Mystery Solved: Nightwing And Flamebird Promo Page

Today I finally wrap up my look at the Candor arc in the early days of Supergirl's solo title from 2005.

Back in my first post about the arc, I posted a splash page from within the trade collection of Supergirl and Power Girl in their Flamebird and Nightwing armor.

I wasn't sure where it came from.

The answer was provided by commenter Rober Todd Bruce who pointed me to Superman/Batman #27. As a big Huntress fan and a Power Girl fan I actually had the issue in my collection, signed no less by cover artist Ethan Van Sciver (a long time ago ... before things were known) and inside artist Kevin Maguire!

I had completely forgotten that the page came in here.

Read on!

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Pt 3 Supergirl #8

Welcome to my review of Supergirl #9, the third part of the Candor storyline I am covering.

After two issues, the Greg Rucka era on this Supergirl title ended. I would love to talk to Rucka at some point to see if this was always planned to be a brief run or if he had editorial differences or other opportunities that led him to leave.

But Supergirl #9 is the beginning of the Joe Kelly run on the book. For me, Kelly's run is the worst run for this character. That took me by surprise. After all, Kelly wrote 'What's so funny about Truth Justice and the American Way' in Action Comics #775, one of the better looks at Superman remaining an inspirational hero in a cynical world.

Instead of giving us a heroic Supergirl, learning the ropes on Earth, he gives us a petulant child, an angry and angsty young woman who only cares about herself. He made her a violent person, a killer on Krypton. And his portrayal of her was hypersexual. It certainly isn't any type of Supergirl that I want to read. And at times it is downright creepy.

The art on this issue leans into that portrayal. We start with the cover by Joe Benitez who gives us a Power Girl defining pulchritude. The internal art by Ron Adrian isn't as overt. Adrian brings a decent take on Kara, Karen, and the weird Kandor.

But this story can't end soon enough. And as you will see, it ends abruptly and rather terribly. On to this book!

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Pt 2 Supergirl #7

Welcome to part 2 of my review of Candor, the second arc in the Supergirl  series from the early 2000's.

I had my concerns with Candor Part 1, an opening chapter which showed and angry, violent, murderous, and barely dressed Kara struggling with her place in a rebellion in Kandor.

A man claiming to be Kal-El is running Kandor like a fascist regime. This Kal is a racist, considering the Kryptonians in Kandor to be the True Children and all others lesser beings. He runs the place with an iron fist, keeping the aliens suppressed and with limited rights. Supergirl and Power Girl went into Kandor to help oust this regime and help the aliens. But to earn the other species trust, they have to don masks and the identities of Nightwing and Flamebird.

I was surprised that Greg Rucka was the writer on this. His female protagonists usually have agency. They usually depth. They are usually more mature. This Kara doesn't read like a Rucka character. And part 2, here in Supergirl #7 isn't much better. In fcat, in some places it is worse. Perhaps Rucka didn't like editorial leanings? After all, he is gone after this issue after this 2 issue 'run'.

Regular series artist Ian Churchill is back. He doesn't bring the same sort of curves that Ed Benes brought to things last issue but this is still drawn to the male gaze. Churchill's characters are always rail thin, almost stretched out.

We are One Year Later in the DCU. Let's head back to Kandor.

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Pt 1 Supergirl #6

Welcome to part one to a week long look at Candor, the second arc in the Supergirl solo series from the early 2000's. As I said in my prologue post, I did not like this story at all. So if you don't want to read something relatively negative, you can jump off here. I will try to point out the high points. But there aren't many.

Remember that this is a reintroduction of Kara Zor-El as Supergirl in the DCU. It is clear that DC felt the best representation of the character was of a bratty, angry, angsty teenage girl. And, as if to double down, they have given her a motivation of being sent to Earth to kill Kal-El. This is a far cry from the other Kara. It is a far cry from really any hero.  I was still willing to see if this was going to be a redemption story ... remember I love PAD's Supergirl series. But this seemed wrong. Toss in hyper-sexualization of a 16 year old character and I was struggling to get behind this new incarnation.

I will also remind you that it was this run of Supergirl that was such a terrible misunderstanding of the core of the character that it spurred me to make this blog to celebrate her.

