and general villains for hire (mercenaries and assassins like Deadshot or Bane). And of course Floronic Man…’Cuz, duh. And, just for the hell of it, SNOWFLAME! XD Otherwise, though, most of what Ivy would do is just help people out and get into conflicts with governments that either distrust her or don’t want her involvement, even though she’s just trying to be of assistance to people that could use it.

Doctor Fate’s Rogues Gallery

For Doctor Fate, since Khalid hasn’t really been around long enough to earn a Rogue’s Gallery, save for Wotan, I’m thinking he would fight a lot of the mystical/paranormal threats to the world. Mordu, Enchantress, and Morgaine le Fey were easy choices, but I also wanted to bring in villains that hadn’t necessarily gotten much in the way of attention. Then I remembered an old enemy of Batman’s, one that even pre-dates Joker, that was vampiric in nature, and hadn’t been seen much in years: The Monk. Surely someone like that could prove a sufficient threat to the newest person to claim the Helm of Nabu.

The Rogues

Yeah, not much of a shocker, huh? Of COURSE it’d be The Rogues. They’re pretty much THE trademark villains of anyone carrying The Flash mantle since just a little while after Barry Allen took up the role. All the really great ones, like Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Golden Glider, Mirror Master, and so on. Also, as a sort of take-that to how he was portrayed in Countdown as unapologetically homophobic, I think I’d want Trickster to be gay (seriously, suck it, Countdown). I’m thinking they could perhaps take a bit more directly antagonistic role with the female Flash, in that she has little time for their quirks and wants to shut them all down. And of course I’d need to include a Reverse Flash, and other villains like Gorilla Grodd.

Green Lantern’s Rogues Gallery

In addition to other ring-bearers like Sinestro, Black Hand, and Atrocitus, I’d like to see some of the classic Green Lantern villains come back. Solomon Grundy is of course a great pick, and a fairly well-known baddie, what with his appearances in the Justice League animated series, Batman: Arkham City, and Injustice: Gods Among Us. Doctor Polaris is another good one, since he’s pretty much Magneto, only in an even dumber costume. Although technically, I’m pretty sure neither one is a rip off of the other, since they both made their debuts a couple of months apart from each other. Not really enough time to cheat off the other person’s test sheets, if you get my drift.

Wonder Woman’s Rogues Gallery

Since Diana would be Queen not only of Themyscira but of Atlantis as well with Mera, I’m thinking her rogues could be a blend of her usual enemies and Aquaman’s. So, on one hand, you’d have the typical Wonder Woman enemies like Cheetah, Circe, and Giganta, and on the other, you’d have people like Ocean Master, Black Manta, and King Shark. Of course, as a result of that, Mera would naturally get in on the fun of taking them down from time to time, because hey, she can’t just stay behind sitting on the throne ALL THE TIME, right? 🙂

Superman’s Rogues Gallery

And finally, we come to Superman’s enemies. Of course, Superman has some of the most powerful opponents, as well some weaker-yet-varied ones, which makes sense. I mean, let’s say you’re Lex Luthor, calling in villains to kill Superman. Sometimes, when you’re evil and you’re trying to bring down a man as powerful as Superman, you gotta just throw random shit at him to see what works and what doesn’t. I think I’d wanna bring Ultra-Humanite back as one of his primary enemies, since he was his arch nemesis before Luthor came around in comics. Others would likely include Mongul, Brainiac, Atomic Skull, Metallo, Parasite, Bizarro, Toyman, and so on. As for his most notable and recognizable enemy, though…well, we’ll get to him in a sec. One thing I’d probably change is that Brainiac in this universe DID cause the destruction of Krypton. Why? Because otherwise, it makes the Kryptonians look REALLY stupid for not being able to tell (save for one or two scientists that they considered babbling madmen) that their frakking PLANET was about to blow. Seriously, why is it that in every single continuity, they NEVER believe it?! They never for one second suspect that the world is about to end…until right before it ends?! At least in the Superman animated series, we were given the semi-believable excuse that Brainiac lied to them about it!

