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Posted: November 19th, 2008, 6:52pm CET by e-man
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Le Petit Vampire et la societe protectrice des chiens ! [PL] 2001 Scenariusz : Joann Sfar | Rysunki : Joann Sfar | Komiks | JPG | French-Polish | 13.3MB Maly Wampir, Michal i potwory ruszaja na ratunek psom uwiezionym w laboratorium przez zlego naukowca. http://rapidshare.com/files/163823838/PV__T3PL___.rar Buy me a CoffeeShare This
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Rokk's Comic Book Revolution
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Posted: November 27th, 2008, 8:15pm CET
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Morrison’s Batman RIP has sparked plenty of heated debate as readers seem to either love it or hate it. Personally, I have enjoyed Morrison’s strange and weird ride. However, I can understand why some readers have been disappointed with this story. I hope that Morrison can live up to all the massive hype that has surrounded Batman #681. DC has billed this issue as containing the most stunning revelation in the Batman’s 70 year history. Let’s go ahead and do this review for Batman #681.
Creative Team
Writer: Grant Morrison
Pencils: Tony Daniel
Inks: Sandu Florea
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with Bruce back in his Batman outfit, in a straight jacket and buried alive in a coffin. We see an entry in the black casebook stating that the thing about the Batman is that he thinks of everything.
We flashback to Bruce in Nanda Parbat having just finished undergoing the Thogal ritual. Bruce states that during the Thogal ritual that he hallucinated about past, present and future events. And that Bruce even came to an end to the future and arrived at a place that is not a place.
Bruce is sipping Chai tea with one of the monks. The monk states that the Thogal shows the initiate what the dead know. That the self is peeled back to its black radiant core. The monk asks Bruce why he would subject himself to the Thogal ritual. Bruce answers that maybe he should wait for Master Lo to return before discussing this topic.
The monk states that Master Lo is indisposed at the moment and for Bruce to allow him to answer Bruce’s questions. Bruce asks the monk if he has ever tried to do only good only to find out that things just get worse. Bruce asks if maybe unconsciously he has been his own worst enemy.
Bruce continues that he found something inside of the dark. A scar on his consciousness. As if something had been hidden there in some ultimate black cellar where his memories just run out.
Bruce says that he has read that traumatized children will often create cover personalities to protect themselves from repressed memories. Then it came to Bruce that if his mind is already under some kind of attack if it would be possible for him to create an emergency personality as a defense. A back-up human operating system.
The monk replies that Bruce is remarkable. The monk then professes to a certain sadness that Bruce’s cup of tea is poisoned and that Bruce has less than two minutes to live. The monk’s eyes turn red. The monk says that this is all compliments of his dark master.
We snap to the present with Robin brawling with Pierrot and Swagman. The villains get the upper hand on Robin. Suddenly, the Club of Heroes arrive on the scene and take down the two villains.
We flashback to Nanda Parbat where the monk says that his master has a message for Bruce. The monk says “Your fear is real. I will destroy everything you…” Suddenly, the Monk becomes paralyzed and cannot speak. Bruce states that the monk blinked and that Bruce switched tea cups with the monk. That it is a force of habit.
We cut back to the present with the members of the Black Glove assembled outside of Arkham Asylum and standing next to the shallow grave where Batman has been buried alive. Dr. Hurt states that Batman has thirty minutes of air in the coffin. That they will then dig up Batman after the thirty minutes is up. That seconds after the thirty minutes is up that Batman will experience massive brain damage due to a lack of air. They will then keep Batman alive and permanently brain damaged.
The members of the Black Glove then head back into Arkham Asylum. The Joker is there waiting for them. The Joker decides that before he leaves that he wants to place a bet on the roulette table. Dr. Hurt snaps that Joker played his part and can now leave. Dr. Hurt states that the Black Glove only has five “fingers” and that there is no room for someone like the Joker.
The Joker inquires as to the requirements to be in the Black Glove. If it is money then the Joker spits that he has flushed away more money than any of the members of the Black Glove have ever known. If it is being famous then no one is more famous than the Joker. The Joker then snaps the neck of the general. The Joker then tells Dr. Hurt that the Black Glove is now short one trigger finger.
The other members of the Black Glove are upset and exclaim that Dr. Hurt promised that they would be safe. The Joker then holds up the Bat-Radia and states that the Black Glove members have no idea what they are dealing with. Joker asks if anyone inspected this gadget. Jezebel exclaims that it is nothing more than a piece of junk that Bruce got out of some homeless man’s shopping cart.
One of the members of the Black Glove who is an electronics expert then inspects the Bat-Radia. The man hooks the Bat-Radia wires back to the power source and the gadget springs to life. The man then exclaims in horror that the Bat-Radia is not wired to receive signals. That it has been converted to send signals.
We cut to the Bat cave where the Bat-computer springs to life and receives the signal from the Bat-Radia. The Bat-computer then overrides the security system at Arkham Asylum.
We zip back over to Arkham Asylum to the operating room where Dick Grayson is being held. Le Bossu stumbles in the room fuming over how the Joker cut up his face for nothing more than a joke. Le Bossu then prepares to remove Nightwing’s frontal lobe. Nightwing suddenly wakes up and begins brawling with Le Bossu and Bossu’s gargoyle thugs.
We flashback to Nanda Parbat with Bruce telling the monk that he carries with him antidotes to all toxins that he has not built up an immunity to. Bruce adds that he can usually improvise if he is faced with something unfamiliar. Bruce pulls out a vial with an antidote in it. Bruce says that Master Lo died because Bruce did not have this with him when he found Lo.
Bruce continues that the Monk wanted to know why Bruce underwent the Thogal ritual. Bruce says it was because he wanted to taste the flavor of death. Bruce wanted to know that he had finally experienced every eventuality. Bruce states that in the cave he hunted down, killed and ate the last traces of fear and doubt in his mind.
Bruce tells the monk to tell his dark master to make his move soon, before Bruce comes looking for him. Bruce tells the monk to tell his master that he was wrong to wait until Bruce was ready. Bruce says that he looks forward to meeting the monk’s master.
We slide back to the present with Batman in the coffin. We see an entry in the black casebook with Batman stating that there is only one human body. Batman states that all it takes is time, days, months and years to memorize the finite ways to hurt and break a man. And that Bruce has prepared for all of these different ways. Bruce continues that he has escaped from every type of death trap many times over.
Bruce is able to slow down his breathing and metabolism to control panic and preserve air. Bruce says that getting out of the straightjacket and getting through the locks are easy. Bruce then says that bench pressing the coffin lid through 600 pounds of loose soil is harder. But it is far from impossible. We then see Batman breaking through the soil and climbing out of the ground.
We cut to the Joker talking with the members of the Black Glove. The Joker goes on about how every time he tries to think outside of Batman’s toy box that the Batman builds a new box around the Joker. The Joker states that he has literally been driven insane trying to get the Batman to loosen up. Until now.
The Joker tells Dr. Hurt that now it is Hurt’s turn. Joker says that the Black Glove is quivering in Arkham Asylum just where the Batman wants them. That the Black Glove is now in Batman’s box. Joker says that they can never prepare for the unexpected, the punch line, and the wildcard. Joker says that he admired Hurt’s work but that the Black Glove cannot call Joker a servant. The Joker says that he is going to leave now but that at some point he will collect his winnings from all of them in due course.
The members of the Black Glove panic and ask for Dr. Hurt to get them out of Arkham. Dr. Hurt responds that they all heard the security override locking all of the doors. That Arkham Asylum is no longer under their control.
Batman then appears in the room and says “Ready when you are.” Jezebel laughs at Batman and says that there is no court or judge that the Black Glove cannot bribe. That there is nothing that Batman can do to stop them.
Jet’s thugs then attack Batman. While Batman is taking out Jezebel’s thugs we see more of Batman’s entries in the black casebook. Batman writes that he first suspected Jet of something nefarious when she said “I want you to know I understand.” That it was about a fraction after he realized how heavily he had fallen for her. And Bruce almost instantly realized that it was the bad in Jet that he had been attracted to all along.