But enough retreading old sorrows.

Check out the cover by Ian Churchill of Kara and Karen as Nightwing and Flamebird, the Dynamic Duo of Kandor. That pose, as the tease of it was, is an homage.

An homage to the real dynamic duo, Batman and Robin.

I'll also point out that Greg Rucka was announced as the writer of the Supergirl book starting here and so I had pretty high hopes. So let's dive in!

On to the book!

A Little Bit Of Kandor: Candor Prologue

Okay folks, settle in.

Because of the lack of new books coming out and an utter wasteland of news about Supergirl in the current DCU post-cancellation, I have been combing the backs issues for suitable reviews. And I have been focusing a little bit on Kandor given the recent storyling in Batman/Superman.

That has led me to this Candor storyline and I feel it needs to be reviewed even if I honestly say that I detest it.

But it certainly fits the bill for a decent deep dive for a number of reasons.

First off, it definitely involves Kandor, the post-Crisis city which in this storyline is a mishmash of alien beings and Kryptonian survivors. (I think the city was re-established as a Kryptonian city in Superman Birthright ... perhaps another review idea.)

But more importantly, it shows just how wrong DC can get Supergirl. Remember, right now in the DCU Supergirl has been on a downward path of being rage-fueled and then rage-infected. The book is very dark. And that doesn't work for Supergirl.

Unfortunately, DC never seems to learn the lesson. And so we have storylines like this one, early on Supergirl's reboot. You will see as this story unfolds how they make Kara very angry, actually murderous, and not exactly heroic. You will also see how DC hyper-sexualized her despite saying she was a 16 year old girl, something which is totally cringe-worthy. Perhaps worst of all, this is smack dab in the middle of the 'my destiny is to kill Kal-El, my father is mad Zor-El' nonsense.

Yes, just about everything is wrong here. And Sterling Gates/Jamal Igle's salvation was about 2.5 years in the future.

Still, this was very early. I think people were still a bit giddy that we had a Kryptonian cousin around and were still willing to give this a fair shake.

To put in context, Candor happens right after Supergirl #5 in which we see Jeph Loeb (the architect of the Kryptonian Kara reboot). And that isn't a winner either. Nude Kara prancing around her father while saying she'll kill Kal. Dark Kara coming out of her and being generally evil. And a rather inscrutable ending.

Well, we go from inscrutable to impenetrable ...

Back Issue Review: Superman Family #194

Some of you might be looking at this post's title and the cover of Superman Family #194 and be thinking 'didn't Anj cover this issue already?'

The answer is yes. I have indeed covered the Supergirl story in this issue here:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2017/02/back-issue-review-superman-family-194.html

But remember that Superman Family is an anthology title and the Nightwing and Flamebird story in this issue is one I felt I wanted to cover given some interesting wrinkles in the current post-Rebirth DCU. I always love when I can look at a back issue as a sort of reflection or reference to current times.

In this instance, the mystery of Mr. Oz is about the be revealed to us as readers. One of the leading candidates for Mr. Oz's identity is that he is a version of Jor-El. Back on August 24 (and echoed a week later on Bleeding Cool), I commented that Mr. Oz spelled backwards is Zor-M. I wondered if Oz might be a twisted version of Zor-El.

After all, we have seen Zor-El recently be an insane mass murderer plagued by visions of demons (thanks Joe Kelly!). We have seen him be an unscrupulous scientist who experimented on his own daughter without her consent (thanks New 52)! And we have seen him turned into the Cyborg Superman, willing to kill his own daughter to resurrect himself (thanks New 52 again! The gift that keeps on giving!). So why not turn him into some universal villain.

Well, I can hope not.

But what do the Jor-El and Zor-El theories have to do with this issue? Well, read on.

Shrine: Flamebird Figure

I recently purchased at a very low price the Flamebird figure from the DC Armory action figure line. As this is a Supergirl figure ... and more importantly cheap ... I thought I should have it as part of my collection of Supergirl memorabilia.

I have to say it is a very striking figure. It comes with two heads, a Kara head and a Flamebird helmet head. I have opted to have the Kara head holding the helmet triumphantly. Unfortunately, the Kara head gives it a very long neck.