Justice League’s Rogues Gallery

I’m thinking Justice League level threats, bad guys that are so powerful that they require the League’s attention instead of just one member’s, would be ones that are so powerful and dangerous that no single member of the team can take them down. Amazo‘s a good example, since it can replicate the abilities of anyone it interacts with. Mongul’s another good one, as he’s been shown to be able to be a match for even Superman. Starro would of course be a must, as the first villain the Justice League of America ever battled. And I think I’d want to re-establish Doctor Light as a credible threat to the team, minus…erm, certain things they did with him over the years (see Identity Crisis, unless you have a weak stomach). I suppose, depending on the situation, you could see supervillains like Brainiac, Grodd, and Black Hand as being League threats, and of course groups of villains would require the team’s attention…speaking of whom…

The Legion of Doom

The Legion of Doom are typically recognized as being the ultimate group in opposition to the League. As such, I’m thinking that only the most dangerous, powerful, and brilliant villains of the DCU would form its inner circle. Lex Luthor, Riddler, Grodd, Vandal Savage, those kinds of villains that are a tad bit more devious, diabolical, and dangerous than the average rogue. Also, to round it out, I think I’d want people like Enchantress, Floronic Man, and Lion-Mane to be members, as villains with personal vendettas against members of the League.

Task Force X

Task Force X I think would basically be a mixture of Secret Six and Suicide Squad, in terms of some of the people that have been on both teams. Also, I think it’d be a well-balanced team of strength, speed, and varying skill-sets. In that case, I think Catwoman would be a must for the team. Also, I think I’d want to include Yo-Yo. No, not the one King Shark ATE that time, but the one from Flashpoint who, I’m not 100% sure, but I think was supposed to be Harleen Quinzel in the altered timeline. Again, not certain, but would certainly explain a bit. Otherwise, the obvious members include Deathstroke, Deadshot, King Shark, Scandal Savage, and possibly Bane at some point.

Whew! That’s the end of that! Got your own ideas on who would be the heroes and villains of your own world in the DC Multiverse? Lemme know in the comments below, and I shall see y’all next time. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Most Badass Wonder Woman Moments

So, it’s been a while since I last did a Favourite 5. What inspired this one? Well, basically, a friend of mine on Twitter, @HowBatmanIAm, talking about a tweet she received by some guy saying how, and I quote, “Wonder Woman sucks at everything”…There is NO WAY that a sane person could ever make that kind of claim and even think for a moment that they could get away with it. But I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, he’s probably just some guy that just loves manly heroes that punch shit, and therefore would be detracted from superheroines”. Well, it’s true that Wonder Woman IS a feminist icon (although not so much as of late), and is the symbol of compassion and love in the DC Universe (again, not so much lately). That being said, the guy is still an idiot. Why? Because, while Wonder Woman is all of these things, she’s also a frakking badass Amazon that you NEVER, EVER WANT TO PISS OFF! So, just going solely based on the male demographic’s view of superheroes punching the crap outta stuff, here are my 5 Favourite Badass Wonder Woman Moments, be they in comics, cartoons, or movies.

#1 – Wonder Woman Fighting Mongul in ‘For The Man Who Has Everything’

Okay, despite the image I’m using, I’m actually basing this pick off of the episode of Justice League Unlimited that was based on the original comic, as I haven’t actually read the book yet (I REALLY should someday, just to write up a comparison). Also, granted, in this fight, Wonder Woman spends most of it on the defensive, since it’s clear Mongul is far more powerful than her. However, give her some credit, even when Superman comes at Mongul in a rage afterwards, the Man of Steel’s only barely got an advantage. And even then, Superman relents for a moment and gets caught off-guard, which leads to Wonder Woman having to save him and put an end to the fight. So yeah, I’m counting this as a badass moment for Wonder Woman. Oh, and while I’m generally against the idea of DC heroes using guns, I CAN be okay with it in some circumstances, and the moment where she starts blasting Mongul is just too frigging awesome, and admittedly kinda hot. lol