Batman then begins to plow his way through the gargoyle thugs. During the brawl Batman tells Jet that he knows about her father, Jacob Nikele, is not even related to her. That Jacob won Jezebel and her mother in a Black Glove wager twenty years ago. Batman says that he knows what they did to Jezebel and what they turned her into. That he knows how Jacob made Jezebel’s mother die. And how Jezebel applauded when President Nikele’s enemies chopped him up and put her in his place as the president of her country.
Batman continues that he read Jezebel’s mother’s letter than she sent from death row. Batman says that he knows that her mother’s letter is the only thing that has any value to Jezebel. And that Batman stole it from Jezebel’s hotel room and that she will now never see that letter again.
Jezebel is enraged at Batman saying that he cannot have known about all of that. Jezebel then screams that because of her that Bruce will never trust or love another woman again. Batman responds “Love? Congratulate Alfred on the acting lessons.”
Nightwing then appears on the scene and helps Batman take down the rest of the Black Glove’s thugs. Batman comments how Dick has never let him down. Batman then chases after Hurt leaving Dick to take care of the rest of the Black Glove.
We see Bruce’s entry in the black casebook stating that the truth is that he knew he was under attack and that all he could do was guess how it would play out and trust preparation to see him through it all. And to rely on his allies to keep up.
We slide over to Robin and the Club of Heroes. After the Black Glove’s attack on John Mayhew’s island that the Club of Heroes began conducting an investigation. Evidently, all the actors and the director from John Mayhew’s movie Le Gant Noir, have all been killed or gone insane. The story is that the Devil himself put a curse on the movie. The Club of Heroes then go to take out the Black Glove’s goons rampaging in the city while Robin goes to aid the Batman.
We cut to the Joker driving an ambulance through a bunch of police cars. The Batmobile then blazes down the road and runs the Joker’s ambulance off the bridge. We cut inside of the Batmobile and see Damien driving the vehicle with Alfred in the passenger seat. Damien wonders out loud if his father will let him keep the car.
We slide over to Arkham Asylum with Batman confronting Dr. Hurt. Hurt admits that the Black Glove stemmed the tide of crime in Gotham so that Batman would lose his purpose. Then they split Bruce’s mind and drugged him. Hurt says that Bruce is simply a deluded orphan who vents his rage on the poor in the alleyways. Hurt then says “Repeat after me, I must put away my Batman costume and retire from crime fighting!”
Dr. Hurt states that he knows Bruce better than anyone else. Dr. Hurt then states that he is Bruce’s father: Dr. Thomas Wayne. Hurt says that Bruce was supposed to die that night along with his parents, but that Joe Chill lost his nerve. Batman states that Hurt is not Thomas Wayne.
Hurt then responds that if he is not Thomas Wayne then has Batman considered the only alternative? Batman responds that Hurt is Mangrove Pierce, star of the Black Glove movie. Bruce states that Pierce was both Thomas Wayne and Bruce’s double. Bruce continues that Hurt had an affair with Pierce’s wife and then framed Pierce for the murder of Pierce’s wife.
Hurt snaps that he skinned Pierce and wore him to Mayhew’s party. Hurt continues that he is the hole in things, the enemy, the piece that can never fit, there since the beginning. Hurt reveals that the Black Glove has made certain documents and picture damning the Waynes and Alfred available to the media. However, they will not be released if the Batman agrees to serve the Black Glove.
Batman growls that he will never serve the Black Glove. Hurt hops aboard his helicopter and yells “Not even for them? Then I curse the cape and cowl that you will soon! The next time you wear it will be your last! Batman then lunges into the air and grabs onto Hurt’s helicopter.
We then see Bruce’s final entry in the black casebook. Bruce says that in his attempt to see clearly into the deepest dark and his attempt to go into the still eye of the storm of madness did Bruce open himself up to some pure source of evil? Bruce wonders “Did I finally reach the limits of reason. And find the Devil waiting? And was that fear in his eye?”
Hurt looks out of the window of the helicopter at Bruce and Hurt yells “No! Not like this! Rules are rules. The house always wins.” Hurt then whispers “The Black Glove always wins.” Bruce then punches his fist through the glass.
We then see a massive explosion as the helicopter blows up and crashes into the water. We see Jim Gordon, Robin, Talia, Damien and Alfred all at the water’s edge watching the explosion. Talia swears that she will get retribution for Bruce’s “death.” We see Talia’s ninjas injecting themselves with the Man-Bat serum. We then see Nightwing standing by himself and holding Batman’s cowl and cape.
We cut to Jezebel Jet on her private jet flying back to her country. Jezebel swears that she has her country and that she will beggar her people in her effort to bury Bruce. Suddenly, Jezebel gets a phone call. Jezebel snaps into the phone “What are you talking about? Who is this?” Jezebel then looks around and says “What’s that sound?” We then see an army of Talia’s ninja Man-Bats attacking Jezebel’s jet.
We zip forward to six months later with Le Bossu looking at a newspaper headline about one of the Cardinal who was a member of the Black Glove being killed. Le Bossu is still in Gotham and bathing Gotham in blood since Batman and Robin are now dead. Le Bossu has a Gotham cop captured and tells the cop that there is no one left to save him. Suddenly, we see the Bat-signal shining into Bossu’s warehouse. Le Bossu stammers that it is impossible.
We then get an epilogue. We see Thomas and Martha Wayne along with Bruce walking out of the movie theater. Bruce wonders about what it would be like if there was a modern day Zorro riding through Gotham. Thomas Wayne replies that the sad thing is that they would probably place a man like Zorro in Arkham. We then see the word “Zur-en-arrh” backward and in red. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Batman #681 was an interesting and unusual read. Initially, I was summarily unimpressed with this issue. Now, to be fair, I gave this issue a very quick first reading. Since I am back home in Miami for Thanksgiving, I had to run to my old comic book shop and pick up this issue. I then grabbed a Cubano sandwich and headed up to the campus of the alma mater, University of Miami, and sat outside, ate my sandwich and quickly tore through this issue.
At first blush, I thought that this issue delivered an incredibly anti-climactic ending. However, I put this issue aside for a couple of hours and then went back and read it a second and third time. After the third reading I have to say that my opinion has changed drastically. I enjoyed this issue so much more after the third reading.
Morrison delivers another well crafted read crammed full of details. Practically every line of dialogue and narration has a meaning that requires the reader to carefully navigate the story and stop to investigate the clues from each line.
Batman #681 was well plotted as Morrison finally reveals how all of his stories on Batman beginning with Morrison’s Batman story in 52 all tie together. The reader gets a clear sense of how ever since 52 that Morrison has been slowly and methodically building up to this very moment. All the previous plotlines and story arcs slide together in a pleasant fashion as everything finally makes sense to the reader. Morrison is actually rather straight forward in his explanations in this issue compared to some of his other work.
Morrison has been brewing the RIP story ever since 52. The flashback scene in this issue does a good job revealing the genesis of the RIP story. During 52 was the moment that Bruce first realized that he was under some type of attack and decided to create the Batman of Zur-en-arrh as a back-up personality in the case of an extreme emergency. The scar on Bruce’s unconscious and the black cellar where his memories run out that he discovers during the Thorgal ritual is probably the part of Bruce’s mind where Dr. Hurt planted his mental commands and post-hypnotic triggers into Bruce’s mind.
Morrison reveals the reason why Bruce wanted to undergo the Thorgal ritual during 52. Bruce wanted to savor death so that he could experience every eventuality. This fits in with Morrison’s take on Batman in that he is a man driven beyond all sanity in order to be able to handle anything that might come his way. And death was about the only last experience that Bruce had not prepared for so the Thorgal ritual was a logical final step by Bruce to experience everything that a human possibly can. Also, by having Bruce experience death during the Thorgal ritual and then eliminate all of his fear and doubt Morrison prepared the way for Bruce to “die” in this RIP story and still find a way to survive.
Morrison also folds the Club of Heroes story arc into RIP as the Club of Heroes arrive on the scene to help fight the Black Glove’s thugs that are marauding throughout the city. It was nice to see this collection of heroes who were portrayed as more jokes than true heroes during the Club of Heroes story arc be presented in a much more heroic fashion.
I continue to enjoy how Morrison writes the Joker. This is one of my favorite versions of the Joker. Morrison reveals that the Joker has been literally driven insane by Batman in the Joker’s attempt to get the Batman to loosen up. Normally, writers show how the Joker’s madness has impacted Batman’s psyche. This scene offers the reader a unique look at the psychological war between Joker and Batman from the other perspective as we see how Batman has driven Joker crazy. This scene shows that Batman is as adept at psychological wars as the Joker.
