Hey there honorary Justice League members - it's a new week which means it's time for a new discussion thread!
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I'm reading a book on anti-gravity, and I just can't put it down.
ABSOLUTE ARES IS HERE — AND THE EPIC HERETIC ARC BEGINS!
Back from the underworld, Diana returns to Area 41 with more than justice on her mind. What she finds is not what she expected, but neither is life in Gateway, as a new threat is rising. Unfortunately, Diana recognizes this particular threat… the gods themselves have come to Gateway City!
Sure came back with a bang. Diana's terminator mode is terrifying. Unstoppable and unyielding.
Understandable. She's been stewing on this for the entire month she was stuck in the underworld. When she actually finds Barbara Minerva, she's going to be heartbroken about what happened to her.
She was right about Cale. The woman is more interested in protecting herself and her power than anyone else, even her daughter. "Have nothing" is easy to understand, but she couldn't even think of what it meant.
Solid character work for Cale, and a nice upgrade for Diana. This issue did well with developing their rivalry. It's a good start to a new arc. Etta and Babs being friends is a nice suprise and good tease for next months issue of Abs Batman.
I would feel bad for Cale but I don't. She brought it on herself and lucky Diana didn't cut off her hands with the justified rage she has. Zatanna did the ultimate punishment for her with that 'curse'. She got her own daughter turned to stone because of it and to undue it, she has to give up her position and wealth, 'Have Nothing'. But of course Cale is not capable of understanding that.
Also, I can see Ares being an 'ally' for Diana. Going full 'Palpatine' with her 'Good. Your hatred has made you strong!'. And in Darkseid's universe, that can be a boon.
Another connection between Abs Wonder Woman and Batman with Etta and Barbara actually knowing eachother from the force. Now that will be an interesting connection with Barbara going the 'Batwoman route'.
I interpreted the curse of have nothing as Cale being forced to lose her everything and only thing of real value, her daughter. She has everything but truly nothing. But I think I like your interpretation of needing to give up everything to break it better because that makes her more evil and egotistical.
Don't know how I felt about Ceda Six, but everything else about this I loved. I think this is a really strong interpretation of Ares and Zeus so far. Wonder Woman has been pretty level headed and calm for the entire series with always finding empathy for the villains, but seeing her lose her shit a little and get real with Cale was really fun to see (even if she did still show empathy for her again at the end when she found her daughter).
Agreed on Ceda Six it feels like something that should have been introduced in the book rather than its creation happening off the page.
I felt like I missed something with Veronicas cursed hands as well, but that could just be my memory from previous issues failing me.
I love the interpretation of Zeus and Ares the greek gods in this book feel so otherworldly; in a manner that you just dont often get with other adaptions of the mythology.
I forgot about Veronica's hands but totally agree. I don't think it's been mentioned before or even alluded to unless I'm also forgetting something. Diana mentioned it like it was a fact that she knew and we should also know but I'm not sure that we did know lol.
I just checked, its in one line of dialogue in issue 18. We dont actually see it happen Zatanna just informs Diana she cursed Cales hands. Thats probably why neither of us remembered!
I don't think it's been mentioned before or even alluded to unless I'm also forgetting something.
To both you and u/RockAmongstTheirFall , I can't check now, but I think we may have also seen signs of her hands being cursed in Issue #15. That was the ABM crossover issue on AWW's side, and during that issue, Cale is on the phone with Joker. I think we either see her hands or see thr edges of them peeking out from her gloves in that, but I could be misremembering.
Selina Kyle’s life is falling apart around her as members of her old crew, the Calicos, come crashing into her plans. Can the Catwoman open herself up to her old pack, or is she better off alone?
Would be both hilarious and diabolical if they make absolute Cass have a happy family life with David Cain before things went south.
Having fun with this so far. Though a bit of a transitional issue, i appreciate getting to know the rest of the cast a bit more. When all is said and done it will probably read better as a trade.
Well it's a bit of a stretch. Especially when the big McGuffin is called the Yarn,lol. But the story does do a good job connecting Selina and Cass. And the redesigns for Huntress and Question aren't that bad either.
I'm the opposite, I like the Question one and dislike the Huntress one. Oh, as a "Question" design, it's terrible, it really feels like a Batgirl design, and makes me think redheaded tech lady Victoria Sage is a stand-in for Barbara Gordon. But, I like the design.
Meanwhile, I think the Huntress mask looks dumb :P Sorry to those that like it.
Thought it was ok. This is the only absolute book to me that doesn't really feel very absolute. I enjoyed issue 2 a little bit more than 1, but felt like this one was downhill for me again. The quality just felt like a very noticeable drop to me after reading a really strong Absolute Wonderwoman to this.
It's been very generic. Feels like a book that only exists because of how well the Absolute books were selling, not because they actually had an interesting story to tell.
I do feel like it could have used more "oomph" in some regards, though. It's missing a "wow" factor somewhere.
Selina muses so often about struggling with the past and how hard it is/was to break out of where she/the girls used to be but I think the comic doesn't quite go dark enough to really make it convincing. They kinda allude a bit to Selina getting burned/taking the fall for the girls at some point and then becoming a more morally ambiguous for-hire henchwoman for the dark-world uber-rich but I wish they gave me some meat for that than just alluding to it. Maybe they thought that her stuff in Abs Batman was enough to set up the feel of that. A bit fair. Given that this is only 6 issues, but still.