 The armor is pretty detailed. And the design of the head and hair is very nice. It is a much better figure than I anticipated.

The wings clip in as a 'ball in socket' which should mean pretty wide range of movement for them and lots of posing possibilities. Unfortunately, my figure (and therefore I assume all) has very shallow sockets meaning almost any movement has the wings pop off.  The position they are in here is pretty much the only position I can have them in. Still, there is a nice sleek metallic look to them.

Here is a pic with the Flamebird helmet on for completeness. It really is an intricate figure.

When this figure initially came out I didn't buy it because I pretty much hated the Candor story arc finding it nearly incomprehensible. This was the 'Kill Kal-El' Kara, the edgy bitchy unlikeable sort of grrrl that just didn't seem to fit Supergirl.

And, of course, given this was that Supergirl, it ends with her abandoning the people of that Kandor completely. Not exactly a hero. And this was the 'One Year Later' jump on point! Not a very nice way to introduce people to the character!

But you know what Candor did have a lot of ... needless, meaningless fan service.

Look at topless Kara get a tattoo!
Look at Kara take a shower!!
Look at naked Kara almost kiss Karen !!!

Look at Kara burn a boob window into Power Girl's Nightwing costume with her heat vision !!!!
Look at Preus grab Kara's butt!!!!!

And people wonder why I dislike the first 2 years of that comic.

Yeesh. Horrible.

But, like all the earlier warts, Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle acknowledged this ugly chapter by having the Flamebird helmet be in the Closet of Solitude. That creative team had Kara put those troublesome times behind her and had her become a great hero.

Anyways, it is a nicely crafted figure and well well worth the few bucks I paid for it.

"Cosmic" Flamebird

Earlier this week in an interview here, Landry Walker and Eric Jones talked about their plans to have had Supergirl guest star in Batman:The Brave and the Bold comic book. In that story, Supergirl would lose her powers and would adopt the costumed identity of Flamebird, patrolling the streets of Gotham with the Dark Knight. Unfortunately, that story never came to be.

Walker and Jones had started to do some design work on their version of Flamebird and just found those sketches, sending them on to me.

 I thought I would share them as well. Like the concept art for Cosmic Adventures in the Ninth Grade, this is one of this things that might have been. I can't thank the two of them enough for sharing this with all of us.

And, of course, having Kara become Flamebird ties in nicely with the Superman mythos. Walker and Jones just have an easy grasp of who Kara is and how she should be portrayed. As always, I can only hope that DC does the right thing and let's them create another Supergirl book.

Above is design number one for the Flamebird character. This one has a sort of sleek retro-feel to it.

Here is the second design for the Flamebird outfit. This one is a bit bolder with the striped skirt with the frayed edges and the more flame like cape. I am completely torn over which design I like better. And kind of down that we'll probably never see either of these designs in a comic. I really wish we could have read this story in Brave and the Bold.

Thanks again to Landry Walker and Eric Jones for sharing these pictures. You have plenty of fans here who I am sure appreciate seeing them.

In the mean time, let's continue to ask DC for Cosmic Adventures in the Ninth Grade!

Review: Superman: War Of The Supermen #3

War of the Supermen #3 is the penultimate chapter of the mini-series and the story continues to rumble along at breakneck speed. What a daunting task the creators set up for themselves! Two years worth of plot needed to be settled in 4 issues. That can't be easy. As a result of the sheer volume of story needed to be covered in fairly limited pages, some of the scenes have felt a little short ... some of the action has happened 'off-screen'.

But I give James Robinson and Sterling Gates a lot of credit for pulling it off so far. This has been a wild ride. More importantly, despite the story moving quickly in this issue, for me it didn't have that rushed feeling that War of the Supermen #2 did.

Add to that some seriously beautiful art by Cafu, and this was a great issue. I have been eager to see just how fantastic Cafu would draw Supergirl and trust me, he did not disappoint. This whole book is just beautiful.

But a lot got settled in this issue. So let's get to it!

