Review: Dark Knights Of Steel #1

Last week Dark Nights of Steel #1 came out, an Elseworlds look at DC characters in medieval times. From the time the book was first solicited, I have been excited. It seemed like a great project. Tom Taylor is a writer I trust. Yasmine Putri's art is gorgeous. Supergirl has been hinted as being a character in the book and I have wanted to see Taylor's take on Kara since he wrote All-New Wolverine. 

Now I have been reading comics for some time and lived through the heyday of the Elseworlds boom, reading everything from a Civil War Superman to a the Justice League in the old west. To succeed, things need to be similar enough to recognizable but different enough to be interesting. Sometimes that is a change of venue, or a new wrinkle in the origin. 

Here, Taylor does a good job of both. There are a lot of interesting wrinkles in this first issue and that isn't even counting the Medieval setting. I am intrigued and already forming some theories. New origin threads, new relationships, even a death. This is a meaty first issue. I also get to see Harley Quinn as a true harlequin court jester. For that I will forever be in Taylor's debt.

Putri's art is just a gorgeous as expected. The pages sing. In particular, the Black Canary pages are incredible. 

On to the book.

Supergirl Show 618: Truth Or Consequences

Tonight the two hour series finale of Supergirl will air. That means I have to catch up by reviewing last week's episode, episode 618, titled Truth Or Consequences.

As I have said in prior reviews of this back half of the season, the overall plot of Nyxly trying to gather totems to create an Allstone to rewrite the universe has been a hard one to wrap my head around. The logic doesn't make great sense. The timeline where she unites them in the future is making me wibbly-wobbly. The weaponization of the totems makes many action sequences the equivalent of our heroes pointing Iron Man style gloves at the villains, blasting rays of ... emotion? I don't know. And the heroes strategies and even intellect sometimes seem off. 

But as friends have said, this is the ride we are on, live or die.

What is interesting is that while the details of what exactly is happening is a cipher, the emotional beats of the show remain strong. This episode we see that in full force. There is a disagreement between the Danvers sisters, one where both sides have a legitimate quibble. Andrea has to look into the mirror and question her morality. J'onn gets to play papa. Brainy and Nia try to come to terms with a romance doomed by timelines. And Nyxly gets to be impish and amorous.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, and spoilers here, was the death of William. Now I have to admit that in prior seasons, I have found William to be about as interesting as a block of wood. But the back half of this season, he has been one of the strongest characters on the show. He is a solid reporter. He is the point of view character for humanity. He has the strongest ethics on the show. And, dare I say it, he has had good chemistry with the others. His death seems pointless, almost a fridging. 

As always, Melissa Benoist is brilliant mixing physical gestures, expressions, body language, and dialogue to bring all the complexity of Kara to the small screen. I can't believe this is the end. We all knew we had something special with Benoist. I'll miss seeing her donning the S-Shield.

On to recaps and thoughts.

Review: Batman/Superman: The Authority #1

The Batman/Superman title may have been canceled but DC Comics has given us one more bite at the apple with the Batman/Superman Authority Special #1 which came out last week.

I suppose it serves any number of purposes. The Warworld Saga is about to start in the pages of Action Comics and this acts as a bit of an hors d'oeuvre for that. With Batman prominently displayed on the cover, I bet DC is hoping fans of the Dark Knight might pick this up and get intrigued with the Warworld arc and head over. The Superman and the Authority mini series also just wrapped up. While that seemed very trippy and self-contained, it did indeed lead here. So maybe DC is also hoping that folks who enjoyed that title and are mulling over reading Action Comics might also give this a try and get hooked. 

But specials like this usually don't figure into the main plots they are teasing in a major way. So as a stand alone story, they better be worth it. Luckily, this one fits the bill. Outside of one significant 'how did that happen' moment at the end, this is a pretty interesting tale which hints at being a prologue of its own.

Writer Philip Kennedy Johnson has already shown a deft touch for creating potential families for major characters having given us the House of El lineage. Here he gives us the Dark Universe evil progeny of a major DC character that needs to be foiled by the World's Finest and the Authority. This plot grabbed me more than I thought it would. (I have avoided Metal and Dark Universe stuff as much as I can.) In particular, the Batman and Midnighter moments stand out.

And given this is a story told in two universe, we have two very different artists. Ben Templesmith brings his unusual style to the Dark Universe proceedings with a nice dark palette of murky colors. Trevor Hairsine does the work in the main universe. The contrast works very well.

On to the particulars.

Review: Superman '78 #3

Superman '78 #3 came out this week and remains this perfectly charming, perfectly nostalgic title that I need right now. 

I saw the first movie in the theater as a young child and I unabashedly love it. I was hoping that somehow this title would capture that magic. I wanted to be transported back to that young Anj who suddenly believed a man could fly.