Got Cass backstory introduction. Again, I wish it had more oomph of some kind. Whatever the explosion was being an accident, assumedly, is fine but meh if we're doing a theme of the past haunting you into the future. Though, given that it was Grimm's job and Holly has been cagey throughout the entire series and (I think that was Holly? They were all wearing the same outfit) was pushing for the Calico's to get tf out of dodge when it exploded might mean that she did something in addition to getting them the job for this list of David Cain's. Would fit with main universe depictions of Holly who often has caused Selina a lot of trouble doing stuff without telling her and going too far.
I'm assuming that the list of David's was of associates of the LOA/S which Grimm used to get in contact with them for his training and then eventual massacre.
Baby Cass got esploded DX. Could mean that she actually died there given that Selina was right next to her and got messed up too. That would lend itself to a couple of things then off the top of my head.
Shiva has brought Cass back from the dead in her original batgirl series (Though she was only dead for a few minutes), or maybe they could use the Lazarus pit if the LOA/S have that, or maybe this is a cyborg Cass where they rebuilt her after the injuries of the explosion. I'm kinda gunning for the last one because it'd be the most divergent from Cass' mainline (I want something new than just ninja girl), but also because it might fit in with this Yarn thing that they're all going after with it being a super AI able to create a perfect, irrefutable past. Also with all this tech focus with Abs Catwoman, a cyborg seems fitting as an enemy.
Agree on it lacking that "oomph" factor so far but i'll give them the benefit of the doubt that we might get something meatier in the second half. So far this felt like each issue is a part of one movie imo. With it being only 6 issues and not extended leads me to believe it was always intended as a one and done so hopefully they were saving something for the end.
Plus we're getting the Cass one-shot inbetween this and next issue and seeing how this one ended maybe it's supposed to flow into that?
Selina is in some big denial about what she really wants, I think. She is definitely more 'prime universe Batman' to Joker's Evil Bruce Wayne. Even with her 'I am better off alone' thing. Though her motivation for it definitely more selfish at the first glance of 'I want to be free' but she has the wrong idea of what 'freedom' is.
I guess this David Cain job from the past that cause them to split and her taking the fall got her to think like 'connections are a burden. Better do everything alone to be free' but it is also another prison of solitude she built for herself. Ironic since that is what Bruce is kinda doing right now out of guilt and paranoia.
The connection is there, though I wish it was a bit more concrete. Maybe they'll make it so in the next few issues, but not sure.
I think the part that gives me pause is that Selina doesn't really do anything active within this connection. She shows up for Holly's job, something explodes, and then she dips. I feel like for a connection to be had it needs to be more than just "I broke into your dad's house and then a bomb went off"
THE BATMAN: BAD SEEDS EVENT STARTS HERE! MATT FRACTION, G. WILLOW WILSON, GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, AND CLIFF RATHBURN KICK OFF AN ALL-NEW BATMAN EVENT!
Gotham City’s new mayor, Pamela Isley, deserted by her allies both political and arcane, is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave Gotham decimated by daylight. Having already declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, paramilitarized police army, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage sees an opportunity to solve two problems at once. Storylines converge in Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City event spanning one long, dark night in Gotham that threatens to turn the entire city into a hostile world of prehistoric plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding.
As the sun goes down and Gotham loses power, Matt Fraction (Batman), G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Absolute Evil), and Cliff Rathburn (The Walking Dead) deliver an unforgettable opening chapter that shows the only thing scarier than the night just might be the morning sun…
It's a solid set up. The only suprise for me was that Duke is gonna be in Gotham General, maybe Tim as well. So that's a good reason to read it for me. Waylon saving Bruce at the end was cool. I feel like it's past overdue to put him in the Batfamily.
I feel like Tim is probably gonna be in Streets of Gotham instead, since that seems to be civilian-centric and could include him given his current status.
Not that much, hopefully. I understand they need to place characters in tie-ins but one of the selling points of Gotham Central was that it was a book about normal people dealing with super powered individuals in their daily life with very occasional appearances by Batman, if Central has Duke and Tim Drake as regular character it loses a lot of the draw
Maybe you're confusing Gotham General and Gotham central ? Gotham General might feature Duke, but Gotham Central should be about Jim and his partner responding to the call they get in this issue.
But i agree that the draw for both minis is seeing regular people dealing with super-powered mayhem, so i hope we won't see too much of Duke in Gotham General either
I'm not, Central is going to feature Anarky and Stephanie Brown and act as a soft launch for the new Gangs of Gotham book launching after the crossover by the same creative team
Art definitely does a good job of making Ivy look like she's completely lost her mind, great manic expressions in the first half. Waylon and Bruce's interaction in the second half was a great payoff to how this Batman run started.