While General Lane gloats over his red sun missile attack and the subsequent deaths of countless Kryptonian soldiers, the Superman Family is busy breaking down his back door. The super-squad breaks into Project 7734's Mount Rushmore headquarters and successfully rescue Natasha Irons. Irons has information that can take down General Lane, showing him as the insane war monger he is. The heroes overrun the Human Defense Corps. We barely see any of this fight. This is one of those off-screen scenes.

This one didn't bother me much as the Irons subplot was one that really is background story. It's not like I was sitting on the edge of my seat wondering about Natasha's fate.

With Irons free, Jimmy 'downloads' her brain of it's incriminating General Lane information and turns it into streaming information. Olsen then hacks the whole internet, sending Irons' evidence to all the major on-line news outlets. It seems the revolution will be televised.

While this device seemed as 'out of the blue' as Luthor's red sun missile, I didn't mind it much. Maybe it is because I really want to see General Lane get his comeuppance. Or maybe it is because no exposition is necessary for something like this. Or maybe, and most likely, it is because I got a big kick out of Jimmy's group of hackers being called the Newsboy Legion, a nice tip of the cap to Jack Kirby's group of the same name. I like small touches like that.

But there is no time for the super-team to rest on their laurels.

Somehow Thara/Flamebird "senses a disturbance in the force". She suddenyl gets flooded with visions of Luthor's Rao-missile and the Kryptonians dying in space. Hmmm ... shouldn't they have noticed that the sun is now red and they are powerless?

Of course, Thara is also powered by the Flamebird entity. The use of even a false Rao as part of a weapon must be particularly egregious for someone as devout as Thara. There is something sacrilegious about a god-bomb.

While it may have made better sense for the 'all-seeing' Nightwing to have had these visions, we have seen Thara have visions before as well. And the response to the red sun threat is better suited for Flamebird.


Flamebird and Nightwing take off into space (presumably with the demi-god based powers since under the red sun they are devoid of their genetic Kryptonian power) and dive into the sun, determined to save their people and be together to the end. I have really come to enjoy these 'star-crossed lovers' and their attempts to maintain this doomed relationship.

Before either can do much of anything, the Nightwing entity takes Chris away, saying that his final fate lies elsewhere. Since the original Nightwing spirit became the Phantom Zone, my guess is Chris somehow 'becomes' the zone. And since I think Zod and his flunkies are going to end up back in the zone, Chris will become Zod's jailer and tormentor. That would be ironic.

Now alone, although secure in Chris' love for her, Thara pushes her body to the limit, destroying the Rao-bomb, returning the sun to yellow, but immolating herself in the process. And there is no doubt about it ... we see what is left of her body.

If Thara needed to be killed, I liked that she went out heroically like this. Also, as this Rao was made by Jax-Ur/Vohc and Thara/Flamebird's role was to destroy all Vohc created, there was some internal Kryptonian mythology logic here.

But I have to say I am saddened by Thara's death. I had really come to like her character quite a bit. She seemed tortured in many ways. Her life was tumultuous and horrifying and yet she kept her faith and eventually found love. I was hoping she would somehow survive this war. Her death also is another blow to Kara's psyche. She had finally reconciled her friendship with Thara and now she is gone too.

With the sun now yellow, the Kryptonians in deep-space regain their powers. Some thankfully survive ... including Superman and Supergirl. I wonder if those Kryptonians who have absorbed more yellow sun energy were able to hold out for a longer period of time. Since the cousins have been absorbing energy for years, they should survive for a short period of time.

Unfortunately, many Kryptonians die. Included in that is Superman's Red Shard friend Lieutenant Asha Del-Nar (I assume this is her). While I am sure that all the deaths bother Superman, this one is a little personal and right in front of him (unlike Alura). He is both saddened and angry. He takes off for Earth.

Again, I really feel for Supergirl and hope that we see her dealing with the horrors of war. After watching her mother disintegrate in front of her eyes, she now has to soak hundreds ... thousands ... of dead Kryptonians floating around her. I know that sight would bother me.


The Kryptonian race, which had been 100,000 strong at the beginning of the day, is down suddenly to a mere 7,000 people. You would think that Zod would consider ... at least for a second ... a tactical retreat. But that isn't Zod's way. And besides, 7000 Kryptonians can do a lot of damage ... and we see it.

