Review: Reign in Hell #8

I said from the outset that I had little interest in reading Reign In Hell outside of the rumored appearance of Linda Danvers. The Shadowpact and other mystic players in the DCU have rarely grabbed me. But Linda Danvers? She was special to me.

The mini-series ended this week with Reign In Hell #8. As with most of the issues, I was scratching my head when I finished it. It just never seemed to make much sense to me. And I am still unclear how the mystic terrain has changed now that this war has reached a resolution. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Remember that in last issue, Linda seemed confused and was vacillating between helpful and innocent or vengeful and judging. After immolating some demons, she almost does the same to Dr. Occult before flying off screaming.

I don't think that sat well with most Linda fans. Most of us worried that this was a set-up to make her the Queen of Hell.

This issue opens up shortly afterwards. The human beings in Hell have congregated in the empty realm of Purgatory in hopes of finding a way home. Some are inexperienced; some are overmatched; most are battered physically and exhausted mentally.

The only sensible plan is for Nightshade to try to find a passage back through the shadow realms. She states that the shadows are now unpredictable and that she may get lost inside them. She also admits that they seem to lead her through many of the worst memories of her life. Dr. Occult, who comes across as a Philip Marlowe type, states he will join her and use his symbol as a guide. With no other choice, the two set off while they others try to heal.

The events in Hell have not gone unnoticed on Earth. As seen last issue, Rama Kushna is trying to force a chaos event to occur to shake up the new order in Hell. The hope is she will open the doors of Hell again.

As a way to try to influence Kushna's chaos event, the Earth magicians have Zatara bond with her psychically and project calm as much as he can. But he looks the worse for wear as he is being burned out by the effort.

In much the same way, the magicians ask Kid Devil to link so that he can observe and influence the evil magics Kushna is bringing to bear. Kid Devil also gets engulfed by Kushna's power and seems to fall into a coma.

As for Hell itself, Lord Satanus is reveling in his newfound power and title.

First he denies Zauriel his plea to let the humans trapped in Hell go free. Next he states that he will reclaim Purgatory as part of his kingdom. And lastly, he makes a pact with Lobo that he will free the Czarian if he slaughters the magic wielders hiding out in Purgatory. Since Lobo wants another piece of Zatanna, he agrees.

After setting Lobo free, Satanus is confronted by Black Alice who has been sucking up power throughout the series. I only know Alice from her early appearances in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey. In that series, she seemed like a confused adolescent Goth who was dealing with her mother's death and unsure of what to make of her powers. In this series, she has only seemed evil.

She grabs Satanus in hopes of draining him of his power only to have it seemingly overwhelm her.

We then cut to Purgatory where we read several pages of Lobo kicking the tar out of the worn-out good guys. Dr. Fate seems inexperienced. Ibis, Ragman, Sargon, and The Enchantress are simply overmatched. And Zatanna is running on empty. The best they can do against an enraged Lobo is parry and survive. But it is barely a fight. Look at Zatanna get the big hook to the left shoulder.

As the troops scramble to live, Nightshade and Dr. Occult wander through the back corners of Nightshade's mind until they run across a drill-like projection which leads to the outside world.

Using Kid Devil as a conduit, Nightshade and Dr. Occult crawl back to the physical plane. And then, using Dr. Fate as a beacon are able to bring back the magicians in Purgatory. All of them, that is, except Sargon who runs inteference with Lobo so the others can escape. It is hinted at that Lobo kills Sargon shortly thereafter.

The return of the living from Purgatory seems to be the necessary chaos event as we hear that the infernal font flows again.

What is it with guys called Sargon in these big mystic cataclysms. They always die! Remember the first Sargon bursting into flame way back in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing #50?

But more than the escape of the sorcerors has shaken the already tenuous landscape of the pit.

It turns out that when Black Alice tried to drain Lord Satanus of his power that made Satanus temporarily vulnerable to attack. Lady Blaze took advantage of that, entering the circuit and taking the energy for herself. Now both Black Alice and Satanus are drained and powerless while Blaze is almighty.

Blaze leaves her brother broken and drooling on the floor and proclaims herself Queen of Hell.

All that's left is picking up the pieces. Blue Devil gets to go home. But does he go free of his demonic side? The answer seems to be no. Shadowpact has reformed and we see Blue Devil brooding at their headquarters, still blue and brawny. Black Alice ends up back on Earth, powerless, confused, and overall terrified.

And, interestingly enough, the shakeup in the afterlife seems to have given an out to the Dibny's who are free to leave their ghost form whenever they please.

The series ends at (I presume) Blaze's coronation, the head of Neron still on a pike before her. And what is Zauriel doing there?

I really don't know what to make of this series. There did not seem to be any sort of comprehendable story over the eight issues. There were major plot twists introduced in one panel and then erased by the next bizarre turn of events. I have read a lot of comics in my life and at times I felt lost. I never quite understood the plan (if any) that the magicians from Earth had or how they would actualize it. The dialogue often seemed forced. Was it necessary to bring back the original Zatara only to kill him again. Was this the best way to bring back Lobo, who we had seen throughout 52?

Oh yeah ... and one more thing ...

THERE WAS NO LINDA!

I suppose I should be happy that she wasn't set up as Queen of Hell or a new villain. I mean it when I say I am thrilled they did not make her a villain. But why bring her into the story if she wasn't going to impact the plot at all. I mean, she really did nothing to advance the story. Instead, we see her as a spiteful angry woman in Gotham and a confused psychotic killer in Hell. Is this a better ending than the open ended one from Supergirl #80? Doesn't she deserve better than this?

What is the worst offense? A life in comic limbo, out of continuity? Or dragging her back into continuity, portraying her poorly, and leaving her sobbing and wandering outside Purgatory?

This seemed like a lousy way to get people like me (a Linda fan) to buy a pretty lousy 8 issue mini-series.

Overall grade (issue): D
Overall grade (series): D