Morrison uses Joker to warn the Black Glove about exactly what mess they have gotten themselves into by directly attacking the Batman in such a fashion. Joker references how every time he tries to get Batman outside of his toy box that the Batman build another box around him alludes to the fact that the Black Glove now finds themselves in the mercy of the Batman. The Joker being wise enough to know that it is time to retreat shows that the Black Glove has lost the fight already.
This scene with the Joker offered up one of the most brilliant twists in this issue as it is revealed that Bruce rigged the Bat-Radia to send signals instead of receive them. That the Bat-Radia sends a signal to the Bat-computer to order it to take over Arkham Asylum’s security system. This was a fantastic use of a plot device in the Bat-Radia that many people were wondering what purpose it would play in this story. Morrison rarely does anything for no reason and even though I had no idea what purpose the Bat-Radia would play I knew that it had to end up being something important by the final act of this story.
Batman #681 was basically the thesis statement on Morrison’s view of Batman’s character. Morrison has always presented Batman as a force of will personified. Morrison’s Batman is always in control and plans for absolutely anything and everything. Morrison continually delivers the coolest version of Batman. Morrison understands that it is not Batman’s gadgets, weapons or his fighting prowess that makes him who he is. That it is Bruce’s brilliant mind, his unrelenting drive and his obsession with details that borders on insanity that allows him to prepare and react to virtually any possible danger or threat that makes the Batman such an unstoppable force.
In this issue, Morrison explains how Batman has studied every possible way to break and hurt a man so that he can then prepare for them. The logic that there is only one human body and that there are only a finite number of ways to hurt or break someone was well done. That despite the seemingly unbelievable aspects of Batman’s abilities that nothing is impossible with the right preparation, training and dedication.
This take on Batman’s character is clearly presented in the scene with Batman in the coffin and in the flashback scene. The way that Batman so calmly extricates himself from the shallow grave was vintage Morrison Batman. And the way that Bruce, out of a force of habit, switches the cups of tea in the flashback scene and then reveals that he carries antidotes for any toxins that he is not immune to was also typical Morrison.
The showdown between Jezebel and Bruce was wonderfully crafted. Morrison does a fine job explaining the sudden and intense romance between Bruce and Jezebel that seemed to come out of nowhere. We learn that Bruce figured out that Jezebel was a part of the Black Glove the moment she said that “I want you to know I understand.” And we learn that Bruce instantly realized also that it was the bad in Jezebel that he had been attracted to all along.
This plays with the reoccurring theme in this issue that Bruce questions if he has done more bad than good. That maybe his delving into the dark and madness has had him come close to some pure source of evil. Bruce has a dark streak and has always been presented as the other side of the same coin with villains like the Joker and Two-Face. And it is no coincidence that the only other woman Bruce has truly loved, Selina, also has plenty of bad in her.
I loved the moment where Jezebel says that because of her that Bruce will never love or trust another woman again. Bruce response that he was never in love and that it was all an act thanks to excellent acting lessons from Alfred was perfect. That is how you burn a person and Bruce certainly enjoyed delivering that harsh dig to Jezebel.
I always had a problem with the romance between Jezebel and Bruce since it seemed to come out of nowhere and moved way too fast for me. I just never bought into the fact that Bruce would fall that hard and that fast for any woman. Now, that it has been revealed that Bruce had already figured out Jezebel and was simply playing her until he could get the Black Glove to reveal themselves the sudden and intense nature of their romance makes more sense.
I enjoyed how Morrison had Batman strip Jezebel to the core by revealing all of her secrets. Jezebel and Dr. Hurt have been gloating so much about how they know everything about Bruce and that they know him better than himself. So, it was satisfying to see Bruce turn the tables on Jezebel and show that when it comes to finding out information no one is better than the world’s greatest detective.
Knowledge is power and Bruce being able to figure out all of Jezebel’s secrets allows him to hurt her in a way no one else could. Batman’s stealing the letter from Jezebel’s mother was cold and harsh and showed that Batman has no problems inflicting incredible emotional pain on his enemies.
Morrison delivered an interesting showdown between Dr. Hurt and Batman. While it might not have been as dramatic and intense as I was expecting, it was still well done. I do not believe that Dr. Hurt is Thomas Wayne. Morrison is not going to go in that direction. And Dr. Hurt is not the Black Glove. The Black Glove is not an individual. Instead, the Black Glove is an organization with each of the rich and powerful people being one of the fingers.
Now, Dr. Hurt is either simply the doctor who “became” the hole in Bruce’s memory due to the psychic implants. Or Dr. Hurt is literally the Devil. In Bruce’s final entry into the black casebook he admits that his attempt to see into the deepest dark and into the heart of the storm of madness that he discovered some pure source of evil. That he found the Devil himself.
The Devil also appears in the plotline involving the Black Glove movie made by John Mayhew. It seems that Morrison might have been inspired by David Lynch’s Inland Empire where Lynch deals with a movie where all the actors and the director were all killed and that the movie itself was said to be cursed by the Devil.
We learn that the actors and the director of Mayhew’s movie are all either dead, missing or insane. We also learn that it is said that the Devil himself cursed the movie. This points to the possibility that the Devil is indeed either Dr. Hurt or that the Black Glove works for the Devil.
In the final moment of the scene with Hurt and Bruce we see Bruce’s black glove smashing through the helicopter window just before the helicopter crashes. I have to wonder if maybe Morrison is alluding to the fact that by coming into contact with a pure source of evil that Bruce has become his own greatest enemy. That Bruce is somehow connected to the Black Glove. After all, Bruce does wonder in the flashback scene if in his attempt to do only good that he has only managed to make things worse. Bruce wonders that maybe unconsciously he has been his own worst enemy.
Now I do have a really insane idea that maybe the Devil is Darkseid. After all, Darkseid is considered to be a pure source of evil. And the monk’s eyes turn red which suggests that he is under the control of Darkseid. That would open the possibility for Dr. Hurt to be Desaad in human form.
Maybe Darkseid has targeted Batman as a serious threat in his ability to take over Earth during Final Crisis. That Bruce’s knowledge of death and pure evil from the Thogul ritual would allow him to come up with a way to defeat the Anti-life equation and Darkseid’s effort to make Earth into a new Apokolips. That would explain why Bruce said that when he saw the Devil that there was fear in his eyes. This could be a hint that Darkseid is afraid of Batman ruining his plans over in Final Crisis.
Okay, enough of my crazy speculating. Let’s talk about the most “stunning” revelation in Batman’s 70 year history. And that is that Morrison has Hurt state that Thomas and Martha Wayne were not a victim of some random street crime. That instead, that Thomas and Martha Wayne were the target of a hit. Morrison suggests that the Black Glove hired Joe Chill to kill Thomas, Martha and Bruce. And that, evidently, Joe Chill lost his nerve that night and was unable to kill Bruce.
It is likely that the Black Glove invited Thomas and Martha Wayne to join them. And it follows that when Thomas Wayne rejected their offer that the Black Glove decided to kill him, his wife and his son. Therefore, it follows that the Black Glove created the Batman. And now the Black Glove wants their creation for themselves. And that if they cannot have the Batman then they will destroy him.
Hurt makes a point of asking Bruce to swear to serve the Black Glove in return for Hurt not distributing the lies about Thomas, Martha and Alfred to the Gotham media. And once Bruce spurns Hurt’s offer, Hurt then curses Bruce’s cape and cowl and states that the last time that Bruce wears them will be his last. And of course, earlier in this scene we saw hurt trying to activate one of his last implants in Bruce’s mind by commanding Bruce to give up being Batman. Clearly, the Black Glove feels that Batman is their weapon and that if they cannot control him then they want him destroyed.
I enjoyed how Morrison had all of Batman’s allies rushing to his aide. And the best part was that Morrison had Dick being the first ally to arrive at Bruce’s side. The first Robin deserves that honor. And I liked how Batman acknowledges how Dick never lets him down. There is no doubt that Batman has plenty of faith in Tim, but Dick will always be the son that he expects the most from.