This is what I expected to see in this war. Page after page, we see Kryptonians laying waste to the Earth. Chief among them is Ursa who seems to be everywhere at once. Here we see her destroying London (reminiscent of Miracleman #15?).

We also see the Kryptonian army over-running Earth's heroes, slaughtering armies, and causing major property damage to famous landmarks throughout.

Interesting enough, Lane's men seem to be the only group holding their own. Here Metallo is leading some Project 7734 troops.

I am sure that just as Zod thought this would be a bloodless war, Lane probably thought this would be an easier war to win as well. Did he really think that there wouldn't be this much devastation? Lane is a madman.

As I have mentioned before, I have some sort of twisted admiration for Ursa. I know ... it isn't right. But it was great to see her cut loose ... destroying London, smashing the Sphinx, killing Argentinian leaders, and here hold the next dead Agent Liberty as she looks for the President.

This assassination won't be easy. A determined Supergirl is there to stop here. Wonderful!

I think most Supergirl fans have been spoiling for this fight for some time. The two fly towards each other. We'll have to wait a week to see the outcome.

I hope Kara wipes the floor with her.

I also have to say how much I love Cafu's take on Supergirl. It reminded me of Gary Frank's early Supergirl issues with Peter David with a healthy hit of Kevin Nowlan. And I love that the S-shield is so huge. It should always be that big.

Thanks to the Gates and Robinson for making Supergirl such a big part of this major mini-series.


While Ursa and Kara duke it out in Washington D.C., Zod mobilizes a large group of his remaining troops and heads towards Metropolis for a showdown with Superman. Yet another nice cliffhanger.

Wow.

I am glad we finally got to see the war hit Earth. I think we all knew that any amount of Kryptonians was going to mean carnage and tremendous collateral damage. It was great to see just how massive the destruction was. While there were a number of those pages, I thought as readers we needed to see the devastation the Kryptonians are capable off. You needed to see that both up close in personal combat and written large on city landscapes. Personally, I loved seeing Ursa in so many pages wreaking havoc. She is like a wild animal that is loosed from a cage.

And, it may sound peculiar, but I felt more for the loss of Thara than I did from the death of Alura. Maybe that is because the Alura death was so fast with little time to wring out my emotions whereas Thara has several pages to be ripped from Chris and then sacrifice herself. It may also be that I like Thara as a character.

As I mentioned, the art throughout here was top-notch. Cafu can certainly handle action scenes both big and small. And his Supergirl is really slick.

So was there a downside here? Just one. Where was Superman in this issue? We see him mourn Asha. And we see him in Metropolis. That's it. He doesn't even have any dialogue here. In fact, throughout this series, Superman has been sort of a bystander. Outside of his discussion with Supergirl in last issue, he hasn't had much to say or do. In many ways, this is a Superman Family series. But it also is a Superman series, closing off the last year of his stories and setting him up to be back in his main titles.

Now I may be getting ahead of myself. Maybe the last issue is almost exclusively a Superman book and he gets the big action in the finale. I hope so. We need Superman to again rise above it all and be the ultimate super-hero.

All that said, don't get me wrong. I love how much face time Supergirl is getting here. She has been a major player here.

One more week to go. Hard to believe!

Overall grade: A-

Review: Action Comics #889

With War of the Supermen just a few days away, we have basically reached the end of the 'Year Without Superman'. And that means we have reached the ending of the Nightwing and Flamebird storyline in Action Comics. What started as a seemingly simple action story - 2 heroes hunting down 6 fugitives - somehow mutated over the last 14 issues to an analysis of Kryptonian mythology and deities.

Action Comics #889 had the tough task of wrapping up this story in a short 22 pages. And there were 2 levels of this story to complete - the 'on the ground' story of heroes trying to stop the runaway Rao and the 'Kryptonian gods' story of Nightwing/Flamebird/Vohc. Both are big plots with big moments and, as such, I expected a big finale. Unfortunately, this arc ended with a bit of a whimper rather than a bang. I have seen understated endings in massive stories like this too many times to count ... the punched hole into a new reality in Akira, the school stage morality play in Neon Genesis:Evangelion, Supergirl's hug of the Carnivean in Supergirl #50 (vol 3), even the miracle machine ending of Final Crisis ... and I usually feel disappointed. And to be honest, I felt a little disappointed here too.