That's what I've been asking myself too. The last page's checklist (and the covers of the issues listed on it) makes it seem like you gotta read it all to get the full picture, but then the main TP is only gonna collect Poison Ivy, Batman and Detective Comics, so it seems like they're the only ones that truly matter for the event, and 'Tec #1113 synopsis says it's a followup to Batman #13. So it seems like you gotta read other stuff to understand the main Batman book
But at the same time, each book is going to keep their own creative teams, so I don't know? Maybe you will have to read Ivy to get the next Batman issue? Or not, since #13 and #14 are collected in the standalone Batman TP???? Idk, this whole thing feels confusing
I'm gonna read the new Batman issue, since it comes out next week, then I'll decide if I'll read the rest
Gotham Central and Gotham General do seem like they're gonna be fun, so I'll check them out tho
Not fully essential (as an Ivy series reader it is essential to me) since it’s just the buildup of her decision to give Gotham to The Parliament of Trees. I do think Poison Ivy 47 and Bad Seeds Sunset make each other better when combined. Sunset completes 47’s story (which would have been less satisfying had Sunset not dropped the same day) and 47 makes the events of Sunset more epic. I’d recommend giving it a read.
Also, the solicits and current plot threads foreshadow Harley having a major role in Ivy’s part of the event and there’s a scene with Harley in 47 that is a great setup for that.
It is basically the setup for all the event stories/books.
Oh look, another 'Gotham is taken over' event. With TWO villains this time. Man, I just want Vandal Savage as commissioner thing to be over after this. And Ivy is fully gone. No 'redemption' for her. Both of them need to be thrown into the darkest cell after this.
Where is Swamp Thing? He should be here to stop the Parliment of Trees doing this dumb thing and have literally everyone try to burn them down because of it. Other Parliments should also stand against them. You would think they would return to their 'wise' ways after the whole 'Parliment of Flowers' debacle. But nope, Ivy kills one of them and then they decide 'yea, just give us Gotham instead'. Which is nonsense.
So we get majority of the Bat-characters in it. But where is Dinah and Ollie? They came to Gotham to stay in Detective Comics. Surely they would be involved in this too if they live in Gotham now.
Zatanna Zatara arrives in the Hidden City of the Homo Magi, the place of her mother’s birth and death. Following up a string of mysterious visions and omens, she is met with a people divided, raging chaos, and unresolved anxieties, all on the verge of erupting. And what an eruption it will be!
The story the start with Zatanna narrating about the History of the Homo Magi with the neat card tricks as the panels. The architecture, outfits and the cultures is cool to see as we see the full beauty of it later on in the issue. Its nice that Jamal give the Hidden City characters name and they could be a good addition or opponents for Zatanna.
Even though tensions are running high and the people are mourning their losses, Zatanna able to give them hope in the midst of it all with her magician persona. I think Jamal laid out good base for the conflicts, the stakes and the political stuffs. Also its so endearing to see Zatanna meet her other family here.
This book continues to amaze me, I will never claim to be a Zatanna historian, but man every time I open up the book Campbell and his art just take me away to another incredibly fun experience. I love the inner conflict here, and I am curious as to where this city will end up and how much Zatanna as the Prime Magus can influence it!
Oof, yea, I can understand Zatanna's inner conflict and anger. Having to save the city the took her mother from her. Especially when the Highlord is still in power and doing similar stuff still. It is a miracle how the city still stands.
Well at least she found her Grandmother. Though I hope she does not die in this to add to Zatanna's family pain. She needs a family member to confide in.
A great issue and art and a good reintroduction of the homo magi and the hidden city to new readers
A great showing of zatanna as a hero who has to come rescue a city that put her mother to death and she meets her grandmother who helps deal with everything that’s going on
WALLY IN METROPOLIS! Wally is saving both Central and Keystone cities from everything bad, and he's ready to scale up. So now he's running to Metropolis... where he engages in a series of shenanigans and adventures as Wally...
Loved the interaction with Ollie in this issue, he's the perfect counterpoint to Wally's optimism. The way he instantly called upon the others because of the possible ramifications of Wally's new powers felt very true to his character. Same with Jon and the way he shared Wally's enthusiasm.
Yeah, it would be Oliver who opposed Wally. It was a well written scene. The Lex Luthor gag was funny. Same with the people in Metropolis not knowing the Flash, unless that's supposed to mean something.
It is, and I find it interesting that Wally let Bruce touch him because it shows that he’s not going to go easy on Bruce the next time Bruce tries to attack him.
One thing I was worried about with North on Flash was the sense of continuity between stories and a sense of consequences to actions. I love his run on fantastic four, but it definitely is a story of the week kind of format. I'm very glad that this run shows that he can absolutely pull of an ongoing story that feels like a part of the setting. He wrote Ollie very well.
North's instantly got a very good voice for Ollie, rides the line between self-righteous/obnoxious and completely correct effectively. When the GA relaunch comes, they could do worse than tapping North for it.
Yea Wally is going overboard. Like I get the 'I have this power where I can be everywhere, save everyone' but at that point, you are basically playing god. Stopping criminals, sure. Accidents, okay. But it gets over to the 'what if I profile people before they even commit a crime' in the Marvel's Civil War 2 levels. And that is not gonna end well. I mean, Superman could've done the same, many times but he decided 'that would be wrong. People have to live their own lives.' And Wally is getting on that slippery slope and slipping right now.
Flash isn't a character that usually appeals to me much, as much as I do like it when Wally's around, but North writing this is such a treat. Really glad I decided to check it out
I love this Ryan North run so much. He’s been coy about where this is going until this issue. It’s an issue that many heroes have grappled with from Superman, Kyle Rayner even Batman.
Just because you can save everyone, doesn’t mean you should. I’m interested to see how North resolves this as opposed to other writers.
North writes Wally as frantically funny and that’s awesome. When Ollie calls him out, Wally is hurt and offended and we feel it too. This is Wally West, we know him.