Morrison ends Batman #681 with a nice lead in to the Battle for the Cowl story arc. We see Nightwing physically removed from the rest of Bruce’s allies and holding Bruce’s cape and cowl. This was a powerful image that seems to suggest that Dick will be the winner in the Battle for the Cowl story. The six month later scene with Le Bossu also hints to the reader that whoever wins the battle for the cowl carries on the mantle of the Batman.
I loved how Talia uses her ninja Man-Bats to take out Jezebel. You just do not mess with Talia’s man!
I liked the epilogue at the end of this issue. We see how Bruce is inspired at a young age by Zorro, a crime-fighter clad in black. Bruce’s wondering about a modern day Zorro in Gotham prompts Thomas Wayne to state that “The sad thing is that they’d probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham.” We then see a black panel with the word “Zur-En-Arrh” in red and backwards. Now, this might sound crazy, but is it possible that Zur-En-Arrh means Zorro in Arkham?
Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea combine to deliver another gorgeous issue. Daniel’s has done an excellent job bringing Morrison’s story to life.
The Bad: Again, the same criticisms of earlier issues of RIP will apply to Batman #681 as well. If you do not enjoy Morrison’s style of writing then there is little chance that you will dig Batman #681. This is another issue full of Morrison’s typical metaphysical musings.
Many readers will also find the ending to Batman #681 to be incredibly anti-climactic and disappointing. I certainly had much higher expectations for this finale that what Morrison delivered. Instead of getting the most “shocking” reveal in 70 years on Batman the reader got the most over-hyped reveal in 70 years on Batman.
And some readers will likely feel cheated that the real conclusion to what happens to Batman will occur on Final Crisis and not RIP. Many readers will probably feel that the conclusion to Batman’s fate should have been carried out during RIP itself.
Another criticism of the ending is that Morrison employed a common and recycled ending by having the helicopter explode and no bodies being found. This is such a predictable and often used type of ending that the reader has seen so many times before. The ending to this issue simply felt a bit weak compared to the rest of RIP.
Another problem with RIP is that the general basis for the story of having Bruce retire from being Batman is repetitious and unoriginal. At the end of RIP I got a feeling that was too similar to what I got at the end of Knightfall. The fact is that DC is not doing anything new with Bruce’s character by making him “die” or “retire” from being Batman. We have been down this road before.
Another concern that I have with Batman RIP is if other writers will actually acknowledge what Morrison has done during his time on Batman. Or will writers that follow Morrison simply ignore all that Morrison has given us on Batman?
Overall: I enjoyed Batman #681. No, Batman RIP is not the greatest Batman story ever told. And yes, there are some weaknesses to this ending. But, all in all, this was a creative and intriguing Batman tale that captivated my mind and help my interest from start to finish.
Morrison treats the reader to a delightfully complex story that kept the reader on their toes and required plenty of effort by the reader to try and de-code what Morrison was trying to tell them. If you missed out on Batman RIP then I would suggest that you pick this story up when it is released in trade paperback format. Of course, if you do not like Morrison’s style of writing then avoid this story. You are better off reading Dini’s Detective Comics instead.
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We here at The Revolution are proud to unveil our brand new Comic Book Revolution Forums. It is all part of our master plan to transform this blog into a much larger website. It is going to be a long process and this is just the first step. We created the forums as a place where fans could gather and enjoy plenty of intelligent discussion. We pride ourselves on having some of the highest quality comments on this blog and we want to try and create a forum of the same type of quality. So, I encourage everyone to come on by the Comic Book Revolution Forums and make yourself at home.
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DC COMICS
BATMAN #681
JSA KINGDOM COME SPECIAL THE KINGDOM #1
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #48
SUPERMAN #682
TEEN TITANS #65
TRINITY #26
MARVEL COMICS
CAPTAIN AMERICA #44
DAREDEVIL #113
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #7
HULK #8
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #123
NOVA #19
SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS #4
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #128
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #9
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #30
I am in Miami visiting my family during the Thanksgiving holiday. The weather is gorgeous and I have to say that it is nice to be back home. I will be heading to my old comic book shop to pick up my comic books for this week. We have a large shipment of comic books headed to the Bunker today. We are getting a total of 16 titles. Once again, this week is heavier with Marvel comics. Still, there are plenty of quality reads in store for us this Thanksgiving weekend.
Which DC comic book am I most looking forward to reading? C’mon, this really is obvious. Yeah, there are several great issues headed our way from DC. JSA Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1 should be good read. The previous two JSA Kingdom Come Specials have been excellent reads. I would expect more of the same this week.
Superman #682 should be another excellent read. I may have my concerns about the aftermath of the New Krypton story arc, but the New Krypton story itself continues to be an outstanding big event.
No, the obvious choice for the DC comic book that I am most looking forward to reading this week is Batman #681. This is the much anticipated finale to the RIP story arc. Thom, Tenzil and I had a roundtable discussion last night concerning who we all thought was going to be revealed as the Black Glove. We were going to post it this morning, but I then accidently deleted the discussion. Sorry, guys! Anyway, the long and short of it was that Tenzil voted for Bruce being revealed to be the Black Glove while Thom and I voted for Tim Drake being revealed to be the Black Glove.
Which DC comic book am I least looking forward to reading? That would be Teen Titans #65. This title continues to be a thoroughly unimpressive read. The story keeps getting dumber by the issue. I keep hoping that DC actually has a point and purpose with this title, but I just do not see it yet.
Which Marvel comic book am I most looking forward to reading? As always, I am looking forward to the double shot of Ed Brubaker that we are getting with Captain America #44 and Daredevil #113. Captain America is the stronger of the two titles as it continues to be one of Marvel’s premier titles. Still, Daredevil is usually a solid read each and every month.
I am also looking forward to the two Marvel cosmic titles in Guardians of the Galaxy #7 and Nova #19. DnA continue to impress me with their work on both titles. It is nice to see that DnA have finally found their home in the 616 Universe. Marvel’s cosmic characters suit DnA’s strengths perfectly.
Secret Invasion: Inhumans #4 should be another quality read. I have enjoyed this mini-series. The story has been exciting and the artwork top notch.
I expect Ultimate Spider-Man #128 to be another entertaining read. Bendis is absolute money on this title. When it comes to the Ultimate Universe, this is pretty much the only title worth reading.
However, the Marvel comic book that I am most looking forward to reading is Incredible Hercules #123. This title is one of the best reads that Marvel publishes. Incredible Hercules offers the reader plenty of fun and adventure. And I expect this issue to be another wild and exciting ride.
Which Marvel comic book am I least looking forward to reading? I am not expecting much from Hulk #8. This title continues to decline with each issue. While the artwork and the action is nice, the character work and the dialogue is just unbearable at times.
To all my fellow Americans, enjoy feasting on Thanksgiving and then watching some football and reading some comic books. To everyone else, enjoy your comic books for this week.
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All right, let’s go ahead and dish out The Revolution’s weekly awards.
The nominees for the Che for the best read of the week:
Fantastic Four #561
JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1
X-Factor #37
The Winner: JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1
X-Factor #37
Creative Team
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Valentine DeLandro
Inks: Craig Yeung
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
The Revolution has been a fan of X-Factor for a long time. I have been vocal in my praise for David’s work on this title. X-Factor has been the best written X-title over the course of the past three years. However, the past couple of issues of X-Factor have not been up to the quality that I have come to expect from David.
There are two main reasons why X-Factor has cooled off as of late. First, Messiah Complex did absolutely nothing for X-Factor except wreck several plotlines that David was busy working on. While Messiah Complex may have been a wonderful boon for the other X-titles, it most definitely did not have a positive impact on X-Factor. X-Factor is a title that truly needs to remain separate from the rest of the X-titles. Second, David had to deliver the obligatory Secret Invasion story with the past story arc. And it was less than impressive.
Well, David appears to have gotten X-Factor back on track. With the Secret Invasion storyline over it looks like David is going to try and pick up the pieces from Messiah Complex and continue to make X-Factor a quality read. X-Factor #37 was certainly a step in the right direction.
This issue deals with two main plotlines. One is concerning Jamie, Guido, Monet and Longshot investigating the facility owned by Mr. Manu and the Karma Project in their mission to free Darwin from the Karma Project’s clutches. The second plotline is Valerie back at the X-Factor’s headquarters talking with Siryn and Rictor about what ONE can do for X-Factor.