Back in the sands of the Middle East, combined heroes from the JSA and JLA as well as Flamebird just can't seem to get anywhere in their efforts against the Rao construct.

In fact, the 'godling' is so full of energy that he begins to form a gravity well, a sort of small big bang, which will destroy the world. As the heroes swarm around Rao, Flamebird and Vohc continue to spout venom at each other.


When things seem their worst, and some of the heroes are in danger, Chris shows up as Nightwing manifested and helps in the rescue efforts.

There are some interesting things here. While we have seen a lot of the Thara/Flamebird relationship, this is the first time we have really seen Chris/Nightwing. We read Nightwing's thoughts ... about how his 'hiding in the shadows' of the universe means he sees and knows all ... and how that sudden ascension in Chris is dismaying and difficult for the young Kryptonian. I like how the visual of Nightwing includes multiple shadows of himself lingering around.


Vohc continues to fume like a jealous school boy, how Flamebird spurning him will lead him to destroy the universe. While Wonder Woman and Dr. Fate try to beat the logorrhea out of him, Nightwing and Flamebird (the deities) are finally reunited. This reunion was a major part of the undercurrent of this title. Remember, in the past, their reunion has always led to either ruination or one of the two dying.

In the meantime, Rao final begins to manifest a 'black hole' like phenomenon around his body. The Kryptonian heroes fly into the swirling mass to get to Rao's 'twisted diseased heart', a dying collapsing star. Vohc is also in here and the three skirmish more.

Are those Rao's ribs? Are we literally in his body?


And so we come to the understated ending to this god-war.

While Nightwing hangs back for some reason, Flamebird dunks Vohc in the internal red sun, burning away the Vohc persona from Jax-Ur. Throughout the fight, Vohc continues to sound like a petulant kid with a crush. Even his dying words are that he just wanted something for himself, something that he could create that Flamebird would not destroy.

While I know that other 'gods' are often portrayed as overly emotional adolescents (the Greek Gods for instance), this tantrum seemed like a pretty silly reason to try to destroy the universe.


And then the second part of the understated ending. Chris/Nightwing simply absorbs the 'sun' threatening the Earth. So much for that threat. Seems like a little bit of a cop-out. But without it's heart, Rao simply falls.

Again, there is some interesting bits here. Nightwing casts the Vohc being and the sun into the new Phantom Zone. In fact, that explains the recreation of the Zone, as the Kryptonian 'builder god' goes back to building.

Nightwing also says that somehow he has changed, has become different. This might explain why the outcome of this reunion is somewhat different.


With the god-war over, Nightwing and Flamebird become Chris and Thara once more and share a kiss. Unlike the doomed lovers before, this Nightwing and Flamebird will be 'never apart'.

Since Kryptonians are still illegal on Earth, the JSA shoo them away.

The story ends somewhat ominously with Luthor somehow on scene grabbing samples of Rao.

So what can I say. Does this ending satisfy? I feel like this whole investigation into Kryptonian mythology was sort of a left-hand turn from where this arc started. And I don't know if the motivations of the gods translated well to this Rao-battle. And I don't know if some of the questions I was hoping to be answered ... Chris's age jumps, the new Phantom Zone ... have been answered.

On top of that, the understated ending with both threats sort of fading away seemed ... well ... underwhelming. And frankly, it wasn't the ending of Nightwing and Flamebird's story. They fly off happily; their story ends in War of the Supermen.

I looked back at my reviews of the first couple of issues of this run, the blood-soaked action-packed battles with Tor-An and Ursa. They were over-the-top giddy fun. These last issues just seem to have become a bit bogged down.

There was a surprise in the Captain Atom back-up feature when an ogre who had been fighting alongside the hero revealed himself to be Mordru. When Atom realizes that he has aided a villain, Mordru says that the morals of Earth are different than those of Sorcerer's World ... what is evil on Earth isn't necessarily evil here.

