#reading the rucka run of Wonder Woman and I am so not normal about it

[tbcanary]

comics will be like “tragedies always begin long before the first scene is ever played… they are born often enough of actions taken in purity, be it in intention or emotion… done more often than not for the best of reasons. but all tragedies end the same way.” and expect you to go on with your life.

[hellacre13]

It’s been brought to my notice a clois shipper is taking my comments on CBR without my permission, screen grabbing and pasting in his tumblr to talk trash . So glad you think my comments so worthy that you need to pull out your straw man arguments instead of being honest enough to reply to me there. But I won’t give any credence to your cowardice. You know, some people have been making a habit of this. Taking what I and other posters have said on public forums and going on twitter and tumblr and trying to act all smug and smart and trying...TRYING...to ridicule us. But you know I tend to ignore these cowards. I don’t like wasting my time on shipping wars which is why I rarely get into to and fros with these folks here. Fact, I have most of them blocked. But this I decided has given me a great opportunity to share with my fellow comic fans. 

In retrospect, my post my post must have been thought provoking . 😉 😚 Glad to see it got him reacting. So I thought why waste it on CBR alone? I MEAN I DON’T HAVE TO ASK MYSELF PERMISSION. Let me share what it was about.  Here was my thoughts on that debacle Batman #39 before it was released based on the Bleeding Cool article that it seemed to have ripped from that notorious Action 571 by Joe Kelly 18 years ago. Now some people, usually clois fans, love Action because it, in their eyes, hold their pairing up as some great love because of this issue. But then there is another side to it and I ask people to sincerely think about this given the fact we have moved on in terms of how we view relationships and dynamics. I am not talking about political correctedness gone mad. Not at all. And no way I would be so disrespectful to call Joe Kelly the man a sexist or anything like that the way some clois fans attack Superman/Wonder Woman fans and writers because they so “hurt” fiction simply paired up two single people in one story line ie the new 52 despite them having tons of stuff in other books and media. Some writers just do stories using outdated troupes that have evolved into sexist plots because times change  and they at times  miss their mark with a section of the fandom or can be a hit depending which side of the fence you are on. And they should never be personally attacked for it. You can critique them but don’t for the love of god try to label people you don’t know anything about other than you read a comic that you don’t like. 

