What I Bought Yesterday – Batman and Robin #24, Supergirl #24 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

So yesterday, I went to Heroes’ Beacon, got a couple of comics, and now I’m here to talk about…

First off, I should explain that I didn’t forget to talk about these books yesterday, it was just a matter of a couple of plot points in each book that I wasn’t really sure how to approach them. But, I think I’ve got it straightened out now, so let’s start with Supergirl #24.

So, what did I say during my look at Supergirl #23? “No, Supergirl isn’t really dead. Well, in the sense that even if she IS dead, chances are she’s got a Get Out Of Death Free Card of some sort coming to her next issue”. AND I said “She’ll be brought back to life, and that’ll lead to a three-way fight of sorts between Supergirl, Cyborg Superman, and Cyborg Superman’s creator, who is confirmed to be Brainiac“. Well, that’s pretty much what happened here. Zor-El decides to restore Kara, the result being that he becomes Cyborg Superman and having his memory wiped again. Also, to anyone who thinks that this is just a copy of Supergirl, you are…Well…Take it, Lex Luthor.

Apparently, her body was vaporized, but her consciousness was stored away in the I’Noxian Collective, such to the point that she managed to create a new body for herself using their tech before Zor-El is able to restore her, all the while telling his buddy to lie to him and Kara about what really happened when they both come out of the procedure. Basically, Cyborg Superman is left to believe Brainiac ruined the procedure to restore him to his original self, and when he faces Brainiac and his forces head-on, Supergirl and the I’Noxian Collective are able to escape. The I’Noxians tell Supergirl she should try to find her own happiness now that she’s been cured of the Kryptonite poison following what happened to her. So, what are my issues with this book? Well, for starters, we DID still have to see Supergirl horrifically vaporized to set this up, although you could argue after this issue that all it really succeeded in doing was pissing her off…A LOT. Still, was HORRIBLE to see. The other thing is that I’m skipping next issue, since it’s a tie-in to a crossover event that I’m not reading…which is sad, because apparently it’ll be the last issue written by Michael Alan Nelson. Also, while I will probably be buying Supergirl again afterwards, I AM a bit concerned for the next arc, as it apparently involves the new and Twilight-looking Lobo. *shivers*

Batman and Robin #24, or Batman and Two-Face, involves mob bosses getting together and deciding it’s time to ‘cleanse Gotham of the freaks’. So a red-haired woman named Erin McKillen, who is one of them, is called upon to draw out Two-Face. Why? Well, in the retconned history that is the New 52, apparently McKillen is the one that created Two-Face, having tied down Harvey Dent, murdered his wife, and then poured acid on his face with the intent to kill him…Okay, I don’t really MIND this origin for Two-Face, but I’m not really sure why they felt the need to change it from the original, other than just for the sake of changing it. Not much else to say about this angle, other than he finds out Erin’s in town, she escapes the cops when they come for her, but Batman apprehends her. The OTHER major plot point to bring up is that Bruce has insisted that Damian and Talia’s graves stay open, after Ra’s al Ghul took their bodies for some evil plot. Why? He wants the reminder of what Ra’s has done, because as soon as he takes care of the current situation involving Two-Face and the mob bosses, he’s coming for Ra’s al Ghul…which is interesting, because I’ve read previews for upcoming issues of Birds of Prey and Red Hood and the Outlaws, and it seems that both of those groups have some SERIOUS issues with Ra’s al Ghul in the future, too. I smell a crossover coming!…Joy. -_- Oh, no Carrie Kelley this week, but apparently, she plays a HUGE role in next week’s issue. My guess is, since we never really established much about her parents in any continuity she’s been in, McKillen is her mother or something.

So, not really bad books this week, but ones that were a bit odd in places. Check in next week, though, as we see Talon possibly team up with Batman to take on the Court of Owls. Ja né!

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What I Bought Today – Action Comics #23.1, Batman and Robin #23.1 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Yep, ’tis Wednesday, and it’s time to talk about…

Unfortunately, they kinda under-sent issues of Batman: The Dark Knight #23.1, so I couldn’t see the book detailing the origins of the new Ventriloquist. I’ve heard it’s apparently not all THAT great, but that fans of the character and Gail Simone‘s creepy ass writing will still like it, so I’m picking it up next week. In the meantime, let’s talk Cyborg Superman with Action Comics #23.1!

So I kinda left something important out about Supergirl last month, mainly because I thought it was a red herring. At the very end, Cyborg Superman has the genetic material he got from Supergirl imprinted onto himself, and we see that he’s Zor-El, Kara’s father. Now, I naturally assumed that between her genetic material, the fact that they were messing with her memories, and the tech that could create anything in her mind simply meant that Cyborg Superman had been turned into a duplicate of Zor-El. NOT SO. In fact, as it turns out, Brainiac transformed Zor-El into Cyborg Superman, replacing much of his organic components with cybernetics, then making him look like Jor-El, the superior sibling in the eyes of Brainiac…So, Zor-El has been made a villain who has murdered his own daughter (albeit it’s not entirely his fault, and I expect him to find a way to bring her back), and in this issue, we see that he’s a jerk that refused to listen to his brother, and an idiot who decided to experiment with Brainiac tech, the result of which got a bunch of survivors of Krypton killed…Michael Alan Nelson, I like you. I like you a lot. You made Power Girl AWESOME again. But between this and Supergirl getting brutally vaporised last issue, I REALLY hope you’ve got something amazing planned. Then again, next up is supposed to be Cyborg Superman and Brainiac beating the crap outta each other, and I guess that’s kinda awesome. The only other thing I can really point out is that, like Ventriloquist’s story being in Batman: The Dark Knight #23.1, I’m a little confused why Cyborg Superman’s story is in Action Comics #23.1.

Batman and Robin #23.1 was pretty good. Anyone that didn’t like it…well, it was Two-Face being Two-Face. If you didn’t want that, you shouldn’t have bought it. And it made sense that it was in this book, since Two-Face is gonna be the villain for the next arc. Now, it’s Two-Face taking a bunch of criminals, cops, and civilians whatnot into a court and administering his own brand of ‘justice’, which I KNOW I’ve seen him do at least a couple of times before, but it works alright. We also see that the Secret Society wanted him to join, which he did, but on the condition that the results of his coin flips are final. They decide to screw with that, so the deal’s off in a rather violent manner. Again, for Two-Face, this worked just fine, and I actually really liked Guillem March’s work in this issue. Kudos.

So that’s it for this week. Next week’s gonna be an expensive one, although the good news is that I won’t have much to buy this month after that. It’s like they know or something. lol Ja né!

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