It does remove Mirabai from the War of the Supermen story. It seems a little off that she was ubiquitous in earlier issues of the New Krypton world only to be removed in the back-up feature.

I don't envy the writers here. Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann brought the story up to the level of deities. Sometimes I wonder if writing about near omnipotent beings makes a tidy conclusion impossible. The art throughout the book ... from Alex Garner's spectacular cover, the Pere Perez' smooth lines, to Cafu's slick work ... was great.

I do hope we get to see some sort of conclusion to the Thara/Chris story in War of the Supermen. If they are only in the background and fade from the DCU, I'll be unhappy.

Overall grade: C

Review: Action Comics #888

Action Comics #888 is the penultimate chapter of this title's Year Without Superman. Are we speeding towards the end of the Flamebird/Nightwing story arc? Or like the ersatz Rao in the desert, are we plodding along.

I have been as big a proponent of this long storyline as anyone, mostly because I have come to like the complexity of the Thara/Flamebird character. But the truth is with the amazing action happening in Last Stand, this story feel disconnected right now. And as a result, my enthusiasm for it has waned a bit.

My fear is that the resolution of these characters' stories will fall flat and color how I ultimately perceive the whole arc.



With the fake Rao strolling through the desert and with Chris transported into the Phantom Zone, Jax-Ur/Vohc gloats over his presumed victory.

It seems like the Kryptonian gods have the same feel as the Greek gods of myth, motivated by mundane human issues rather than being above them. The motivation for this devastation? Vohc's jealousy and unrequited love.

I did like that the narrator here is Vohc the Breaker ... not Jax-Ur. We are hearing straight from the demigod himself.



Conventional weapons and Flamebird's attacks seem to feed Rao rather than hurt him. And with India and Pakistan poised to fire their nukes at him, Flamebird is thrilled to see the JSA arrive to help.

But even their combined attacks don't seem to produce any results. If anything Rao seems to get stronger.



In the meantime, Chris wonders through the Phantom Zone until he finally comes face to face with the Nightwing entity.

The Nightwing implies that he has not been active, has not manifested in Chris, because of his separation from Flamebird. Let's face the true Nightwing has been a non-entity in this story so far.

I sincerely hope that we get a little exposition about this Phantom Zone. Remember, the original Zone crumbled at the beginning of New Krypton. (That event has never been explained.) I hope the creation of this "new" Phantom Zone (or the re-establishment of the old Phantom Zone) is explained.



Finally, Rao takes some damage when Wonder Woman shows up and takes a few whacks at Rao's eye with her axe. Combine that with some Alan Scott power and Rao finally falls.

It is enough to shock Vohc, appearing in his natural form.



Chris is able to look on and realizes that he needs to get back and help Thara.

The connection between Chris and Nightwing has always been there it seems; Chris has always been 'more than Kryptonian'.

Now what does that mean? That Chris, conceived in the Zone, is different and therefore a suitable vessel for Nightwing? Or that Nightwing has always been part of Chris.

With Thara in trouble, Chris makes the decision to merge with Nightwing and truly become his avatar.



And it is a good thing. Rao gets back on his feet and India and Pakistan decide not to wait any longer. They fire their nuclear missiles at the false god, a move that would only fuel Rao more.

The warheads disarm before they can hit ... disarmed by the suddenly present and fully manifested Nightwing.

So where are we?

Well we are one issue away from a conclusion. And we have a lot to get through.

We need to see Jax-Ur and Rao defeated.
We need some explanation on Chris' condition.
We need some explanation about the Phantom Zone.

And we need the ultimate resolution of the Nightwing/Flamebird relationship ... both the gods and Thara/Chris. One of them is destined to die right?

It seems like a lot to get through in one issue. Frankly, I'm worried.

One thing I know already is that I have come to really appreciate Pere Perez' art. I feel his stuff has improved, become more polished over his time on Action. I hope he finds work somewhere else soon.



I know I have basically ignored reviewing the Captain Atom second feature in this book.

The short version is Captain Atom battles Mirabai and it looks like he has won. Cafu's art is stunning.