#2 – Pretty much ALL of “The Circle”

Kinda cheating, but let’s be fair, The Circle really DOES feature Wonder Woman going full-blown badass for the majority of it. She fights gorilla soldiers, wrestles Captain Nazi, and defeats a group of rogue Amazons that tried to kill her as a baby. Don’t know who Captain Nazi is? Well, he was Shazam’s arch nemesis for a long time, and is basically a genetically altered super soldier. And yeah, I know, sounds more than just a LITTLE familiar, let’s just move on. Point is, you don’t fuck around with this guy, and Wonder Woman beat him in a straight-up fight. AWESOME. And, for those that love the more compassionate Wonder Woman, we get plenty of that too, as we see her deciding to spare Captain Nazi, as she has empathy for him and what he was turned into.

#3 – Mind Controlled Wonder Woman vs The Justice Ladies in ‘Grudge Match’

Basic premise: Roulette of the Legion of Doom decides to open a new fighting spectacular, where mind controlled Justice League superheroines are fighting each other. As the Justice Ladies start to free themselves, however, they find themselves face-to-face with the last one still under Roulette’s control: Wonder Woman. At this point, even Hawkgirl is afraid that they’re going to die, and I’ll explain why that is a little later, but suffice to say, the ensuing fight gets outta control pretty quick. Really, the entire episode is frigging awesome, but that moment when Wonder Woman is revealed as the last opponent is where you just go…well…someone wanna help me out here?

Thank you. ^_^

#4 – Wonder Woman BLINDS Darkseid in ‘Justice League: Origin’

Y’know, at first I was gonna suggest that maybe the guy that sent the tweet was going based on the New 52, since Wonder Woman is admittedly a lot different here. But that theory is kinda blown away by THIS. Darkseid is levelling the Justice League, and they realise they need to take his Omega Beams out of the equation, so Wonder Woman decides they need to blind him. So, what does she do? She shoves her sword INTO HIS EYE SOCKET! And then, to follow that up, Aquaman, the other hero that’s supposed to be ‘useless’, stabs his trident into the other eye! How can you possibly argue against that being badass?! SWORD! DARKSEID! EYE!!! Oh, and for anyone that didn’t read Justice League: Origin, either go do so now or check out the animated movie Justice League: War when it comes out. 

#5 – “Wonder Woman Doesn’t Have A Kryptonite”, from Justice League #20

Okay, this technically isn’t really a badass moment, but it further validates my point. If you haven’t read JLA: Tower of Babel, Justice League #20 of the New 52, or watched Justice League: Doom (I’ve done all three, actually), I will explain this: In many cases and continuities, Batman has created contingency plans to neutralise other members of the Justice League, in the case that one should turn evil, be brainwashed, or replaced with a duplicate. Kinda paranoid behaviour, but considering that all three have occurred at one point or another, not irredeemable actions. In Justice League #20, he has each of these in a little box locked up in a vault in the Batcave. However, when he shows Superman Wonder Woman’s box (stop giggling, you know what I mean), it’s empty. The reason: Wonder Woman has no specific weakness. In Tower of Babel and Justice League: Doom, the contingency plans stolen from Batman and adjusted to kill the Justice League include nanomachines that make Wonder Woman think she’s in a fight she cannot win, but because she’d never surrender, she’ll just keep fighting until her heart gives out. In the New 52, the contingency plan is for Superman to disable her if necessary, and even then, you gotta wonder if that would work, considering Wonder Woman is a demi-goddess in the New 52. What does all that mean? Well, that people should be glad Wonder Woman is as good and compassionate as she is, because if you thought people were terrified of Superman when he pretended to go bad in ‘What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?’, that’s NOTHING compared to what Wonder Woman could do if she wasn’t the paragon of kindness that she is.

