I continue to chip away at a backlog of reviews after a brief vacation. So today I am reviewing
Batman Superman World's Finest #32, a book released 2 weeks ago!
Writer Mark Waid has used this book as a sort of team-up title with Superman, Batman, and a young Dick Grayson Robin interacting with some classic characters from the DCU. This is the second issue in an Eclipso storyline with our heroes teaming up with the JSA. The Satellite Era JLA have been trapped. Our heroes have been possessed and are now pawns of Eclipso. And so the JSA needs to step in and try to save the day and the World's Finest duo.
I have loved this title since its inception but this storyline seems a little bit looser than I am used to. Eclipso is pretty cool. Seeing the JSA, including many of my faves, is also fantastic. But I don't know if I understand how Eclipso is doing what he is doing. I have had to stop overthinking the insanity and just sort of roll with it. Waid usually feels 'tighter' than this. This is still a very good book and a good story. But the bar is high.
Adrian Gutierrez is on art, stepping into Dan Mora's huge shoes. I like the style as it has a little frenzied feel to it which works with the story. I admit I sometimes have a hard time following the action on certain scenes. But overall, I like what I am seeing and glad he has been named the ongoing artist here.
On to the book.
Last issue ended with the destruction of the JLA satellite.
This issue opens with the other members of the JLA trapped in a giant black gem hurtling to the ground.
And our main heroes are enchanted thralls of the bad guy.
Why include this page? Because that Adrian Gutierrez panel of a maniacally laughing Eclipso at the bottom is everything Eclipso should be. I like a cackling, insane, darkness demon not a brooding one.
One of the plot elements I don't quite follow is the turning of Bruce Gordon. Eclipso calls this evil, magic powered Bruce 'Lumos', a sort of play on dark and light.
Remember this is a sort of flashback series, taking place in a prior 'Else When'. So funny to hear Eclipso say that he realizes that possessing the heroes is a better strategy than trying to fight them. We didn't really get too much explanation of how Eclipso so easily controls our big guns. But they are his slaves.
I know ... I am VERY old ... but could this be the kernel that led to 1992's Eclipso:The Darkness Within event?
Batman and Superman head to the Batcave and come up with a nefarious plan. Luckily Robin is there to see it. Realizing he needs a lot of help, he heads to the JSA HQ.
The plan our now-evil heroes comes up with is rather pedestrian. Destroy the global communication satellite array plunging the world into a new sort of information darkness. That is very Bronze Age.
I have to say, I was sitting there for a moment wondering why Flash Gordon was in the JSA HQ. Turns out that is a rather blond, rather young looking Jay Garrick! Amazing.
Like any good JSA story, the team splits up into mission squads.
Alan Scott goes to save the JLA.
The street level heroes - Hawkman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wildcat, Sandman - and The Spectre head to Gotham to try and save Batman.
Love Sandman! Love Dr. Mid-Nite! So happy to see these heroes here.
And how cool is this shot of an enormous Spectre looming over a rather confident Batman.
In space, Dr. Fate and the Flash take on Superman.
I don't know what Jay is running on, but he is running.
As a fan of the default 'Run Barry Run' line from the Flash TV show, I did appreciate the Run Jay, RUN!
And Gutierrez's take on Fate's magic is pretty interesting, sort of shattered symbols.
The JSA do come up with interesting ways of curing the title heroes.
The Spectre apparently kills Robin by snapping Dick's neck. That is so violent that it shakes Batman out of his fugue and let's him regain his senses.
Brutal.
I like that when re-integrated, Dick is a bit confused about what just happened.
And then while flying pell-mell to catch up the Jay, Fate sets up a barrier which bounces Superman into the sun where the light burns away the spell.
I still don't know what Jay was running on ... some Fate created runway?
Very fun sequence though.
Green Lantern frees the JLA and suddenly the combined might of the JLA and the JSA show up to confront Eclipso and Lumos. It looks like the brawl is on ...
But ...
Somehow the two villains very easily turn all the heroes into some sort of crystal. Interesting they are clear diamonds not dark gems.
And another great shot (maybe a copy) of the cackling Eclipso.
Didn't that seem too easy? I don't quite know if I understand it all.
This was still a fun issue. I like the side missions. I really like Gutierrez's art. And a cackling Eclipso. It works.
Overall grade: B
I loved this issue but I also didn’t get everything, such as why Superman zooms from the Batcave to take down the satellites but stops off to stand beside Eclipso for a scene. Also, did someone tell cover artist Dan Mora this was a vampire story?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I want to give this a fair chance, but...it's Eclipso, for crying out loud. One of the absolute worst villains in the entire DC canon. He was lame when he was first introduced, he's been permanently tainted by that wretched 1992 storyline, and no matter what writer attempts to blow him up into a serious Big Bad there is no situation ever where he rivals the Spectre power wise, or even really gives Fate a hard time. And I don't mean just Doctor Fate, even the sad didn't-get-my-degree Fate from the Weirdoverse book should be more than a match for this sap. Wriggle as much as you like, the guy's a D-list nobody who can, should, and has been be defeated by a flashlight.
ReplyDeleteAnd these days everyone in the damn world carries a phone with a light that makes him lamer than ever. It does explain the weird obsession with killing the orbital telecom network - but anyone dumb enough to think STAR Labs and Lex Corp and a dozen other big players don't have backup plans to seamlessly replace that network is even more out of touch than the hackneyed artifact of pre-Crisis days that is Eclipso.
Drawing him like a Joker knockoff doesn't improve my opinion of him one bit either. Get this story over with and move on to a villain that doesn't suck on every conceivable level. The whole thing's already collapsing from the number of powers being pulled out of Eclipso's ass here - which raises the interesting question, if Eclipso gets pantsed, does he show the world a partially occluded moon?
Classic Eclipso was fun but indeed lame. Ostrander making him the Spectre's predecessor was genius. Everything else? Meh. Even in that deck clearing, IP destroying crossover he was a tool rather than a character. It's a fun story but logic hurts it afterwards.
ReplyDeleteWe are seeing a lot of Robin, not so much Supergirl, when was the last time she had her obligatory cameo in this book?
ReplyDeleteJF
Waid also wrote her out of Absolute Power.
ReplyDeleteT.N.