Overall grade: B/B-

Review: Action Comics #887

With Superman:Last Stand of New Krypton on the shelves and War of the Superman 2 months away, it is time for Greg Rucka and Pere Perez to put the pedal down and finish off their Nightwing and Flamebird opus in Action Comics.

The storyline for these characters has gone far afield from where I thought it would way back in Action Comics #875. Back then I thought this would be a simple action tale of two heroes tracking down and beating up the bad guys. Since those early issues, the plot has veered to a much more religious story looking at Kryptonian deities and their avatars. It is a bit heavier than I was expecting in this book ... but fascinating.

As far as I know, there are only 2 issues on this run after this issue, so a lot of stuff needs to be wrapped up. So off we go to Action Comics #887.


Much of this issue's action is played out before our eyes with the added point of view of Lois Lane. Lois has called in some markers to get to the Middle East and cover the Nightwing/Flamebird/Rao storyline first hand. With her there, we are privy to her streaking coverage of the story. It complemented the 'Book of Rao' similar text boxes from last issue.

One thing I did like was the more personal op/ed feel Lois' reporting. She pulls no punches here, throwing General Lane under the bus, calling him a war monger and a liar. She is also openly sympathetic to Thara and Chris. I wonder if she will feel some ramifications in the public arena?


As we saw at the end of last issue, Jax-Ur is the manifestation of the Kryptonian god Vohc the creator. In myths, Vohc and Flamebird had a tumultuous relationship which ended with Nightwing being cast into (or turned into) the Phantom Zone.

That story is being played out once again ... except now on Earth. Only this time, Vohc/Jax-Ur has created a simulacrum of the All-Father Kryptonian God Rao. When Rao awakens, he simply goes on a rampage in the desert of Iraq.


And while he plods through the desert, all methods of slowing him down are shown to be ineffective. The Iraqi and Earth forces artillery and missile attacks are useless. In fact "Rao" seems to absorb the attacks and grow stronger.

And Chris and Thara are also unable to slow him down. They also appear vulnerable to some more Kryptonian-specific attacks. Here "Rao" 'sings' incapacitating the two. I guess hearing the word of God would be more than any mind to comprehend.

One thing that was a bit of a let down was the lack of internal consistency with Chris' body. We see in earlier panels that he has huge chunks of crystal growing from his body and face. Here he looks much cleaner.

As I said before, this story really has been an interesting look at Krypton's religious culture.

And it appears that the emergence of this false Rao has not gone unnoticed on New Krypton. For the first time (I think) we hear the Religious Guild members speak. It seems that the crystals they each carry have somehow been effected by "Rao". They seem to burn out ... a sign the Rao has returned.

All along I have hoped to get a closer look at the Religious Guild and their inner workings. So even this little glimpse was appreciated.


While in the desert, Rao begins to emanate some of the energy that he has absorbed. Jax-Ur tells Thara and Chris that this is the energy of creation.

With a 'Rao' under his control, Vohc plans to rewrite creating, making a universe in his image, to his liking. Talk about a grandiose plan.

And Kryptonian mythology gets replayed before our eyes.

Once again, Vohc blasts Nightwing ....


Casting him back into the Phantom Zone.

Does this mean that the Phantom Zone is once again there? Remember it was destroyed before World of New Krypton, prompting Mon-El's escape.

All along we knew the Nightwing/Flamebird romance was going to end in tragedy. I don't think this is the final blow. I still believe one of these characters is going to die.


With Nigthwing banished and nothing able to slow down Rao, Lois again picks up her phone and decides to call in the cavalry. Here comes the JLA!

While I have enjoyed this run more than I expected to, I have to say I feel wrung out a bit. After the heady brew that was Last Stand, where we saw Superman in the blue tights breaking into Brainiac's ship, this issue felt a bit flat.

I am interested in seeing how this all plays out. And I think I am going to miss Thara as a character. I really think Rucka has done a very good job of making me care about characters I was unsure I would like. (Who knew I would ever get over the fact that Flamebird wasn't Linda Danvers! That is no small feat.)

And Pere Perez art continues to be smooth and slick.

But I am looking forward to seeing Superman back in this book.

Overall grade: B