I hate Action #761. Not because of the premise that two people who have been attracted to each other, who have a long history of closeness in BOTH their comics...ie they actually have been shown in the narrative...it's not just dragged in left field... that they can end up closer or intimate. It's actually pretty normal I'd think if two friends with some unresolved tension, after they lose their spouses etc find solace or love again. It's morbid to be so guilt ridden that a dead partner you cannot recall and who you think is dead makes you close your self off to love, when it's clear you really really tempted. But this was never the point of Action #761 to explore love and loss. How can you as a writer if you want to sincerely tackle it when you full well KNOW you cannot shake the boat? It's not AU. It's not an altered timeline where you can follow through without messing up canon. You obviously, in such a scenario, will set up one character to be humiliated by doing something so absurd and heavy handed to try to prop a relationship that supposed to great because it's human etc etc...and being human is supposed to encompass the highs and lows of love, including tragedy and honoring a love by living etc. It tries so hard to beat you over the head Clark would rather be a monk for the rest of his life to honor one dead woman's memory. I did not come away and go aww that's love. I thought sheesh, what a dysfunctional love . Superman is actually crippled by Lois memory or lack thereof. Diana seemed pretty normal to me. And SHE never crossed boundaries or propositioned him. HE was the one raising it. And she backed off and never made him feel at all as if he did anything wrong by rejecting her. She was selfless in one vein and just a prop in another with no pov about how she dealt with it as a woman and someone who left behind friends and loved ones too. It was all about Superman and Lois to prop them at her expense. She comes off as the reject when in fact it's a story that used her in a cheap way knowing all the time that was the only outcome. Can't we all just assume Superman would be faithful to Lois while they together simply because he is that kind of a dude? Why did Joe Kelly need to drag Diana in as some temptation? Just like Superman fans hate when they use Superman as the punching bag to show the strongest character can take a beating by all and sundry, am I to assume Diana has to be used as the apple because she happens to be beautiful and THE premiere female? So, if you refuse Wonder Woman of all people...wow...you gotta love Lois so much. That's pretty sexist crap right there by Kelly. It was a poorly thought out story. But it was 18 years ago and we have moved forward in terms of the way women are used. So color me totally unimpressed King takes this lame troupe and play with it again.Because you can do nothing good with it. Neither Batman or Diana are single. It is not AU. Unless there is a plan to make them dump Selina and Steve. I hardly think this likely since why would DC make such a big deal of the Batcat stuff only to dump on it in this manner. BOTH are with their "love interests". Bruce has made a huge step in his canon. Love with commitment and pending marriage. Diana is shacked up with Steve Trevor. I am not fan of Rebirth. But she is with Steve cureently so why is there this need to muddy the waters at this stage? They could have done this easily when both were single. People might not like or might like it depending on your shipping preferences but at least they free, single and disengaged. They can kiss or date who they please as single people. Batman sure as hell has umpteen women in his books. Wanting a beautiful woman is not exactly strange for him. And King is cheating by trying to say they have some deep, great friendship based on one lame two parter? Because they spend some time in a pocket universe where time passes but is only two issues we to assume their friendship has the same magnitude as say Clark and Bruce's which has had so many books devoted to it? Diana pre new 52 and new 52 could never be seen to be Bruce's close friend and boast of a friendship to equal Superman and Batman or even a romantic dynamic as her other canonical love interests because they had limited stories together. King premises this as some great deep friendship because he wants to retroactively in a paltry two issues cement something they never earned? That's how lazy and arrogant DC and Batman writers are. It was done by Joe Kelly in the JLA run where Batman sucked Diana's face with no build up. It was done by Rucka in Black Night. Seems King is doing it again. Pushing something that just has not been earned. And using the cheapest way to try to claim it. It is baffling he uses Superman and Lois is positive ways and supportive of Selina and chooses to put Diana, a symbol of sisterhood in a story where you have to dredge up sex and intimacy to show how good friends they are. I don't get it. This arc is supposed to be about Batman's friends response to his pending marriage . So he and Diana couldn't spend some time bonding in any other way? What is the purpose? It does not sound at all good to me. So this is why I think that him even borrowing the premise or homaging or whatever he's done a poor choice. Diana will come off looking bad again and a prop or mouthpiece because it is a Batman book and about his issues. 

Then Batman 39 hit and I said this.

I'm sorry to say I told you so. But yeah. Whenever batman fan boy writers handle Wonder Woman this is what you get. Lazy ooc plots to claim her as hooked on Batman's irresistible charms. They don't build anything over time. They just slap it in your face. Bruce Timm. Joe Kelly. Greg Rucka, Now Tom King and no doubt soon Liam Sharp. Like I say it doesn't bug me two friends who are close and attracted to each other if they are single try a relationship. But Action wasn't about that. It could not any way explore anything in canon. And no one I know who liked smww or ww cared for it. It was one sided to ensure smll came out smelling rosy and Diana ...oh poor Diana...just rejected because if you turn down Wonder Woman...wow, what a man. What a love! So dumb. Like he couldn't just be seen as faithful because he's a loyal guy in a normal situation. They just needed to go all heavy handed to make a pointless point at WW expense.

Batman 39. Worse. The pacing in Action at least tried to show a bond already there knitting tighter...they did not need this issue to show they are friends. They already were close etc. Diana did not proposition Clark. They maintained boundaries and yadda yadda for a moment looked at each other and then Clark pulled back and Diana is fine with it blah blah. This shows a Wonder Woman in terms of the art, flirting heavily in her body language from the get go. Batman as you clearly see is still trying to be faithful in his body language.   She even suggests they get it on knowing he will go back to Selina. I just don't how to take that. No Diana I know would openly suggest that. It's so out of character. She's the apple/ temptress. She has no pov or remembers she has her own lover and life. He's a non issue. Poor Steve prob sitting in their apartment waiting for her.

