Leviathan Theory: Pax Americana

You need to understand something before you move on reading this post.

I have been obsessed with the Leviathan mystery, a healthy little comic diversion given the hectic nature of my life. And I have been poring over the clues. I have a Leviathan Theory.

Unfortunately, obsession can sometimes lead to madness.

 Robin said it best early in the series. When you get a theory that you are completely invested in, you can't shake it.

Moreover, as you think about it, it becomes more real.

I have described it as anchoring bias.

I believe that Ted Kord and the Charlton heroes are Leviathan.

And once you anchor on that, you look for things to confirm that bias.

And just yesterday I posted how the inclusion of the Multiversity map in Action Comics #1015 was actually a clue, a way to trigger the reader to start thinking about multiple Earths in this organized way.

And then that led me to thinking about the actual Earth 4 in the Multiversity map. And that led me back to Pax Americana.

Review: Superman #14

The Superman books have been firing on all cylinders since the #Rebirth event rebooted things. With the pre-Flashpoint Lois and Clark headlining the books, there has been a re-invigoration to the proceedings and a rediscovery of the basic tenets of what Superman should be.

Now we are six months into this 'new' universe and it is time to put the pedal down. We know the mystery of Mr. Oz and the human Clark Kent is going to be addressed in just a couple of months. And now we have this opening chapter to Multiplicity, a story which feels like a sequel to Grant Morrison's Multiversity seen through a #Rebirth lens. And I couldn't be more thrilled.

Superman #14 was written by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason with art by the mega-event team of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. It has two great covers but I prefer this variant by Andrew Robinson which is a riff off of Crisis #7. And the issue is a great opening chapter to this new arc in which there is a multiversal war against all the Supermen that exist. This issue for the most part is a long fight sequence. I suppose my one quibble would be to wonder if the fight could be briefer to give more story. But I suppose the length of the battle was needed to cement the threat level.But enough crumbs and hints were dropped around the fights to grab me. The art is gorgeous. Having Reis and Prado as the artists gave this a sort of summer blockbuster feel. I want to read more now and that is always a good sign.

And I suppose I do have more to read. I think I need to break out the main Multiversity mini-series, the Multiversity Guidebook, and even the Final Crisis: Superman Beyond mini. And that's a lot of Morrison. But I think they may remind me and inform me about some things I might be missing.

On to the book!

Bullet Review: Multiversity: The Mastermen

I have been enjoying Multiversity, Grant Morrison on walkabout through the multiverse. The stand out for me has been Pax Americana, perhaps the finest comic I have read in years. The Secret Society of Super-Heroes and Thunderworld were also very good.

Last week Multiversity:Mastermen came out, a collaboration of mega-stars Grant Morrison and Jim Lee. This is Earth 10, the old Earth X of the pre-Crisis world, a place where the Nazis won World War II and Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters battled them.

Unlike that world though, this new Earth 10 has a Superman. And he is fighting for the Germans.

And there were enough Supergirl (or here, Overgirl) bits to make it worth a brief review.

Now the comic world went mad at the opening of the book, a constipated Hitler reading Superman comics while on the toilet. But for me, that was the most forgettable part of the book, something that seems more in line with a Mark Millar book.

No, for me, this story is about Superman. Crashing in the Sudetenland instead of Kansas, Kal-El (called Karl) becomes the Ubermensch, the Overman, which leads Germany to victory.

But this is a sad story. Because over the decades, as he continues to run the Reich, you can see that Overman is an empty shell. His life is without joy, without love, without meaning. The above moment of victory is fleeting, replaced by a wasted life.

While there is a Nazi-based JLA, the rebels on the planet are growing stronger and somehow winning.

And Overgirl, the Nazi Supergirl, has been killed at the hands of the growing opposition. We see how her death affects Overman. His dreams are nightmares, reliving this  moment in a Hellish landscape.

This is another homage to the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

It isn't the first time we have seen Overgirl die. Way back in 2008, in Final Crisis #3, she came through the bleed and died on Earth-1.

Overgirl's death is recent. There is a memorial dedication to her the next day.

It is the small touches of these different Earths that make me appreciate them. On this Earth, Superman is married to Lena Luthor! This world is completely topsy-turvy from what we are used to. Having 'Karl' married to a Luthor is a perfect way to show us how crazy this place is.

She tells him that he needs to be strong at the memorial.

At the memorial, we hear that Overgirl 'died on a distant world'. Maybe that Final Crisis death is 'in continuity'?

Finally, at this service, we learn that the narrator of the book is this world's Jimmy Olsen. He is close to Superman here, a propagandist, but also someone who knows just how empty Superman is.

But the rebellion doesn't stand by while the enemy mourns.

In a great shot, we see the spirit of Uncle Sam leading the attack while the Human Bomb detonates, ending the memorial sevice.

I will say there are some odd wrinkles to the story as well.

I liked how the death of Overgirl seemed to be weighing on Overman, the last straw which has broken his will. Could this loss make him finally realize that he is in charge of a world he hates?

We then learn that the superhumans that are fighting for the undeground, the Freedom Fighters, were given their power through experiments by Dr. Sivana. I love the fact that Sivana ... all of them from all the universe ... are being set up as the big bad in the story.

And I love the redesigned Phantom Lady costume!

One thing that I have seen in many Elseworlds Superman stories is how his 'goodness', his morality, is inherent. Regardless of where he is raised or how he is treated, the real Superman shows. Here, despite what I am sure was a childhood of indoctrination, we see him mourn as he sees the result of the concentration camps. He was away, on the front, while this genocide occurred.

It is the most chilling scene in the book. 

But where other Elseworlds Supermen would change things, make the good rise, this Overman seems to just be crushed by the weight of the world. Instead of shining his light, he just allows the madness to continue around him.

The book ends with the Human Bomb, captured by the JLA, detonating himself on their satellite causing it to plummet to Earth and raze Metropolis. Overman couldn't stop this.

I love Uncle Sam here, extolling the virtues of freedom and the American Way. The issue ends with Overman kneeling amidst the ashes. He is utterly defeated ... but it isn't just physically. He is spiritually defeated.

These Multiversity one-shots are fascinating glimpses into the edges of the new DC multiverse. I would rank this book as one of the better ones, a solidly somber tone to contrast the lighter Thunderworld and pulpier Secret Society.