The plotline involving Darwin is the action driven plot that provides the fight scenes that keep the issue lively. The plotline involving Valerie and Siryn back at X-Factor’s headquarters provides for the drama in this issue. Valerie spills the beans that Jamie has been secretly having X-Factor work for ONE. Of course, Siryn refuses to believe Valerie while maintaining that Jamie would not lie to her.
David then gives the reader a double hook ending with Mr. Manu unveiling an army of Darwin clones that he has created and then back at X-Factor’s headquarters we see that Siryn’s water has just broke. Next issue should certainly be an exciting and eventful read.
X-Factor #37 was a joy to read. David continues to deliver technically well written stories. The writing on X-Factor continues to be a notch above much of what is currently offered on the market.
David treats the reader to plenty of well crafted dialogue. The character work on X-Factor continues to be some of the best that you will see in a Marvel comic book. David clearly loves and understands the various members of X-Factor. The chemistry on X-Factor is fantastic and is certainly better than what you get on your typical comic book.
David also displays a wonderful sense of humor. X-Factor #37 is peppered throughout with funny dialogue. This excellent sense of humor is much needed on a title like X-Factor which can tend to get a bit depressing and grim at times. David’s humor is what keeps this title from being a parody and allows the darker and more serious scenes to carry more weight.
Jamie is still the star of the show and that is fine with me. David has made Jamie one of the most interesting characters in the 616 universe. Jamie’s inner narration always provides a though provoking and intriguing spine to the issue that ties everything together. And that is certainly the case with X-Factor #37.
I already praised Fantastic Four #651 in my review. Millar turned in an excellent issue that was certainly worthy of the Che. It was a tough decision, but I ended up awarding the Che for the best read of the week to JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1
JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1
Creative Team
Writer: Peter Tomasi
Pencils: Fernando Pasarin
Inks: Mick Gray
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
This issue focuses on David Reid. The story begins with Reid, Amazing Man and Damage attempting to save an African village from a contaminated stream from some of the militiamen. The JSA’ers take out the militiamen. At that point, Reid learns about his old Marine unit having been captured by some militiamen. Reid breaks off from his JSA teammates and goes to rescue his unit.
Along the way we learn more about Reid and how the men in his family have always served in the military. We get a great sense of his background and why he does what he does. We then see Reid arrive at the camp of the militiamen and he is unfortunately too late to save the men in his unit. However, Reid does get vengeance as he kills the militiamen. Reid then joins back up with the rest of the JSA’ers following Gog.
JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1 was simply an amazing read. Tomasi has continually blown me away since he has come onto the scene for DC. His work on Nightwing has been impressive as he made that horrid title into a title that is actually entertaining. Final Crisis: Requiem #1 was one of the best written issues I have read in a while. Tomasi has become one of The Revolution’s favorite writers and is quickly establishing himself as one of DC’s top writers.
JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1 was practically poetry. This is a wonderfully written issue that is a cut above of what I have come to expect from most comic book writers. Tomasi does an excellent job taking an incredibly vanilla and generic character in David Reid and fleshed him out into a compelling, interesting and well developed character. The amount of character work that Tomasi pulls off in this one issue is more than what some writers give readers over the course of an entire story arc.
Tomasi never overwhelms the reader with excess dialogue like many writers. Instead, Tomasi carefully crafts his dialogue and narration and allows the artwork to do the heavy lifting during some of the more dramatic moments. I loved that Tomasi makes Magog a heroic character that the reader can easily understand. This is much more appealing than just making Magog a mindless and villainous zealot.
I also enjoyed how Tomasi dealt with what it means to be a soldier. Both Magog and his fellow Marines in his old unit exemplify what good soldiers are. And why they deserve our respect and support.
I loved the artwork in JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1. Fernando Pasarin is an incredible artist. Pasarin helps Tomasi’s story spring to live in a vivid and dynamic fashion.
This issue also has a back-up story by Geoff Johns concerning Starman. It is basically all of the background information on Thom that we have already learned over the course of the past year on the JSA. This back-up issue serves to deliver all that information in a condensed fashion in order to bring newer readers up to speed on Thom’s rather convoluted back-story.
What I am not too sure of is when the three versions of the Legion meet prior to the Legion of Three Worlds event. I just do not ever remember that happening. But, according to this back-up story, the three Brainiacs design Thom’s costume as a map to the Multiverse before the Lighting Sage story takes place that sends Thom back into the past.
And now the nominees for the Sequential Methadone Award for the worst read of the week:
Trinity #25
Uncanny X-Men #504
The Winner: Uncanny X-Men #504
Actually, this past week was a strong selection of comic books. None of them really jumped out to me and begged for the Sequential Methadone Award. I continue to find Trinity to be a pedestrian read and Trinity #25 continued that trend. However, I had to go give the Sequential Methadone Award for the worst read of the week to Uncanny X-Men #504.
The fact is that I can live with Trinity being an average read. On the other hand, Uncanny X-Men is a flagship title and even though this issue was the best one that we have gotten in the past couple of months, I still expect much more from this title than what we got with Uncanny X-Men #504.
So congrats to JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1 for winning The Che Award of the week and “congrats” to Uncanny X-Men #504 for winning the Sequential Methadone Award for the week.
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The Revolution has thoroughly enjoyed Millar’s work on Fantastic Four. I have never been much of a fan of Marvel’s first family of super-heroes, but I am not completely hooked on this title. Each issue gets even more entertaining than the past one. I fully expect Millar to turn out another exciting read with Fantastic Four #561. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Bryan Hitch
Inks: Bryan Hitch & Andrew Currie
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10.
Synopsis: We begin at the Defenders’ headquarters with Sue Storm now back with her team. Johnny is stunned that Ms. Deneuve is in fact his sister. The Hulk tells Sue that she can leave if she does not want to watch her brother in pain by being hooked into the Galactus engine. Sue comments that her husband and children died to get them here and that turning away now would be an insult to them.
We cut to the Baxter Building where Reed, Sue, the Thing and She-Hulk are regrouping. Reed fills them in on the fact that Ms. Deneuve is actually Sue from the future and that she is part of the group that kidnapped Johnny. Reed continues that they do not know where Sue’s secret headquarters is located. So, Reed finished constructing a microscopic tracer that he had been designing.
Reed then injects Sue with the microscopic tracer. Reed says that once it is injected that it is impossible to remove. Sue smiles and adds how clever Reed is. Suddenly, the tracers come alive. The Thing says that one of the tracers is right here in Sue in the Baxter Building and that another tracer is located in upstate New York.
Reed asks She-Hulk to stay behind and to protect the children. Reed then looks at Valeria and tells her that they are going to talk when he gets back. Reed, Sue and Ben then hop into the Fantasti-Car and take off.
We cut back to the Defenders’ headquarters where Johnny is screaming out in pain. Johnny yells for Sue to turn the Galactus engine off. Sue answers that Galactus will be drained and die first, then Dr. Doom and then Johnny last. Sue says that Johnny’s odds of dying are fifty-to-one. Hulk interrupts and said that the machine has eaten through more energy than expected and that the odds of Johnny dying are ten-to-one.
Alex Ultron then says for them to look at Doom. That Doom is refusing to scream at all. We see through Doom’s facemask a look of steely determination in his eyes and his teeth clenched tightly together.
We then see the Fantasti-Car arrive outside the Defenders’ headquarters. Sue tells Reed to give her sixty seconds for her to clear a path for Reed and Ben. Sue makes herself an invisible surfboard and zips off into the Defenders’ headquarters. Reed smiles and says “God, I love that girl!”
We zip back inside of the Defenders’ headquarters with Sue ordering the eight billion refugees from the future to be equally distributed. That there can be no more than two billion refugees on each of the five continents. The Hulk says that the refugees will be arriving in less than four minutes. The Hulk checks the final coordinates.
The Hooded Man tells Hulk, his son, that he is real proud of him. The Hooded Man adds that Reed would also be proud of the Hulk. Suddenly, Natalie X, one of the Defenders, gets light-headed and collapses. The Hooded Man sniffs and says that he smells force fields. We then see Sue busting onto the scene and attacking the Defenders.