Now if this is based on Rucka's Diana...then this is not the way I want my Wonder Woman. Not so lacking in empathy, emotional intelligence and wisdom . I don't understand how any one as old as she is with so much relationships under her belt as suggested by Rucka, cannot understand and respect the nuances and boundaries in relationships  at this stage. That she views all that she has "loved" as not able to teach her anything. It is baffling to me this Rucka Diana with all this delusion and madness nonsense. She's not a naive here but comes across as very self centered and stiff for a character who is about sisterhood and compassion. You'd think as she has her own lover she would empathize how much Bruce misses Selina...is bizarre what we have here. So whether they kiss or not is not the point. It's the set up and Diana's poor characterization. [/SPOIL]

DC  dropped the ball on Diana with Rebirth. Badly and this is where she is now. Batman writers are getting to dictate her motivations, character, personality in throw away arcs and they just don't feel right at all. No matter how people say they hate the new 52...Diana maintained her core personality under the pens of Azzarello, and Soule and hell even Finch and Johns wasn't all bad.

For those who never read either books...you’re missing nothing but Action is the lesser of two evils. You can go read them to at least keep make your own minds up but context is important in everything and timing. Personally I say don’t give DC $ for nonsense. I’m pretty sure you can get it online free to read or see many spoilers around. As much as I don’t like Wonderbat, if it had been done when both were single...(and to be fair it had been back in JLA in 2002 by Joe Kelly  and went nowhere)...it would have not been so bad as to raise so much ire. Pissed off fandoms, sure, but I am not so into shipping wars that I would be writing about any issue on this blog. Same way I ignore clois in Rebirth because they are not my new 52 Superman or Wonder Woman. So not sure why in God’s name DC wants to force it now when they did a Batcat engagement and choose to put Diana with Steve. I mean, are they crazy to be playing with that kind of fire when people are so sensitive the way women are used? And then that mini coming up by Liam Sharp is hinting at the same kind of crap trying to write retroactive wonderbat stuff just to have his own shipping preference. After Batman 39, I’d say, he needs to thread carefully.  I mean come on, DC. Treat Diana better. It’s no skin of Batman’s nose. He sells no matter his status quo. He can have a harem his fan boys don’t care. But DC chose to go a very important step and make Bruce take a huge decision to tell the woman he loves he wants to commit to her and her be a part of his life. This is not something you sully with this kind of thing at this time.  And let’s just say Bruce and Selina break up someway along the line does DC really want it to be because people blame Diana for it? Now is not the time for it. God, DC, you had your chance and never took it. Don’t mess about now. Now maybe King might have a better part two to subvert what we are seeing here but I still think using Wonder Woman imagery as the temptress was ill advised. 

And those trying to drag SuperWonder into this. Please. Our New 52 couple is dead. They are not part of this. Try reaching somewhere else. The clois shipper using my CBR comments, your example is so silly of trying to use DC Presents #32 as the same as Batman #39. That story was set in the Silver Age where there was an innocent whimsy and silliness in stories. Eros shot SM and WW with arrows and they kissy kissy for a bit while trying to find a cure. Both were dating Steve and Lois but most pointedly neither had told Steve and Lois they were Clark Kent and Diana Prince in those stories. Both Steve and Lois use to treat Diana and Clark like shit in favor of Wonder Woman and Superman back then. So let’s not even start with the faux outrage. It was just a different time and the Batman Brave and the Bold kids comic replicated it because again, it’s the context and kind of story. No one batted an eye lid nor cared Bats and Wondy kissed under a love spell. The innocence is there unless you’re reaching big time. 

Here is that lovely thread people. http://community.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?106190-Batman-39-Could-Be-Borrowing-A-Plot-From-An-Issue-of-Action-Comics

And here is Bleeding Cool’s pov. 

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/01/17/batman-39-action-comics-761-temptations-wonder-woman-spoilers/

Oh and since I am an admin on Hellyeahsupermanandwonderwoman...it has permission to reblog me. 

[nightwingism]

New Comic Book Day!

October 11, 2017

Trying something new here, and i’m gonna start reviewing comics that I pick up at my local comic store, which may or not be Nightwing related. I figured this is something different, gives me something to do, and I just think it’d be fun. But enough about the why, let’s get into the comics!