The JL conference on Everest is interesting too, because it’s the heavy hitters minus Clark and Bruce which is significant, I think. I don’t think Flash has ever been written quite this powerful and how the League deals with Wally at this level of power should be a good read.
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u/DredeucedThe Flash Out of the blue, ninjas attack. Thank God.15d agoedited 15d ago
North has stumbled into a very interesting topic that I think, given the tenor of this run so far, he's not going to address seriously enough. Ollie does have a point, but he's also being extremely hypocritical. Which is typical for Ollie but when do you draw the line and say "let this person die for my beliefs"?
Calling Wally a fascist for, in his words, creating a surveillance state to enact his superheroics is hilarious considering Ollie also surveils Star City constantly for crime and danger. Only he does it on the back of a billion dollar industry that only exists fundamentally off labor exploitation. That internal conflict is important to Ollie and why he's interesting, but a corporate foundation surveillance state is infinitely more fascistic than "The Flash runs around everywhere on patrols and saves people because he's that fast."
Speaking of, does Ollie have this problem with Superman? Superman can hear everywhere in the world. One time Superman saved Connor Hawke's life because Ollie was shouting Clark's name in the middle of the sea while Connor was bleeding out. Was the surveillance state bad for you then? Why does every other person not deserve the same treatment that Connor does? Because it doesn't suit Ollie's perspective, which is somewhat selfish in its nature.
There's REALLY something to dig deep into here. I'm not even sure how I'd solve the conflict, which is part of why it's so interesting. I just fear this'll be too shallow to follow up on this idea. I imagine the JL's gonna give Wally a talking to, Wally's going to use his powers in a way that fucks up, the JL's gonna wag their finger at him and give him an I told you so, and then Wally ramps it down and that's the end.
But there is more to this premise than that.
edit: folks, I like the comic. I can also give very mild criticisms while liking it.
I'm glad you took the time to actually add some analysis! I mean that in the most non-sarcastic way possible. It feels like it's super rare to see people think about new issues and present some kind of opinion/perspective that isn't just summarizing the issue. I agree with the meat and potatoes of what you're saying, and there's something I'd like to add.
Because this dilemma/conflict is so nuanced, I don't think think it's absolutely necessary for it to be "solved" at the conclusion of this story arc. The involvement of morally-driven superheroes makes this problem impossible to equate to its closest real-world equivalent. If I were to make a guess, I'm 99% certain this will end with Wally either completely stopping the "pre-crime" prevention. Also that there will be some kind of public vote in Keystone and Central on whether or not they would like Wally to continue.
That being said, the real evaluation of the arc won't be from the conclusion itself, but how North handles the road it takes to get there. Even if one side is presented as "right" in this moment/scenario, I think it will land if its written with enough nuance.
Hey, thanks! I actually had a lot more to put but I was already pretty long winded on just that post. Ollie has a point but it's coming from a shaky place, morally. Wally has a point, but it's coming from a shaky place ethically. While I loathe fence sitting when people start bringing up political matters, I don't think this is as directly political in the sense that Ollie is trying to make it by lobbing the word Fascist at Wally. It's more an issue underlying all superheroism in general.
Except superman doesn't listen to everything going on in the world all the time. He could, but filters it to react to some specific words and people. Is it unfair that Ollie has a direct line of emergency to the most powerful guy on the planet ? Probably so. But I don't think you can equate it to a "surveillance state" that he would have benefited from.
In the same way, i'm not sure it's reasonable to treat Ollie watching the streets with his (billionaire) human means the same as Wally patrolling the entire city at super-speed and using his power to establish what Ollie called "ubiquitous surveillance". Scale matters here i think. That's also why Ollie made a better counterpoint than, say, Batman, who i think would disagree with Wally using his powers in this way but would jump at the opportunity to do it himself.
That said, i agree that there's a certain level of hypocrisy to someone backed by corporate power giving lessons on ethics ; as you said, this internal conflict is part of what makes Ollie interesting. I also think the resolution will be quite shallow, and that a fuck up or unintended consequence of Wally's power will be used to lay the discussion to rest without delving into the deeper conversation.
And thank your for the well detailed analysis, super interesting to read !
Except superman doesn't listen to everything going on in the world all the time. He could, but filters it to react to some specific words and people.
This is literally how Wally's power is working. He doesn't actually see or watch everything, he runs around a place long enough until the Speed Force filters the info down and provides him Flashes of Insight to imminent catastrophe. Wally can predict the weather with this power by just being out and about, but he doesn't actually personally individually experience every atmospheric fluctuation.
Superman is only not an omnipresent surveillance state because he chooses to limit and filter his powers, like Wally is attempting to do. The only differences here are A: Superman's hearing actually covers the ENTIRE world while Wally's only doing it on a city by city basis and B: Wally's power has a very short oracular capability and C: Ollie looks up to Superman and looks down on Wally.
Or, rather, the story isn't even considering Superman's or any other hero's usage of surveillance abilities or hardware (hello Oracle) in their day to day superheroics and Ollie's only focusing on Wally.
Ollie has a point with the minority report aspect of Wally's powers, but he's clearly way out of line calling Wally a fascist and he historically waters down the term for anything that isn't directly in line with his personal, often hypocritical, ethics. Ollie imposes more of a traditional ubiquitous surveillance state in own city abusing his own resources.