…Hmm, still feel like that’s kinda cheating, though…Oh, I know. Here’s an unofficial #6 to balance it out…

#6 – Wonder Woman Riding A Pegasus in Batman/Superman

Okay, the reason this is unofficial is because I haven’t read the issue this picture is featured in, a crime I plan to rectify next year, and I’m going solely based on the image itself. With that said, LOOK AT THIS! This is AWESOME! I wanna take this picture, blow it up, and put it on my fucking ceiling, so that every day can start off EPIC! XD

Anyway, if I’ve reached anyone who isn’t a big fan of Wonder Woman, and I’ve shown you how awesome she can be, I hope you’ll also give her a look based on her more compassionate side as well. I know, she can be a great fight in contrasts, but speaking as someone who is still writing a Wonder Woman fanfic, I can honestly say that it’s the contrast that makes her so much fun to write. She’s a sisterly, motherly, compassionate, and loving individual, but may God have mercy on those that anger her. As for people who DO love Wonder Woman, be it for the depths of her compassion or how badass she can be, lemme know in the comments what some of your favourite Wonder Woman moments are. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Fearless Defenders #12, Batman/Superman #6, The Movement #7 (WARNING – SPOILERS) + Farewell Fearless Defenders

Well, tis Wednesday, meaning it’s time to look at…

And no, I didn’t forget last week, I just didn’t buy anything. The weather was nasty out, so I didn’t go out. Also, I’ve been home sick with a cold, and I got my early Christmas present, the Wii U, a bit earlier than expected, hence why I haven’t writing much. But, I’m back, which means I now have the unfortunate responsibility of sending of one of my favourite books from this past year: The Fearless Defenders.

Suffice to say, Fearless Defenders, despite one or two dipping points, has been a delight to read this past year. I still haven’t had the chance to grab the first few issues before the one that hooked me, the issue with the awesome tournament fighter select screen cover, but I plan to, as soon as I can find them. In the meantime, though, I’ve loved what I’ve read of the series. If I haven’t made it clear, my favourite characters of the book have thus far been Annabelle, Valkyrie, and the newly created Ren Kimura. Still, the other members of this all superheroine team have been awesome in their own ways. It’s a shame to see their comic go, but at least we’ll always have the memories. And with that said, let’s look at Fearless Defenders #12.

So, long story short, Enchantress and the other Doom Maidens that Caroline LeFay let go ratted her out to the Defenders, so they go to where she and the rest of her team are hiding, while picking up a new member for the ride. It seems that Annabelle and Valkyrie are kind of having troubles, since it turns out part of the agreement with the All Mother to allow their little trick and let Annabelle return to the realm of the living was for her to remind Valkyrie of her duty to bring together shieldmaidens, not defenders. Also, Valkyrie’s a bit bothered by the fact that, every day, she’s becoming more and more like Annabelle. However, Annabelle counters that she agrees with Valkyrie, that the world needs Defenders, not shieldmaidens, and that she too is becoming more like Valkyrie. It’s a lot like Yugi and Yami Yugi from Yugioh: The two are balancing each other out. So, after hinting that Valkyrie likes Red too (thanks for suggesting the threesome that can never be, Cullen, lol), Valkyrie and the other Defenders go to work and stop the Doom Maidens, while Caroline decides to sacrifice herself to a pit sending off energy to summon something. The Defenders have their new recruit, Frankie Raye, AKA frigging Galactus‘ former herald, siphon off the energy to stop the pit, but it appears to have nonetheless summoned Morgan LeFay back to Earth. Still, the Doom Maidens are defeated, which is likely a huge hindrance to her plans, so I’m calling it a win for the heroes, which is good to see for the final issue. Still, I totally wanted to see Cullen Bunn’s plans for the book come to be, particularly them going into space and confronting Galactus. Although, I suppose revealing said plans may be a way to entice people into wanting to see the book come back. 🙂