Spoiler Alert

1. Action Comics #989

Part three of the Oz Effect! I figure this is gonna be weird starting a review right in the middle of so many comics, but recapping is a real thing. Anyways, this comic kept the action flowing, not so much of a one-on-one dialogue anymore, and we get to see Jor-El in action! The ending was a giant cliff-hanger and I can’t tell if they are supposed to be the LoSH or not. But this interaction between Jor-El and Jon, heck even with Lois are remarkable, and is something I never knew I wanted to see in a comic until now. Though, thus far this story-arc has been very dialogue heavy, and not very action packed. This biggest reveal isn't even the fact that Oz was Jor-El, but the fact that Oz wasn’t Ozymandias, which in retrospect was a little far-fetched and too on the nose. Anyways, I’m excited for the next issue, and excited for the ramifications of this story.

2. Wonder Woman #32

Part two of the Children of the Gods! The previous issue was mainly from Hercules point of view, serving as the primary narrator of the story, and of his death. This time around, Wonder Woman was front and center. I wasn’t expecting too much from his comic to be honest, ever since Rucka left my excitement has dwindled. But Robinson isn’t a bad writer, and I trust the guy to do these comics well. Jason was revealed at the end of the issue, which i was actually very surprised of, and I thought he was gonna be saved till later. But he’s here, very cut like David’s Michelangelo’s. I’m curious to see how his story unfolds, and what kind of role he’ll play in the future of Wonder Woman comics, if he survives this story that is.

3. Mister Miracle #3

This was probably my most excited new comic that came out this week. If you do not know, I love Tom King’s writing. It’s a slow burn type of writing that excels in large overarching stories, like a novel. The way this story is unfolding is getting me excited. Because you KNOW there is something more going on in the story than what is stated. The way it started, how quickly things went downhill, the way the characters talk to each other. Conspiracy theory is that whatever pills he took is actually making him hallucinate this whole thing. But I feel like that is too simple of an answer, and I feel like King will play into the Jesus = Mister Miracle symbolism, with Highfather = God and Darkseid = the Devil. The way Kirby intended it. I’ve also really enjoy the flow of the comic, with the action sequences and the more down-time. In this kind of comic, it’s strange, which plays perfectly with the outlandish nature of the Fourth World. I’m really excited for the next issue, and the rest of the series.

4. Detective Comics #966

Part two of A Lonely Place of Living! I honestly did not see this comic unraveling the way it did, and I’m actually really excited for it. It’s a mix of the Geoff Johns “Titans of Tomorrow” storyline with a Back to the Future kind of vibe. The reveal of “Who the hell is Conner” was so heartbreaking. I’ve wrote a dream pitch for how I’d bring Conner, and the rest of the Young Justice team, back into the mainstay DC Universe, and thus far, it can still go through. Future Tim plays into Present Tim’s thoughts, and addresses them how Tim would probably address himself. I love when time paradoxes play out in the “I know what you’re thinking, because I thought the same things when I was you listening to me.” way. It gives the audience the idea that time is a fixed predetermined path that can’t be wavered from. But we all know that not to be true. We know Present Tim will somehow find a way to beat himself, even though Past-Future Tim couldn’t beat Future Tim. That didn’t make sense. Oh well. I’ve enjoyed this story, and series really so far, and I’m glad Tynion is on this series, being the 90s fan he is, bringing in all those fascinating characters back into the fold, arguably the best time to be a Batman Fan.

5. Red Hood and the Outlaws #15

Part two of Bizarro Reborn! So I haven’t actually read the first part of this comic, with the last RHatO comic I read, besides the annual, was issue 11. So I’m behind. But I can extrapolate the idea that Bizarro came back due to Lex Luther, granting him super intelligence, much to the dismay of his teammates. But it seems to be a temporary thing. I don’t know why the Belfry team thought it was some kind of an attack, or why they are fighting Red Hood at all, but they are. I would have thought Bruce would have told everyone that Jason was on their side. But I just remembered that Jason has to work outside the family on a normal basis, to “infiltrate the bad guys” for Bruce. I think Jason is the last member of Batman Inc, which is very ironic. Artemis is in the story, still great chemistry with the team, and I still really like the idea of this Dark Trinity, it’s execution has been so awesome since day one, and I can’t believe I’m actually excited for the next issue.