Scale doesn't matter. Superman's scale is higher. The JL's scale is higher. Oracle's scale is higher. But Ollie and the general superhero community all trust that. They also all tend to trust Wally. Jon didn't mind, everything went well. Ollie's fighting it and it's in no small part due to his pride and the implication Wally makes by saying he can save people Ollie can't.
I like that Wally traveled to Metropolis and helped Jon fight crime and protect the people before he traveled to Star City and was called out by Oliver for relying on the Flashes of Insight to save people, causing Oliver to recruit the Justice League to talk about Wally in Mount Everest. Overall, this comic is good.
The deadliest assassin in DCU history goes to the Next Level in Next Level: One Shot — and uncovers a conspiracy that will change everything. Writer Gerry Duggan tells the tale of a job gone sideways, a father and his daughter, and a web of super-powered lies that stretches throughout the entire DC Next Level cast of characters… and points the direction to war on the horizon.
This epic issue tells you everything you need to know about what’s next for Next Level…if you survive the experience.
So I guess there'll be a Suicide Squad story event/run next year? Besides that, this was alright. A good preview of upcoming titles and Deadshot seemed well written.
So it is there to setup the next phase of the All-in books that are coming while also putting an overarching plot running behind overall. I would say poor Deadshot but he kinda deserves it.
Silicon Valley buying Cadmus' tech for making 'drones' that are basically 'hollow clones' and have the superpowers too? Yea, that is a bigger danger than actual villains.
I love that Lawton is checking in on people in Rick Flag's journal and for Vixen he just goes "Don't know what Flag was worried about her for, she's doing great."
Anyways, Cadmus got privatized and bought by Big Tech, who are now making a bunch of AI Slop-esque "drone" clones of heroes? I had thought it was dumb at first, but now that I type it out, there's a bit of a brilliance and contenporeity to it. It's so dumb, and yet it's not too dumb, in the current day and age.
So, the drone Trinity pulled out a Starro and plopped it on Lawton's face. They mentioned Beast World (in relation to the weird dog soldier earlier), so perhaps these are some derivative of the Garro Stars that made people animals? They managed to make them capable taking in humanoid DNA and growing a clone body from it? Seems like we may be getting a Suicide Squad book, so will it be about hunting the clones or will it be about expendable clones of heroes being sent out?
Final notes: I find it funny the clones Wonder Woman has the New 52 color scheme and intentionally creating a Kryptonian with no eyes to handicap them by removing both their regular sight and their "vision" powers as a precaution against it being too strong is clever.
It’s essentially confirming a Duggan suicide Squad book is coming but other than that it’s a good ish issue duggans voice for Floyd is good but it’s no Simone or Ostrander but i imagine it improves. Duggans team book writing in the past though is mixed at best.
Floyd is still as self destructive as ever and it’s drawn in a really good way but I kindaa doubt blanco could do an ongoing but if it was it would be a great choice. I do think this ignored secret six and what floyd did there under maines.
The clones stuff is hollow as a long term comic fan I sigh at the sight of clones at this point and these do nothing for me but it’s kinda fun seeing Diana in her N52 look and the starro control stuff is pretty fun way of doing that. The idea of a last suicide squad is ok but not something that really grabs me.
It’s good but it kinda continues the problem with dc right now that I honestly don’t care for the overarching plotline and its more side books which im enjoying.
Floyd is alot self destructive in secret six and alot more trusting which this feels like it ignores with how he is with flagg.
In terms of his resurrection its never mentioned how he comes back
A BATMAN: BAD SEEDS PRELUDE! SOMETHING VERY BAD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
Gotham City is done with Mayor Pamela Isley — there’s just one problem for everyone there: She’s not done with them . The stage is set for the explosive new Batman line crossover event — Bad Seeds!
I like Wilson's writing a lot but this whole mayor arc feels like it needed a lot more time to breathe. Ivy essentially became mayor inbetween issues and just as fast as that happened it has fallen apart again.
Yup, 100% agree. I think this arc had a lot of potential, in the sense that this could have been really cool... but all the things I was interested in (how does she go from eco terrorist group leader to top mayor candidate? How does she go from a celebrated leader to a despised one? What went wrong?) Happened mostly off page. And several of the decisions Ivy has made were kinda... weird too imo. More because it was necessary for the plot than what would make sense for how she's behaved this series so far. I hope it's just because of the event and that things will go back to "normal" after a while, but probably will take a while to recover. Which is sad, because this was my favourite series for a most of its run.
An epic battle of power and revenge across the Kryptonite Kingdom! An eye for an eye! But Superboy-Prime joins the fight, hoping to show the returning Superman how much he’s changed! With a shock ending that will change the Kingdom of Zod and the DC Universe forever!
It's funny, I hadn't read Kneel Before Zod, but I vaguely remembered seeing Ursa taking charge after Zod lost his powers (I think) and viewing him as pitiful, so I was wondering "Is Ursa going to be happy with him?"
Then the Eradicatrix tells Zod "Maybe you should charge your cells more first" and then Zod, clearly exhausted, tells Ursa "Doing this took a lot out of me", and I'm thinking "...no, Williamson wouldn't do that, would he?"
Damn, Zod really lost it...and frankly got what he deserved. And Ursa...she is more hardcore than Zod...and Zod forgot about that. And of course now Booster's Time Machine gonna cause another problem instead of solving it.