Batman/Superman #6, still going with the gimmick of turning it on its side, apparently gonna be a thing for this arc. But regardless, we open the comic and we find that, following his VERY short fight with Mongul at the end of #5, Batman is dead…No, I’m not kidding. Mongul put a smoking hot hole in Batman’s chest. He’s DEAD. BUT, since it’s Batman, and this isn’t a major storyline that would get tons of attention, naturally he gets a get-out-of-jail-free card. A nanotech cloud formed by the players in what they still believe only to be a game brings him back. Fortunately, this gives him access to whose playing, and as soon as Supes finds out Jimmy Olsen is sitting in, he yells at him to knock it off…I think Olsen may have soiled himself right then and there. lol Anyway, Batman uses new powers granted to him through the tech holding him together to try to destroy the machine holding the game (and now himself) together, but Jimmy and the players stop him by taking over, having figured out now that it’s all real and not wanting Batman to die. Instead, they help him deal with Mongul when he starts attacking people, while Superman battles Mongul head on. However, Mongul has another trick up his sleeve. Remember how in last issue everyone’s heart rate went up, and now people have been a bit more prone to anger and violence? Yep, Mongul spread the pollen of a blossom that increases the urge for violent behaviour in people. And with the game up and running, now open to a ton of people who are affected by the pollen, and with Batman under their control, Mongul has the army he wants with the appropriate weapon for them to use: A super-powered Batman on equal footing with Superman. Unlike Earth 2, however, I like this twist, as we know this won’t be permanent, for obvious reasons, and that either Superman will find a way to free him, or Batman will override the system somehow, or Olsen and the others will free him. And hey, at least they’re doing this with Batman instead of Superman for the who-knows-how-many’th time this year.

The Movement #7…Yeah, I think I’m dropping this book. Make no mistake, though: I still support this book. I still want this book around. I like the characters. I think I proved that when I made Virtue a character in my Birds of Prey fanfic. The reason I’m dropping this book is out of necessity. I don’t wanna get too much into it, but money is going to be an issue for myself and my family for a little while, and there’s some books coming out next year I wanna get, so I have to even it out. As a result, I will most likely be dropping The Movement, as well as one or two others. So, why The Movement? Well, because while I like the characters and the concept for the story, the plot itself seems a bit unfocused and goes back and forth on what it wants to do. Characters will just do complete 180 turns on their plans with little contemplation, like I mentioned before with Tremor, or here where Vengeance Moth tells Burden that the exorcism last issue was bunk. The only one that seems consistent is Virtue, I LOVE Gail Simone’s writing (which is why I’ll be more than happy to start buying Batgirl again once the current arc is done), and these characters are really special to me, but this story needs better focus.

Anyway, lemme know what you thought of this week’s comics, and join me next week as we look at Batman #26 and Nightwing #26. Ja ne!

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What I Bought This Past Week – The DC Books (Batman #25, Batman/Superman #5, Batman and Robin #25, Harley Quinn #0) (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So, I’ve been to Heroes’ Beacon the past couple of Wednesdays, so I guess it’s time to talk about…

 

…And since I bought a LOT the past couple of weeks, I thought I’d split it up between DC and Marvel/Dynamite. So, let’s start the DC books with Batman #25.

Y’know what I realised this is? This is the comic book equivalent of the Ultima VII cover! XD

Well first off, the Zero Year Batmobile is a frakking hot rod. AWESOME! 😀 Second, before we get to Riddler, apparently we got a Doctor Death/Poison Ivy arc, which is pretty cool. I like the fact that Zero Year has three phases, the first being the Red Hood Gang, second being Death and Ivy, third being Riddler. Also, apparently there’s something the military digs up in Nigeria that’s supposed to be important to all of this. Got a little bit of a problem with Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon being antagonistic towards each other because of something that happened over the murder of Bruce’s parents. Just feels unnecessary. Also, Lucius Fox does a heel turn at the end, I’m going to assume he’s being brainwashed or it isn’t really him, considering how trusted an ally he is to Batman later on. And finally, nice little back-up involving Harper Row and her brother, talking about everyone that’s helping in the blackout (Batman, Superman, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, John Stewart, Barry Allen, and the rest). Overall, a great issue, albeit one that kinda feels a bit disconnected from all these tie-ins, considering we only hear about the storm coming in the main story, while the tie-ins and the Harper back-up are about the different characters surviving it.