6. Batgirls and the Birds of Prey #15

Part one of Manslaughter! Finally a comic that is just beginning it’s story arc. Whew. The Benson sisters have been doing a great job in this comic thus far, giving us great characterization for the main three, and most of their guest stars. This story serves as a “gathering of the troops” setup. We address the problem, identify it, and then gather some people to counter it. The problem is that there is some disease that can potentially kill all the men, which is something, as a man myself, find hilarious and fitting for this comic. Every character has their own reason for trying to fight the disease, with Dinah having Ollie, Babs having her Dad, Helena with Dick, Selina with Bruce, Harley with the Joker (so she can kill him herself), and Poison Ivy just because she wanted to (basically), the rest of the Gotham squad, which includes Batwoman, Spoiler, Orphan and Gotham Girl (whom I’m glad is getting screen time), and last but not least Wonder Woman herself. I think this story is going to be a fun girl-power story, and I’m curious to see who is behind this dastardly attack, and what their motive is.

7. Dark Knights: Metal #3

If Mister Miracle was my most excited story, this is my second. Metal and all of it’s tie ins have been such a treat. It’s a Batman centric story, without shoving in a Bat-God into our face. The threats are on the planetary level, and it’s gonna take everyone to save the world, even bringing in people who haven't been seen in comics in ages. Dick, Clark and Damian have a moment together, that is very in character for everyone, something I respect Snyder for doing so far. The subtly in this comic is mind boggling , how many hints were left behind in Snyder’s past comics, and just in the series alone. I don’t really care too much about the other Batmen though, and am only really curious about what the heck The Batman Who Laughs deal is. Snyder and Capullo are literal Rock-stars in this series, and I’m cheering for an encore -- which may come when this is all over.

8. The Amazing Spider-Man #789

The Fall of Parker! Spinning out from Marvel Legacy and Secret Empire is a more status quo Spider-Man, but with a twist. People love Spider-Man, as much as New Yorkers can, but hate Peter Parker. It’s an interesting twist on such a simple and main staple in the Spider-Man mythos. I’ve always been a fan of the “Down on his luck, penny to his name” Parker, who was street level but with the drive and passion for the big league. With the previous run, I felt like it was just Ironman with a Spider-Man costume on, but now this is some good old fashion comics. I like his relationship with Bobbi, and I think the two are cute together, but I hope Harry and MJ make their return to the supporting cast. The art is also phenomenal, but what can you expect when Stuart Immonen is providing. Even though there wasn’t much of a villain, or a story being told. It kind of seemed like a one-shot to me, with dangling threads that can be picked up later.

9. Daredevil #27

Part two of the Land of the Blind! Not get caught up with Marvel Legacy, Charles Soule continues his fantastic run of Daredevil. Last we saw, Matt was tracking down his once partner, once blinded and once friend, Blindspot. It was all a trap! This story serves as a “secret origins” of Blindspot, as we see his transition from the farm lifestyle in China, to moving to the city, to the United States. This story takes place over days, weeks, and we can see the passage of time from the look on Matt’s face, and his ever growing beard. I really like this twist, and that it was Charles himself to do the twist, and I’m very curious to know if this was his plan all along, or if it was just something he came up with in recent times. Whatever it is, the main thing I can say about this comic is that I love that the red costume is back, and the fact that Ron Garney is providing art. His style compliments the story of daredevil so well, I’d love to see him do a Nightwing book. I’m hoping that Charles continues this fantastic run when he makes the transition to the Legacy side of Marvel.

10.  Runaways #2

When they announced that they were making a show about the runaways, I was very curious on many things. One of the things though, was not who the hell are the runaways. I actually read the original series, and I was up to the moon when they announced that this series was coming back. The story, thus far, has been very dialogue heavy, with action sequences being either in flashbacks or just not present. I don’t mind it too much, since they really have to explain a lot to all the new readers who are jumping on due to the announcement of the show, I just hope it picks up soon with the action, and it seems it will with the glowy cat eyes following Molly. And I was a little curious on why we didn’t get a shot of Molly’s grandma, maybe there is something up with that too. Whatever the case is, I’m enjoying this series so far, and hope the next issue fills the action void that I crave.