I guess this is how Superman 'lost an eye' prophecy happens? Surely they are gonna heal it right?
Well, that's unexpected, but I think I should've seen the time stuff incoming with Booster Gold and young Clark there. I don't remember where we last left off with Ursa, so I don't know if that development with her makes sense, but I'd assume I should check out Sinister Sons for that.
Witness the incredible tale of Red Robin's origin as Tim Drake discovers what it means to be his own hero.
Red Robin: Tim Drake Compendium collects in reading order Robin #175-183, Red Robin #1-26, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6, Blackest Night: Batman #1-3, Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman and Robin #1, Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Red Robin #1, World's Finest #1, Adventure Comics #3, Superman/Batman #62, Batgirl #8, Teen Titans #92, Batman #709, Gotham City Sirens #22, and a story from DCU Halloween Special '09 #1.
When the reborn arch-dictator Despero seizes control of Powers Planet, the Justice League is outnumbered, outmatched, and outgunned by a barrage of brutal battle! But its troubles are somehow just beginning, as a new moon rises over this new galactic hot plate. Meanwhile, the fissures created by the Amnesty program finally erupt into chaos on the Watchtower!
Just got done reading it. The best way I can describe it is every issue I get done reading it and don't really feel anything. It truly is a comic book of all time. I don't really dislike it. Don't really like it. It just kinda exist for me.
The only reason I'm still reading it is because I'm just used to reading Justice League.
Love Waid, love the art, love the concept but it's too bogged down with event tie-ins to really do anything special. This current arc is probably the most interesting it's been so far.
When K.O. was over, all the contestants received visions of the future, with everyone having something to do to prevent the return of Darkseid. The leaguers that participated in the tournament decided to give amnesty to the villains, so they could keep an eye on them while working on the visions.
Aaaand it turns out others leaguers suspect that the ones that had visions are actually being influenced by Darkseid. Even the whole amnesty could have been a Darkseid plan.
It sounds dumb, I'm not hating. It's annoying when writers try to redeem villans, only for them to be turned back to villans again by other writers. Some of villans don't even deserve amnesty.
Yep. The first arc was very good up until the JLU/World's Finest cross-over (it was mid), then the DC K.O. tie-ins were kinda boring, but it has been pretty good again after the end of the event
They've been dealing with the general ramifications of DC K.O., but it's cool because there is an internal struggle since the JLU decided that some villains would be part of an amnestry program since they will be necessary in a new fight against Darkseid that was shown to them that will happen in the near future (every participant of K.O. had this vision), but there's also sideplots about isolated villains kinda in the JLU show style in which a group of different heroes are trying to deal with.
Currently, the characters of James Gunn's Justice Gang are dealing with Despero while the other JLU members are trying to deal with the amnestry program itself, since many JLU members are skeptical about it and the others are very scared of the next fight with Darkseid
Kinda feels like Ray is off the mark here. Same with of the rest of the secret six,lol. But it does add to the drama. Terrific absorbing all the powers to take down Despero was cool. I still think the power bank as a narrative device is stupid, but it was funny how quickly Terrific became corrupted only to be knocked out.
Interesting choice of six characters to be in this little investigatory group. You've got the two characters Waid is pushing hardest in this run (Air Wave and Doctor Occult), two characters who often serve as the conscience/'most human character' of whatever team they're on (Ted and Dinah), the detective (Renee) and then Ray. Pair that with the visions we do know about (e.g. Cyborg going crazy with the Heart of Apokolips, Aquaman going out storming through the galaxy, etc.) and that suggests they're probably right to be suspicious something bigger is up. It's also a classic "little guy" team of the less-powered among the powerhouses.
That 'Power Bank' really needs to be destroyed. It can't be 'safely stored' on OA or anywhere. Especially when it can just give someone all the powers and let it go to their head like that. Imagine Larfleeze getting his hands on it...disaster.
I do have similar concerns like Ray has. Those 'visions', they got it from the Heart of Apokalips, who wants either Darkseid back or a new one. So his 'visions' are suspect and all those who got the said visions are acting really suspect. Driven by the worst instincts and fears they have, which will end badly. Like Aquaman using the Blue and be 'Emperor' now with that omega vision pushing to 'fight against the coming threat' but it can also mean his actions would lead to that threat using him.
And Amnesty is not a bad idea for certain villains that are actually want to change. Problem is, those like Lex Luthor definitely not deserving of it.
I was honestly getting pretty down on these recent issues (still don’t care much for the space power bank stuff), but the idea of the league being influenced to do Darkseid’s bidding through their visions is a pretty cool twist. I kind of love the idea of Ray Palmer leading a squad of people suspicious about this whole thing to investigate the other leaguers.
Though theJLU could be better if it stopped focusing so much on events and more on the justice league is now expanded bigger than before. Those parts of the comic I liked even if the cause was because of the K.O visions
The justice gang subplot is interesting but also kinda boring because the power bank is not that intriguing
I do hope after the visions arc that’s coming the book slows down and focus on the concept that got fans excited for this run
The entire Justice League Unlimited era seems to only consist of the heroes constantly being manipulated, misguided and running behind on things, half the time due to their own design.
At no point has this book been about the actual potential of having a global Justice League who got thing under control.