Oh, Snapple…Sorry, guys. Hang on a sec…

…There we go. Yeah, as you can tell, Batman/Superman #5 was a little weird to read, because it was utilizing a different style where you have to turn the comic on its side for the entire book. In other words, Linkara‘s nightmare taken form. XD There was a moment where Superman is able to tell that, and I quote, “In Metropolis, New York City, all up and down the eastern seaboard, the average human heart rate just increased by about three percent”. And I was like “…He can hear that???” and then I had to slap myself and go “Of course he can, you idiot, he’s Superman”. I was a tiny bit offended (not a lot, just a little) by the gamers playing Toymaster’s game not being able to tell that something wasn’t normal, and how when it’s revealed to them that they’ve been actually interacting with the real world, they think it’s just some meta story-within-a-story. C’mon, I know Jimmy Olsen is one of the players, but even HE isn’t THAT stupid. But I will give it a pass for the freaking horrifying reveal at the end: Mongul hacked the game so he can turn online gamers into his own personal army, since they spend billions of hours playing first person shooters and war simulators. THAT is actually kinda scary, and the fact that Mongul is doing it makes it all the more horrifying.

Okay, I’m just gonna say real quick that Batman on this cover makes me think of Batman: The Animated Series, so this book gets points just for that.

Batman and Robin #25…Okay, before I get to the review, I gotta address something. Remember how it was becoming ever-so-clear that Carrie Kelley would become Robin? Well, guess what? No sign of her for a few issues now. The apparent connection that was suggested in the solicit for this issue to what’s going on with Two-Face and Erin McKillen? Not here. And now there seems to be a lot of hints and suggestions that Damian might actually be coming back. So…what the crap is going on? Was Carrie Kelley just dropped in favour of bringing Damian back? Is this maybe just misdirection to just throw us off? And when is this book gonna go back to being titled Batman and Robin instead of Batman and Whoever-The-Frig-Else-Is-In-This-Book?

But yeah, getting back to Batman and Two-Face, it’s fine. The new revised origins for Two-Face are given a bit more development, and I do like the symbolism involved, that Harvey took away Erin’s better half, so she did the same to him. I also really like the return of Matches Malone. There is one panel in the book I have to just shake my head and laugh at, though. Not for being bad, because it isn’t, but because…well, you’ll see.

American Batman! Stay away from me!
American Batman! Mama let me be!

Wow. Subtle, guys. Really. lol

Harley Quinn #0…Y’know what, I don’t know if I’ll be picking up the series to follow it or not, but I will say this: This one issue is worth every penny you pay for it. In fact, for what I paid for it, I almost feel like I was ripping THEM off. This is the funniest comic I have ever read. And before you ask, no, I haven’t read Deadpool. Considered it a couple of times, may end up doing it in the future, but not as of this moment in time. If you don’t know, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t if you’re into comics, this issue is all about Harley Quinn wanting her own comic, and she’s breaking the fourth wall and talking to Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti as they write the book, talking about the different artists and basically judging which ones she likes best. They even make jabs at themselves and the different artists, so you know they were fully embracing the silliness and not taking themselves too seriously. Favourite moment was probably seeing Harley in her classic costume and drawn by Bruce Timm. The point where I had to put the book down for a second because I was laughing too hard was when they made the remark about Jim Lee’s quarterly royalty payments. XD Seriously, if you like Harley Quinn, or you just like comics that are funny and random as all hell, PICK THIS BOOK UP. I cannot recommend it any further, you guys.

Anyway, that’s it for the DC books I bought lately. Check back in later to learn all about the Marvel and Dynamite books I got in the past couple of Wednesdays. Ja né!

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