11. Defenders #6

Part One of Kingpins of New York! Technically this is part of Marvel Legacy, but it’s weird since Matt is still wearing his black suit, when he has already switched to the red one in his main series, which takes place before Daredevil legacy does. But this issue itself is really just the end of the previous arc, so it doesn’t really seem like the beginning of a new arc. I enjoyed the court scene, and the banter between Daredevil and Luke Cage, especially Luke’s comment that “he knows a thing or two about the law” to DD. I hope he reveals his identity to the team again soon, as I think it gives the team a much more grounded approach. Less flashy superheroes, and more of just street vigilantes. Men and women. I don’t really know why Black Cat is so heavily featured, when I feel like she doesn’t serve too much to the story, but she’s there. I just think BMB likes writing her ever since his Superior Spider-Man run. But that can be brushed aside with his characterization of the main team, something I look at with these team books. I like the idea of the Kingpin being a “Defenders” bad guy, with the addition to Spider-Man of course. Maybe in season 2 of the Defenders? Anyone? Anyone?

[hellyeahsupermanandwonderwoman]

New 52 and Rebirth... part 2

Thanks for the reply to my thought rant. Really appreciate letting me have the platform for that.

I wasn’t aware that sales for rebirth weren’t as great as the comic fans in my area made it out to be (they are older more long time fans than I am). 

I’ve been a DC comics fan since the early 90’s and I started with superman. From the get go I thought him and Diana would be great as DC comics power couple, even though they weren’t together officially back then they just seemed to be couple anyways. Don’t get me wrong, I have no hate for Lois, in fact I think she’s a great character in her own write, I just don’t think her being paired with superman was not he way to go…. for the long run in any case.

But I digress… what I wanted to say was I notice is your reply you quoted the rebirth wonder woman saying her being with superman as “easy”. Which is a response I normal get from older fans… well clois fans to be specific. So to me it was pretty much just a clois fan using this rebirth Diana as a mouth piece.

Rebirth will end at some point. I don’t want older fans to lose their heroes and I still love DC comics, so I do hope DC will be able to find away to balance things for all of us.

Fans should not have to lose anything if DC managed its lines better or at the very least allow stories to stand and end organically. I get DC cannot keep publishing a title if sales are not good but Superman/Wonder Woman sales were good enough to keep the title. But you know, there is certain clique of fans out there who don’t care about anything and anyone other than what they want. DC can give them 10 books with the versions of their choice but if we get 1 with ours…they would attack it and us and try to get it wiped out. We are all fans and we never ever said for DC never to have books with clois in it. In fact even during the new 52 DC catered to them. With Smallville, Superman Family Adventures, Earth 2, Injustice ( before everything went to hell) , American Alien, Convergence, Lois and Clark, The Coming of the Supermen, Superman Unchained, etc etc. Those books never bothered me one bit. But when we got our Superman/Wonder Woman title it bugged the life out of them. So I assume if we get a title or series even out of continuity they will continue to try to attack it and us. Some fans simply don’t want balance.  As to whether DC Comics want it…well that is up in the air right now.  We can hope but I think people need to be prepared that there are certain writers out there who will constantly try to undermine SMWW. 

“Easy.”

 You read comics since the 90ties and you know the Diana from back then would never even say that of a friend much less a lover. Diana cared and admired Clark not for strength and flight but his compassion, nobility etc. I mean, who would say that is what makes Clark who he is? Saying she dated him because was easy was Greg Rucka insulting the whole Superman/Wonder Woman dynamic and fandom. Rebirth Wonder Woman could not even honor the dead Superman by way of an explanation to Steve Trevor why she was with him…ie a simple “He was a good man.” would have sufficed.  The current Wonder Woman team claim they prefer Superman and Wonder Woman as besties…I’d say, really? Well you sure have not shown a Wonder Woman that shows any sign of true caring or any grief in losing Clark.   A person has a lot of love for a best friend and can recite a list of why they love them. You telling me “easy” is the best adjective Diana could muster? Oh please. Rebirth Wonder Woman is shallow and threw her dead lover under the bus. New 52 Clark and Diana were put through hell. Nothing was “easy.” To even say that is disingenuous and a lie. If being with him was so easy why is he dead?