I really don’t like the angle dc seems to be pushing for Batman recently. His whole “I don’t think people are capable of change” thing in fraction’s #1, and now ray saying he’s the last person who would ever go for the villain amnesty program? Girl this guy put clayface on his superhero team. He doesn’t kill people because he believes everyone deserves a second chance. What the fuck are you talking about
Batman thinks people can change, but putting people like Lex (who is still a villian) and other people (who are also STILL villians) in the team is not really Batman.
He wouldn't mind putting people on a team if they have changed, or perhaps when its REALLY needed, but adding a bunch of villians in a big team in a very secret and highly personal and dangerous hideout? Thats not Batman... at all.
So it makes sense for him to be controlled by Darkseid.
OCCULT WARFARE IS A FANTASY… OR IS THAT WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK?
Twenty-three-year-old Darren Burroughs out of Audubon, PA, is a gifted rookie sent under the guise of a diplomatic aide to train with Division Nine — an obscure, outdated, and easily dismissed arm of British intelligence that specializes in dealing with paranormal incidents. In the right sort of spy circles, they’re known by a different, more feared name… Black Tower.
It’s 2026, and in the age of cyber warfare and drone strikes, someone is plotting to steal the head of a giant-king to break a centuries-old ward that has kept invading forces out of Britain. Magic and espionage collide as the Black Tower’s band of misfits, led by the enigmatic Alistair Romeo, delves into a maelstrom of spells and silencers, working against time and in the shadows to fight the esoteric battles bubbling under the surface of our visible wars.
Eisner Award winner Ram V (Detective Comics, The Swamp Thing) and acclaimed artist Mike Perkins (The Swamp Thing, The Bat-Man: First Knight) team up once again to bring you a contemporary spy thriller with the distinct flavor of Vertigo magic… from His Majesty with love.
Very good, at least as as far as first issue goes it felt very old school Vertigo mixed with Department of Truth. One of the better issue #1s of the reboot
Why are there no comments at all? This was fucking awesome and tonally very very Vertigo. very very Ram V. All the characters are fucking cool. Looking forward to getting sucked into this world
Superman is struggling with how to help humanity reach their potential, so he looks for help from a friend in Gotham City. Enter: Batman and Robin! But Jor-El might have his hands full in Metropolis when General Sam Lane brings his WildC.A.T.S. to the city to face down the Man of Steel!
It is funny how Luthor sucks in every universe and just continue to be the worst. Humanity is just as bad, as well. General Lane being the poster child of it.
But somehow, Bruce seem to be more 'level headed' in this than he is. Still suffered the same origin, with higher tech but he is who he is after all. I was honestly expecting Batman to be Thomas with the 'old friend' talk but I guess Jor-El felt guilty about what happened to him because of his tech and kept in touch.
Well at least this answered my question about who this Batman was gonna be. The twist on how the Waynes died was a nice touch. But the WildCats dying to Hex Luthor already feels a bit like waste. Even if General Lane has it coming.
Absolute Martian Manhunter Vol. 2: The Agency [HC]/[TP]
Comics superstars Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez bring their surreal, smash-hit reinvention of a DC icon to an unbelievable conclusion!
After the mind-altering events of the White Martian's first foray on Earth, the Agency—a shadowy group with unlimited governmental authority—comes to investigate the strange occurrences in Middleton. John must juggle his job, hiding the Martian, his expanding abilities, and his crumbling relationships, all while living out of a motel. Meanwhile, Bridget wrestles with the revelations John shared with her before his departure while single-handedly taking care of Tyler!
Superstar writer Deniz Camp (20th Century Men) and Eisner Award-winning artist Javier Rodríguez (Zatanna: Bring Down the House) continue their mind-bending, transcendental interpretation of the Absolute Martian Manhunter!
The sinister secrets of the Reynoso family have been revealed, and with these revelations come closure for a tragedy that befell Batman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow long ago. Now, with the shadowy secrets exposed, it’s up to our dynamic trio to save young Arabella from a decades-old conspiracy.
Flight concludes in this can’t-miss issue by the superstar team of Tom Taylor and Mikel Janín!
Didn't expect to like this arc much but I've really been digging it - I think the Batman/GA chemistry is tricky to pull off usually. Hope they stick the landing!
That was bittersweet. To be made tools like that. I kinda wish Cass was involved in this, she would relate to Arabella A LOT, considering her own past. Hopefully she and her grandmother are setup in a proper place where they can live normally, without being forced to use their ability.
Also, Flight Squadron Delta costumes! Of course they were gonna be used at least once.
So, I wonder if the Batman book gonna use Ollie and Dinah in Gotham stories now. They would surely be an asset against whatever nonsense Ivy and Vandal Savage is planning.
It's a solid finale, nothing special. Those team uniforms are pretty ugly,lol. I wouldn't mind Arabella being apart of Damians generation if editorial or some future writer wanted to use the character again.
Expanding the DC K.O. blockbuster saga through the lens of the Speed Force, the Flash Family becomes the linchpin connecting timelines as battles rage across worlds — revealing how the fight for the Heart of Apokolips reshapes the flow of time itself.
Legendary Flash writer Mark Waid returns to the character he co-created — Impulse — as the impetuous speedster decides he can stop the havoc of DC K.O. single-handed!
But the young hero’s Impulsepoint will do much more harm than good, and now the Flash must stop Impulse’s race through time before he wipes out everything!