Suddenly, the Thing rips open a huge hole in the wall of the Defenders’ headquarters and he and Reed join the fight against the Defenders. The Thing starts kicking ass on the Defenders. We then hear “Snikt” and see the Hooded Man pop out admantium claws. The Thing asks if the Hooded Man is who he thinks he is. The Hooded Man yells out that he is indeed Wolverine.
Wolverine then attacks Reed. Sue then makes Wolverine’s optic nerves invisible which renders him blind. The Thing then states that he hopes that Wolverine still has his healing factor as the Thing crushes Wolverine’s head with one punch.
Sue then contains the remaining Defenders in force field bubbles. Sue states that bringing eight billion people to the present would destroy the planet. The older Sue yells that the eight billion refugees are already in transit and if the coordinates are changed then the refugees will die. Sue tells older Sue to trust her and that she will not let them die.
Sue then calls Alyssa and asks Alyssa if she is ready to drive Alyssa’s lying, cheating husband, Ted, out of his mind. We shift to Nu-World with Alyssa telling Sue that she is ready and willing. Alyssa says that the shields are down and for Sue to go ahead and bring on the mass migration. We cut to the main control room of Nu-World where Alyssa’s husband, Ted, is being informed of a massive influx of new life readings across Nu-World. That it is like a massive full-scale invasion.
Ted asks Alyssa what the hell is going on. Alyssa replies for Ted to think of it as payback. That now there are eight billion asylum seekers running away from the world that Ted left them to die in. We see happy refugees from the future standing in the streets of Nu-World.
Ted snaps at how stupid Alyssa has been. Ted says that the Board is going to be furious. Ted asks Alyssa if she understands what the Board is going to say about this. Alyssa slyly replies what is the Board going to do? Evict eight billion people?
We shift back to the Defenders’ headquarters where Alyssa radios Sue to inform her that all eight billion refugees safely made it to Nu-World. Reed muses how Nu-World was designed for politicians and the super-rich. That there is no crime, no poverty, no hunger and no disease. Sue adds that they sent the refugees to heaven and that the rest of their days will be glorious.
The older Sue hugs Reed and exclaims that she knew that Reed would not let her down. Ben then unhooks Johnny from the machine. Ben says that Johnny is still alive but that they need to get him to a hospital. Doom is also still alive, but clearly drained of his energy. On the other hand, Galactus is dead. Lightwave comments how odd it is that a creature that was famous for destroying worlds in order to live would die in order to save a world.
The Hulk then tends to Wolverine and tells his dad that they managed to rescue everyone. Reed then comments that Nu-World has everything but super-powered protectors, but that Reed assumes that the Defenders can take care of that little detail.
The older Sue then states that she must go apologize to Dr. Doom for kidnapping him. Older Sue says that it is so odd seeing this from a different perspective. Being the older Sue just submitting herself like this. Older Sue tells Doom that it was not personal and that she was only doing what she had to do.
Doom reaches out and grabs older Sue and says “Likewise.” Doom then fries older Sue with some electrical energy. Sue then screams “What have you done?” Doom replies “Restored my honor. Nothing more.” End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Fantastic Four #561 was an absolute blast to read. Millar simply makes the Fantastic Four cool. This was an exciting issue that delivered such a satisfying conclusion to this story arc.
Fantastic Four #561 was a perfectly paced issue. Millar crafts a story that had a wonderful flow. The issue begins with a steady pace as the reader experiences the quiet before the storm. The issue methodically builds in momentum before arriving at the climactic fight scene and arrival of the eight billion refugees. Millar then momentarily eases off the gas in the dénouement of this issue before surprisingly cranking up the intensity for a stunning ending.
I am amazed at how Millar is able to write on multiple levels. At the most basic level, the story in Fantastic Four is a classic action-adventure tale fitting of any summer blockbuster movie. However, Millar also writes into the story another level that deals with the personal relationships of the various Fantastic Four members and how they view and interact with each other. And then on a larger and more philosophical level Millar investigates the themes of humanity and justice. It is all there for the reader to enjoy depending on what the reader wants out of this story.
The dialogue in this issue is top notch. Millar continues to display an excellent understanding of the personalities of each member of the Fantastic Four. The character work as been solid as the Fantastic Four members are all well rounded characters.
Millar generates some enjoyable chemistry between Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben that help make the family dynamic between these characters so interesting. Millar understands that when writing the Fantastic Four that it must be kept in mind that this is a family and not a super team and, therefore, certain dynamics absent from your typical super team are present in the Fantastic Four.
I continue to enjoy how Millar handles Reed’s character. Millar understands that even though Reed is a science nerd he is still one cool character. And Millar has delivered a Reed Richards who is always calm, cool and collected. Reed always has an answer to any problem that might be presented to the Fantastic Four. And Reed injecting Sue with a microscopic tracer in order to find the Defenders’ headquarters was brilliant.
Millar treats the reader to a surprise reveal that the Hooded Man was Wolverine. Even though the reader kind of figured that this was coming it was still a nice touch. Evidently, Millar has stated in interviews that he has left subtle clues tying together the Old Man Logan story with his version of Logan from even farther into the future. I appreciate that type of effort from a writer and now I am going to have to re-read both stories and pay closer attention.
Millar continues to impress with his excellent plotting skills on this title. Millar has been able to continually take plotlines from the previous story arc and weave them back into the current story arc. At no point as Millar allowed the story on this title to wander or lose focus. Millar keeps a steady hand on the direction at all times and the reader gets the sense that every single detail, no matter how small, serves a specific purpose even if the reader won’t discover that purpose until some later date.
Millar’s use of Nu-World in this issue was fantastic. This was a brilliant use of a plot device that was presented in Act I and then put to use in Act II. The resolution to the problem of where to send the refugees gave this story a nice sense of symmetry as Millar delivers some fitting poetic justice by having Nu-World serve as sanctuary for the eight billion refugees. The reader cannot help but smile as Ted fumes over how Alyssa has betrayed him and the Board.
Millar pleasantly ties up the final loose end with the Defenders by sliding them into the position as the official super team for Nu-World. I found the Defenders to be an interesting collection of characters and I am glad that Millar found a place for them within the 616 universe. With the ending of this issue, Millar has now created an interesting addition to the 616 universe in Nu-World that hopefully will be visited again sometime in the near future.
Even though this issue delivers the climactic conclusion to the showdown between the Fantastic Four and the Defenders, Millar still has his eye to the future by addressing Valeria’s plot. Clearly, Reed knows about Valeria’s rapid growth in intelligence as he informs her that they will be having a talk when he returns. This is an interesting plotline and I am curious to see how this impacts Franklin.
Fantastic Four #561 ends with an incredibly dramatic ending. Millar has the eight billion refugees finding a new home on Nu-World, Galactus dies and then the older Sue dies. I loved older Sue’s death. Millar delivered on his promise to kill Sue Storm and he did in a fashion that made sense. This was completely consistent with Doom’s character. You do not kidnap and attempt to kill Doom and not expect to die if you fail to kill him. And it was interesting to see Sue willingly submit herself to Doom knowing full well what was going to happen to her.
Millar certainly delivers plenty of excellent action scenes in this issue. I enjoyed seeing Sue grab the spotlight and using her powers in such a creative fashion in helping the Fantastic Four to defeat the Defenders. I also enjoyed seeing the Thing drop Wolverine with just one punch.
Bryan Hitch’s artwork was fantastic. Millar is an artist’s best friend as he keeps the artist in mind when writing the story and allows the artist several scenes in which to showcase his skills. Hitch able to convey the massive grand scale of the Defenders’ headquarters and the dramatic scale of the Galactus engine. Hitch succeeds in making Fantastic Four #561 larger than life just like a summer blockbuster movie. Hitch also delivers the smaller details such as being able to pack plenty of emotion into the characters’ facial expressions. Hitch succeeds in making Fantastic Four #561 s story that is easy for the reader to get lost in.
The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.
Overall: Fantastic Four #561 was another wild ride as Millar continues to deliver an entertaining story on this title. Millar’s Fantastic Four should appeal to action fans as well as fans who desire quality character work and strong plot development. Millar also delivers a story that is quite accessible for readers like me who have never been fans of the Fantastic Four before and have a limited knowledge of the Fantastic Four mythos. If you still have not given this title a try then I would certainly recommend doing so.