 Look, she is not new 52 Diana and she was never with new 52 Superman. They are not the same. Nothing in this Rebirth narrative could make me even care for whatever superficial dynamic they are trying to force. I honestly don’t care what they try to do with Rebirth Superman and Wonder Woman in current canon. Right now the only bright spot for us is animation. So I will get my fix with the DTV movies and JL Action, and fan fic and hope someone writes the odd Elseworld that will explore our couple. 

[thisiscomics]

This mini-series/event seems to be part of whatever the overall Rebirth plan is, although fortunately there’s been no sign of any Watchmen as yet.

The story is an enjoyable read, as the two teams face off and we get to follow the manipulations of Amanda Waller, which is (almost) always an interesting sight. The (currently) secondary plotline, which sees a disparate crew brought together by a shadowy figure (whose identity is promptly revealed, so this isn’t much of a spoiler)- a gathering with no immediately apparent connection to the League/Squad storyline, so one assumes that both will ultimately team up against this group- feels very symptomatic of the Rebirth concept as I see it.

In short, it seems to be set on reintroducing characters written out of continuity during the event storylines of the past decade or so (or in some cases that have mostly just been ignored in recent years), without any explanation at this point of how or why they are still around. The chosen characters are ones that I would like to see well written again, so there is no objection to the choice of cast, it’s just that it leaves the reader with the strange feeling that this is just a convoluted way of making up for some of the less successful creative decisions taken in an effort to make the ‘event’ mini-series seem ‘important’, ‘controversial’, critical to continuity, or whatever. Making a big deal of all this just seems to highlight the faults of ideas like the New 52 and the overload of Crisis titles, and fails to convince that lessons have been learned and that the current Rebirth concept isn’t really just more of the same, to be regretted later with an attempt at correcting it retrospectively through yet another massively hyped event.

So, onto the characters. There’s 2 in particular that seem to sum up the confusion that I feel around Rebirth.

1. The not quite original, but certainly most familiar version of, Lobo:

The New 52 just seemed to go a bit crazy with Lobo- first he was similar to the old Grant/Bisley Lobo that birthed a multitude of comics in the 90s, then this version was actually an impostor and a different Lobo (less of the anarchic Alan Grant stuff and less of the Bisley biker look) got his own title for a little over a year. And now the Grant/Bisley style one seems to be back. Which just makes you wonder what the actual plan was with Lobo as a character in the New 52, and suggests that whatever it was, they just gave up on it and thought ‘screw it, let’s just go back to what worked‘.

I actually quite liked the revamped one. It wasn’t a great comic, but it tried to do something more than just the previous version’s anarchic humour and violence- which had eventually grown a bit tiresome as time went on and creative teams changed- and it wasn’t a bad read. (In a way, it was perhaps an incarnation closer to the original Lobo that appeared in Omega Men and maybe also a bit like the Lobo in L.E.G.I.O.N., who was a watered down version of the ‘Mature Readers’ one.) But it presumably didn’t sell, so this seems to be a blatant way of just ignoring all that and reverting back to the previous formula. Which doesn’t feel very innovative.

2. Max Lord:

His history is already quite confusing, although a Wikipedia summary of the character does highlight the old way of revising characters, instead of all these complicated continuity changing events:

“We thought about that aspect of the story [where Maxwell was turned into a cyborg] some more," DiDio explained. "And then asked, 'Did anyone read it?' No. 'Did anyone like the idea?' No. So we moved ahead with Max as being a human, and having been a human, and not letting that small part of the past stand in the way of this story. We wanted what was best for Countdown [to Infinite Crisis], and for us, that meant that Max had to be a human.”

So, “when there were bits that didn’t work and no one really liked it, we ignored it”, essentially. Which seems easier than holding another event to correct everything, and then decide it didn’t actually work, so let’s try again. And again.