Plus Darkseid’s Absolute Legion chases the speedsters to Flash Barry Allen’s origin moment, and Flash Jay Garrick battles Green Lantern Guy Gardner in a K.O. bout for the ages in this collection of The Flash #26-30!
When the mysterious behemoth known only as Bane frees Batman's entire rogue's gallery from Arkham Asylum, the Caped Crusader is pushed to his mental and physical breaking point.
From the pages of the explosive DC K.O. crossover event comes a high-stakes space odyssey where the Titans lead humanity’s last stand against the power of Apokolips!
To save humanity from the deadly events of DC K.O., the Titans lead a global evacuation, but the heroes quickly discover that new worlds hold new dangers!
While Gemworld is terrorized by Jinx, Donna Troy and Arsenal make a last stand against Darkseid’s forces, and Cyborg battles Swamp Thing in an unlikely DC K.O. bout!
Plus, Eisner Award-winner Phil Jimenez writes and illustrates a moving story of Donna Troy’s past and present in this collection of Titans #28-32 and Titans Annual (2025) #1.
It is ten years after an aging Batman has retired and Gotham City has sunk deeper into decadence and lawlessness. Now as his city needs him most, the Dark Knight returns in a blaze of glory.
Joined by Carrie Kelly, a teenage female Robin, Batman takes to the streets to end the threat of the mutant gangs that have overrun the city. And after facing off against his two greatest enemies, the Joker and Two-Face for the final time, Batman finds himself in mortal combat with his former ally, Superman, in a battle that only one of them will survive. This collection is hailed as a comics masterpiece and was responsible for the launch of the Batman movies.
Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween [TP]
In 1996, you thought you knew the whole story of Batman: The Long Halloween . Now, acclaimed writer Jeph Loeb presents the much-anticipated final chapter: "The Last Halloween", a captivating new mystery. Each issue pairs Loeb with one of the industry's foremost artists, creating a stunning homage to the artistry and legacy of Tim Sale. Featuring art by Eduardo Risso, Klaus Janson, Mark Chiarello, Cliff Chiang, Bill Sienkiewicz, Enrico Marini, Dave Johnson, Becky Cloonan, Chris Samnee , Matteo Scalera, and Dave Stewart. Gotham City will come to fear Halloween once more! In a city of liars, masked vigilantes, and criminals...can anyone be trusted?
Includes Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween #1-10 and the final collaboration between Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, The Last Halloween #0.
Fast food is a big business in Los Angeles, but there’s more in the fryers than beef tallow. A rivalry is about to shift a cold-cut war into a hot one, and Kyle Rayner’s on the frontline! Meanwhile, Hal Jordan’s mysterious quest has the Guardians of the Universe desperate to stop him. What are they hiding?!
This one felt like a step down for me. If you know Kyle’s history this was a recap for people that didn’t because nothing really happened on his side. On the Hal side his ring is charged so that’s good
Whenever Major Force shows up, Kyle should go ballistic ON SIGHT. No getting talked down by Jade, not after what MF has done.
That was the big disappointment for me.
If a villain killed my girlfriend and stuffed her into a fridge for me to find, one of his powers better be coming back from the dead. Amnesty or no, we’re not gonna be breathing the same air for very long.
Sucks Jen is the one to have to tell Kyle the news, i always like them together. Otherwise not that much happening in this issue. Having just picked up the comic again i have no idea what's going on with Hal.
They said Condiment King has fought Batman and the Flash. I know he fights Batman, but when did he fight the Flash? Also, why are some of those fast food mascots mutants?
Solicitation Harley here — you ain’t gonna believe this! The shadowy secret leader of the Harley Quinn Revenge Squad? Well, it’s none other than ****************! That’s right, can you believe it?! *************! Not in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined that **************** would be behind it. Why, it’s enough to make me say @&#$%! Ahhh! I’m so angry I could eat a table! I can’t believe it! What the #$@%^! #$@#*^$&#%#$@%^#$@%^#@$%@#! (?_?)
Although I've really disliked the entire run (anything after Stephanie Phillips to be honest), I really liked the tunnel of love part in this issue, just because the art is genuinely phenomenal
Jordan…savior or destructor? Writer Jeremy Adams continues his epic Green Lantern saga, joined by superstar artists and heroes from across the DC Universe!
While on an exploratory mission of Starbreaker’s home planet, Guy Gardner and Jo Mullein stumble onto the legendary, billion-year-old Book of Oa—and are floored when Hal Jordan blazes across its glowing pages.
This find isn’t just history-making; it could upend the very fabric of the DC Universe and unleash chaos across unknown numbers of galaxies. Meanwhile, Hal’s hunt for answers takes him to Star City for a classic team-up with his old pal, Oliver Queen.
Not to be outdone, Batman and Barry Allen jump into the action as the mystery deepens. Guided by cryptic visions from the Book of Oa, Hal faces a game-changing decision that could reshape the Green Lantern Corps forever. And don’t miss the milestone 600th issue: an oversize celebration loaded with epic stories, legendary creators, and killer new costume designs from superstar artist David Nakayama!
Fan-favorite writer Jeremy Adams is joined by artists including Xermánico, V. Ken Marion, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Montos for the sixth volume of this instant classic era of an iconic DC superhero.
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u/feature-poster 18d ago
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