As I have said before, writer Robert Venditti and artist Wilfredo Torres are doing just that. This comic is such a cleansing deep breath, going back to a simpler time where maybe heroism is still sort of black and white, but also giving me a wonderfully entertaining story. 

There are homages to the movie and Silver Age comics. There is self-sacrifice on the part of our hero. And there is excellent Brainiac action, something we all hoped to see back in the day. It is a joy to see this Superman interacting with  his parents and his Kryptonian culture. But most of all, it is great to see the conniving Hackman Lex Luthor, such a deliciously captivating character.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the great cover by Amy Reeder, a favorite of mine. I love the reflection of Jor-El and Lara over the shoulder of Superman and his surprised face. Great visual.

On to the book.

Supergirl Show 617: I Believe In A Thing Called Love

Back to back show reviews! I said I would try to catch up!

Last week, episode 617 of the Supergirl show aired, titled 'I believe in a thing called love'.

This was another episode which has brief moments of emotional brilliance for Supergirl. We have sensed how troubled she is this season. She has suffered from her time in the Phantom Zone and is still trying to heal. She is frustrated, thinking she is letting the world and everyone near to her down. And she has the weight of the world on her shoulders as she tries to lead her team in defeating Nyxly. Throughout these episode, Melissa Benoist has been able to emote so wonderfully. And this time is no different.

But what I liked about this episode is we see how much the emotion of love has impacted just about everyone. The Love Totem is here pushing the plot forward. But love is here as well. Lex is in love with Nyxly, a doomed romance from the 31st century it turns out. Alex and Kelly are truly in love with Alex aiming to propose. J'onn loves his new family but is still reeling internally from the death of his Martian one. All these characters reel a bit from love and loving. In particular, Lex being completely smitten is a hoot. Jon Cryer always plays Lex well and here is no different.

One thing I have cheered in this last season is how well the writers have leaned into the show's history and we see that here again.

It is unfortunate in some ways that Supergirl is just one of the ensemble and not the main star. But Benoist continues to just win me over. 

On to the episode.

Supergirl 616: Nightmare In National City

 Life comes at you hard sometimes and I don't have a time stone or a speed totem. So I am a few episodes behind in reviewing this last season of Supergirl. I promise I will do my best to catch up so I do the review of the series finale around the time it airs.

So here I am reviewing an episode from three weeks ago, episode 616 title 'Nightmare in National City'.

Overall I thought this was a very solid episode. The main focus is to wrap up some Dreamer plotlines which have been percolating over the last couple of seasons. Nicole Maines does a very good job here, showing how difficult Nia's relationship with her sister Maeve has been on many levels and bringing in pride and confidence to her identity. This is our last chance to be with these characters so giving Nia some closure makes sense.

This episode also gives us some solid Supergirl/Kara moments. While the action is there briefly, this is more about showing how Kara is struggling with the life she is living. She is living parts of two lives here. I think she is still recovering from the pain of the Phantom Zone as well. There is this low level despair in her, something I'm not used to seeing in the usually smiling and bubbly Kara. Melissa Benoist, as usual, really crushes it here letting her expression and body language do as much acting as the words.

And yes, the Nyxly plot is pushed forward a little. I don't know if I exactly know what the Super Friends are thinking strategically this back half of the season. Throwing Hope into the sun made little sense last episode. Their bottling of a monster in a city this episode also seems suspect. 

But even an episode like this will be missed when the show is gone. Benoist has become Kara. She will be missed.

On to the episode.

Review: Checkmate #5

Checkmate #5 came out last week, the penultimate issue in this mini-series. Now I am invested in this story and I very much liked this issue. But I have to be honest, this felt like #5 in an 8 issue mini-series, not a 6 issue. There are a lot of remaining plot points - who is Mr. King, how is Shaw controlling people, who/how is Leo Lane to name a few - as well as the end (I assume defeat of Shaw). This issue doesn't end in a place where I feel we are near the end. 

But I can't  worry about Checkmate #6 when I am reviewing Checkmate #5. 

This issue had the usual flair for dialogue that writer Brian Michael Bendis is noted for. A side discussion on baseball stadium hot dogs is amusing in the context of a possible battle. I chuckled. But that nagging voice that said 'is this wasted space that could have been used on actual plot' kicked into my mind. It also nudged plot points forward. A possible clue about Mr. King's identity is dropped. The final answer about the Snowman's Ticket is given. And there are a couple of great cliffhangers.

Alex Maleev remains on art and continues to give us great work in both pencils with Dave Stewart on colors. This issue has some very solid street level fights. It also has some dialogue heavy 'standing around' scenes. But it all pops.

I know the back history of this book. The book was delayed. The ending it was heading for was scrapped and so Bendis needed to rewrite things. It seems a little off, not as tight as Event Leviathan. How much of that is due to the editorial issues is hard to measure.

But remember, I liked this issue. I just hope the book sticks the landing. On to the book.