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The Revolution continues to be summarily unimpressed with Uncanny X-Men ever since Matt Fraction came aboard this title. The handoff between Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction is complete as Fraction will now be riding solo on this title. I have little hope that we will get any quality dialogue or character work on Uncanny X-Men #504. Maybe Fraction will surprise me and turn in an original and entertaining read. Let’s go ahead and do this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencils: Terry Dodson
Inks: Rachel Dodson
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 3 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with Maddie Pryor in the Mojoverse enlisting another member to her “sisterhood.” The newest member is Spiral. Spiral readily agrees to join Pryor’s team in return for Pryor promising to bring back to life the one person close to Spiral who was taken from her most unfairly.
We then cut to a tattoo shop located in Haight Ashbury, San Francisco. We get a long winded, boring and unnecessary narration from the tattoo artist about the different types of people that she has tattooed, the different parts of the body she has tattooed, the types of tattoos, whether they were good tattoos on bad people or tattoos that people would immediately regret.
We see the tattoo artist then ordering Colossus to leave. That each time she tries to tattoo him; he unconsciously turns metal and breaks her equipment. The tattoo artist has already gone through two tattoo guns. Colossus sheepishly leaves the tattoo parlor.
We cut to the Greymalkin facility where Nightcrawler is by himself praying in the chapel that he built. Colossus enters the chapel and sits next to Nightcrawler. Colossus asks if anyone else other than Kurt has been in the chapel. Kurt replies only Emma who is a “filthy girl.” Kurt mentions that he cannot remember the last time he saw Peter in his normal flesh mode. Peter comments that it is easier to not feel so much in his metal form.
Suddenly, Scott and Emma enter the room and Scott barks at Peter that they need to talk to him. Scott bluntly states that Peter is no use to the X-Men in his current state. Scott tells Peter to go do whatever he has to do in order to start getting past this. To go wherever he has to, to him whomever he has to in order to get past it. Emma adds that they need Colossus back and that she can’t always be the muscle for the team.
We cut to Scott and Emma walking out of the chapel with Scott commenting how hard that was but that it had to be said. Emma yells for Scott to wait up and to stop walking away from her. Scott snaps “What, Emma? What?” (Wow, this scene is a clunky mess.) Emma asks Scott what is wrong with him and asks what happened to him when they were at the Hellfire Cult’s facility. Scott curtly answers that nothing happened.
Emma continues that something happened. Emma says that she is missing time in her memories and that Scott has been acting colder to Emma than her “father on Christmas morning.” Scott then tells Emma to go ahead and enter his mind and have a look for herself. Emma says that she will take just a peak in order to ease her mind.
We cut to Emma inside of Scott’s mind. Emma is sporting a 1940’s hairstyle and dress for some reason. All that is inside of Scott’s mind are images of all the women that he has ever “cast a furtive glance upon.” Emma says that Scott had felt like some of the old repression was creeping back in and these memories of all the different women are the psychic walls that Scott had built up lately.
We see every single version of every female member of the X-Men, all the villainesses that the X-Men have fought as well as other Marvel super-heroines. Scott’s mind is a giant hotel with all the women inside of it and in different rooms. Emma gets in the elevator and says that she is “Going down.” (Classy and original.)
Scott asks what Emma is looking for. The barista with the lip-ring (of course) or his third grade teacher. Emma replies that she is letting Scott’s psychogeography guide her through this hotel. Emma says that she can feel Scott hiding something from her even if he cannot articulate it.
Emma passes by Selina, the Black Queen, and then comments that she has seen brunettes, raven black haired ladies, blondes, white haired ladies and even ones with purple hair. However, she has not seen a single redhead. Emma wonders why. Scott answers that he has no idea what Emma is talking about.
We slide over to Colossus getting something to eat at a little mom and pop Russian restaurant. Suddenly, Colossus hears men breaking into the kitchen and attacking the chef-owner of the restaurant. Colossus armors up and enters the kitchen. Colossus is terrified by what he sees. We see a tattooed metahuman flanked by a couple of thugs. The tattooed guy has the power to see what is inside of a person. The tattooed guy can see a person’s entire life and all their secrets.
Colossus immediately recognizes the tattooed man from his childhood in Russia. The tattooed man once visited Peter’s family farm and questioned Peter’s father about Peter and his abilities. Colossus turns tail and runs like a yellow bellied coward. Colossus leaves the restaurant and proceeds to throw up. Colossus thinks how he does not know how it is possible that he has found the tattooed man. Colossus whispers that the tattooed man is the devil himself.
We shift to Buenos Aires, Argentina where Angel and Beast are meeting with Dr. Nemesis. Beast tries to urge Dr. Nemesis to help the X-Men stop the slow genocide of mutantkind due to the Scarlet Witch’s spell. The Beast says that the recent birth of a mutant shows that Wanda’s spell can be beaten. Beast says that the X-Men are wondering if they can undo muntantkind’s genocide. Dr. Nemesis spits that he has six million friends who wonder the same thing. Dr. Nemesis replies that genocide cannot be undone.
Dr. Nemesis states that he is a brilliant man of science who helped to create the original Human Torch. That Dr. Nemesis has dedicated his life to tracking down and killing Nazi super-scientists. (It is 2008. Wouldn’t they all be dead by now? How old are these guys? Let’s assume these scientists were very young at the end of World War II at just thirty years of age. That would still make them 90 years old.) Evidently, many of them fled to South America. Dr. Nemesis rebuffs Beast’s offer and says that he is doing more good now than he ever could do with the X-Men.
Suddenly, “super Nazis” manufactured by the Futurfuhrer’s Genetikorps attack Dr. Nemesis. (And there it is! We officially have a Nazi Rule violation. Wow, it has been a long time since we have had a violation of the Nazi Rule.) Dr. Nemesis quickly uses some super gun that he has created to take out and kill the two super Nazis.
Beast then pleads once again with Dr. Nemesis to help the X-Men. Beast says that they are appealing to Dr. Nemesis’ intellect and his sense of duty. Beast says that this is a slow motion genocide that they still have time to stop.
Dr. Nemesis engages in a bit of tough talk about spaying the Beast if he every touches Dr. Nemesis’ coat sleeve again. Dr. Nemesis then agrees to help the X-Men and comments that the X-Men now have their genius. Beast replies that Nemesis is just the first genius and that there are more.
We slide back to Emma still wandering around the massive hotel in Scott’s mind. Emma arrives at a room with a black door and a red “X” on it. Emma enters the room. The room is empty save for a small black box in the middle of the room. Emma tells Scott that this black box is what drew her in. Emma comments that the black box is deflecting her thoughts. That Emma cannot lift it, cannot open it and can barely stand to touch it.
Scott replies that he does not know what the black box is other than it is his black box. That it is a little piece of “psychic Kung-Fu” that he picked up along the way. That it is a place for secrets. Emma snaps that if their relationship has a rule that it is no secrets and no shame.
Scott states that as team leader and strategist for what is left of their species that there are certain things that he cannot risk escaping from his head. That to protect everyone, Scott must keep something’s he knows locked away.
Scott asks what if he was captured and tortured for data about mutant locations. About where former mutants have relocated and access to the Greymalkin center. What if someone wanted the exact latitude and longitude coordinates required to destroy a classroom full of children while you taught them. The black box protects that stuff form everyone.
Emma replies that the black box is impressive and asks Scott how he learned to make it. (Dumb question.) Scott replies that Jean taught him. (Obvious answer.) Suddenly, Emma is ripped out of Scott’s mind as we see Karma running down the hall shouting for Scott and Emma.
Karma tells them that something has happened and to come look at the television. We see Karma, Cannonball, Nightcrawler, Scott and Emma in front of the television. A news report is showing footage the entire town of Cooperstown, Alaska on fire and razed to the ground by unknown terrorists after the birth of a mutant infant.
The news report states that the footage obtained and released to the press by Simon Trask of the political action committee “Humanity Now” also included this statement “If this is what happens when a mutant baby is born…What happens when one is born in your hometown?” End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Uncanny X-Men #504 was an average read. I will say that this was probably the best issue that we have gotten since Fraction has come aboard Uncanny X-Men. Of course, that really is not saying very much.