Anyway, Max was significant in Infinite Crisis, and particularly to Greg Rucka’s The OMAC Project, which was one of the many miniseries connected to that event. At this time, his character was a lot darker than it had been in Giffen and DeMatteis’s Justice League America/International comics, although this seemed to work quite well. This was in no small part due to the interesting covert operations intrigue in the DCU that Rucka was creating in his Batman writing, then in Checkmate and The OMAC Project. Max’s ultimate fate seemed very much one of those shock narrative twists that had been decided upon at a high level in order to increase sales, and had it been in someone else’s hands, I suspect it really wouldn’t have worked.

As in Identity Crisis, where characters from the GIffen/DeMatteis League are made dark (unnecessarily, and not really convincing anyone that ‘comics have grown up’), Lord becomes a lot darker than he had ever really been before, and kills Blue Beetle, then dies at the hands of Wonder Woman (a plot point that also worked well because of Rucka’s take on that character. She is a warrior, and will make decisions that may shock her allies, but make logical sense in terms of threats to their safety).

He was then brought back in the next lot of DCU events, Blackest Night and Brightest Day, and was the principal villain in Justice League: Generation Lost. His appearance here is broadly consistent with this latter appearance, and one hopes that it is building on the idea that he sees superhumans as a threat, with Checkmate as a line of defence for normal people.

I assume his repeated presence in event stories is due to some affection on the part of editorial, but the alive/dead, evil/misguided/acting with best intentions flip flops suggest some uncertainty about what to do with him on each occasion, which seems to be the recurrent theme in these reboots.

The presence of Rustam (from John Ostrander’s original Suicide Squad run), Johnny Sorrow (from Geoff Johns’ JSA) and Doctor Polaris seems less symptomatic of the confusion around what to do with characters, although both Rustam and Doctor Polaris were dead, and none of them are probably  characters with thousands of fans clamouring for their return, so it still leaves me wondering about why they were chosen. Nostalgia prompting the decision to work them into a storyline? Hopefully they fare better than Max has historically and don’t find themselves caught up in more resurrections and personality changes.

The final character, and the one seen in this panel, is the one I am most interested in. Legion of Super-Villains member Emerald Empress is out of time, as far as I am concerned (52 established that the Eye did exist in the present, and Lobo (him again!) had it, so it could be a present day incarnation, but since we have no idea what is going on in continuity terms, I’m choosing to ignore that possibility for the moment) and, like the resident of Arkham seen in Batman, suggests that there is a place for the Legion in the Rebirth universe. The fact that she is looking for a Legionnaire, and says time is missing, suggests that there is a time travel-based Legion adventure somewhere out there to be told.

The Legion were never central to DC events, but were always impacted by them- Levitz and Giffen, as well as later creators, had to address the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and subsequent changes to continuity, more than once to try and keep their future consistent with the current version of the DC Universe. They were rebooted following Infinite Crisis and had a Final Crisis tie-in mini-series, but were not really integral to those stories (unlike Superboy Prime, for whom Legion of Three Worlds seems to serve as Geoff Johns’s epilogue to his story in Infinite Crisis, as much as it seeks to reconcile the different Legions before the Final Crisis takes effect).

There is definitely a fondness for the team in a lot of creators, which seems to be why they always re-emerge following the reboots. As I’ve previously mentioned, they never seem to be able to find sufficient commercial success to stick around, but I always look out for their re-emergence, hoping that this time all will be well. Given that time travel and various science fiction ideas (parallel and pocket universes, paradoxes and manipulation of reality) have been a part of their stories for so long, they seem to not suffer the problems with continuity revision that I see in other titles. Perhaps like the current issues of Wonder Woman, they can work with these changes by acknowledging them as outside manipulation, and so there’s no need to jump through continuity hoops to try and explain what is and is not ‘real’ and why, making the stories somewhat meta, yet less complex than that might suggest. Once you have gods, or the Time Trapper, or editorial teams, messing with your past, then it’s clear where you stand; no resurrections or complicated explanatory flashbacks needed.

From Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad 2, by Joshua Williamson, Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea & Alex Sinclair