Despite the lame super-Nazi storyline and the accompanying Nazi Rule violation, I still like the addition of Dr. Nemesis. He is a rather neat character and his haughty and abrasive personality should give Fraction a character to have a little fun with. It will be interesting to see how Dr. Nemesis meshes with the other X-Men.
I found the plotline involving the tattooed man and Colossus to be mildly interesting. I do like Colossus so any plotline designed to give Peter a bit of the spotlight is always a good thing. Hopefully, Fraction can make this plotline into something that is actually interesting and entertaining.
The best aspect of Uncanny X-Men #504 is that Marvel is finally getting around to addressing the various dangling plotlines from the Messiah Complex. I was beginning to think that Marvel was never going to get around to addressing the fallout from the Messiah Complex here in the pages of Uncanny X-Men.
I liked that the Beast has had his sense of hope renewed by the birth of the first mutant child since the end of the House of M event. This plotline builds off of Brubaker’s Endangered Species storyline where the Beast embarked on a journey where he visited some of the most brilliant minds in the 616 universe for a way to return ex-mutants their mutant genes.
Beast is an incredibly optimistic character and I am glad that he is once again trying to assemble a team of brilliant scientist in hopes of saving mutantkind. And that this time it appears that Beast is having much more success in enlisting the help he needs. This is an interesting plotline that has some potential.
Fraction delivers a solid hook ending that picks up where Messiah Complex left off. We see that the Purifiers have set about trying to paint their slaughtering of the town in Alaska as the work of a terrorist group. And that the birth of a mutant was the direct source for the town being wiped out. This sets the stage for what should be a rather compelling story. I enjoyed Messiah Complex and am looking forward to seeing Fraction deal with the various plotlines that spun out of it.
Terry and Rachel Dodson did a quality job with the artwork in Uncanny X-Men #504. It was a breath of fresh air to have someone other than Land doing the art on this title. This was not the best work that I have seen from Terry Dodson, but it was still a good effort and I am thrilled that Dodson is now the regular artist for Uncanny X-Men.
The Bad: Fraction earned himself an automatic two point deduction for violating The Revolution’s Nazi Rule. Since Uncanny X-Men #504 was a resolutely average issue I was going to give this issue 5 Night Girls out of 10. However, after the mandatory 2 Night Girl deduction for the Nazi Rule violation, this issue sank down to a score of only 3 Night Girls for the writing.
Uncanny X-Men #504 suffers from the same defects and weaknesses that this title has suffered from since Fraction came aboard on Uncanny X-Men #500. Uncanny X-Men #504 was yet another set-up issue. It seems that all we have gotten on this title since issue #500 has been nothing but set-up. Fraction continues this trend by laying the foundation for the Madelyn Pryor plotline, the Colossus plotline and the Purifiers plotline.
Another defect in Fraction’s writing is that he often inserts one or two scenes per issue that are nothing more than time wasters. I found the scene with Colossus in the tattoo parlor to be a fine example of this. This scene was largely purposeless other than letting Fraction have a “hip” scene set in Haight Ashbury. This scene failed to advance any plotlines and it also failed to flesh out Colossus’s character or his depression over Kitty’s death.
Uncanny X-Men #504 is also a slow paced read. The scene with Dr. Nemesis is a good example of now Fraction unnecessarily draws scenes out and the result is a slower paced issue that feels like Fraction is purposely trying to burn time in order to stretch out the story. Fraction still struggles with the less is more rule to writing as he loads on simply way to much exposition by Dr. Nemesis in this scene.
Fraction has pulled off very little plot progression over the past five issues. This issue is another slow and uneventful issue. The reader is left in an uncomfortable position of constantly waiting for some type of pay-off for the eternal plot set-up that we have been getting on this title.
The story in Uncanny X-Men #504 has a rather poor flow. Many of the scene transitions were terrible and were incredibly clunky which broke the flow of the story. A couple of the scenes, like the one with Nightcrawler, Colossus, Scott and Emma in the chapel and Emma and Scott in the hallway, were choppy and read more like a rough draft than a final polished script. All of these factors combine to give the impression that Fraction turned in a sloppy effort on this issue.
Fraction continues to display a lack of internal logic in his writing. Fraction makes a point of Scott stating how he has his mental black box for secrets like the latitude and longitude of the Greymalkin facility which would open Emma’s classrooms to attack. Of course, Fraction ignores his own statements in previous issues that the Greymalkin facility is to serve as a public beacon of hope for mutants. Fraction has called this center a giant “community center” where mutants can find refuge. The actual location is not a secret. What is a secret is the fact that it has so many underground levels that are not known to the public.
So, the fact that the Greymalkin center is out in the open and visible to a satellite makes it vulnerable to bombs and missiles. Therefore, keeping the latitude and longitude of the center a secret is relatively pointless. Fraction’s inability to keep track of his own statements simply makes his writing look that much sloppier.
Fraction’s dialogue continues to be incredibly unimpressive. The dialogue is flat and generic and too heavy handed at other parts. Dr. Nemesis’ dialogue in particular was way too over the top. The character work also continues to be a serious weakness on this title. None of the various X-Men have a developed or unique personality. Fraction also displays a poor feel for the established personalities of the various X-Men. I found it odd that Nightcrawler would ever refer to Emma as a “filthy girl.” That just did not sound like Kurt at all.
I found it strange that Fraction would have Colossus regress back into a depressed and mopey state over Kitty’s death. I thought that the purpose of Brubaker having Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus travelling to Europe together was to help Peter move past Kitty’s death. And I also got the impression that Brubaker had Colossus grieve and finally come to terms with Kitty’s death and ready to move on and rejoin his fellow X-Men.
Fraction’s move to have Colossus regress back into his depressed and mopey state lacked internal logic and was largely unnecessary. Again, Fraction continues to display a lack of knowledge of stories that occur on a title prior to his arrival. It takes some work and effort, but professional writers always make sure they perform some research before taking over a specific title. And usually that includes reading up on at least the most recent story arcs on the title that they are taking over.
I also found Fraction’s version of Colossus to be incredibly wimpy. Fraction has Colossus turn tail and run and then throw up outside of the restaurant at the site of the tattooed thug. I am sure that seeing the tattooed man was jarring and clearly a childhood nightmare, but I found Colossus’ reaction to be out of character and unbelievable.
Colossus is a longtime X-Man who has faced numerous incredibly deadly and vicious villains with nothing but bravery in his heart. Colossus even sacrificed his own life in order to cure the Legacy virus. I just have a hard time reconciling how Colossus has been written up to this point and how much of a newbie coward that Fraction writes him in this issue.
Fraction’s version of Cyclops continues to be disappointing. This is one of the dumbest versions of Scott that I have ever read. Scott’s dialogue is just too snappy and hyper for a character that has always been regarded for his calm, cool and collected persona.
I found Scott’s mind being a massive hotel full of every single woman that he ever thought was attractive during his entire life to be an incredibly odd move by Fraction. And it was odd in a bad way. I have never gotten the impression that Scott was a repressed and sex starved individual.
Scott has largely been presented as level-headed and happy being in a committed relationship. And Scott has spent most of his time in a monogamous relationship with incredibly attractive women like Jean, Madelyn and Emma. Therefore, I found it incredibly hard to believe that Scott’s mind would be a hotel full of every hottie that Scott has ever seen as if Scott some sex-crazed maniac whose mind is obsessed with his prurient desires.
This was just another example of how Fraction feels compelled to inject sexual themes where there really is no point and purpose for them. In the end, this issue only served to make Scott look like a creepy letch. I found Emma’s little walk through Scott’s mind was largely boring and uneventful. The fact that there were no redheads stalking Scott’s mind did not pique my interest that much.
Fraction performs a little plot progression on Madelyn Pryor’s plotline by giving us a quick scene where Maddie enlists Sliver into her “sisterhood.” I am vaguely curious to see if Pryor can truly raise the dead or if she is simply preying up the weaknesses of these women. However, for the most part, Fraction has failed to hook my interest in Pryor’s plotline at all. Of course, I should disclose the fact that I have never found Pryor to be an interesting character and I definitely feel that Pryor should have remained dead.
Overall: Uncanny X-Men #504 is probably the best issue that we have gotten since issue #500. However, this still is a pedestrian read. Fraction’s writing continues to have serious defects at the most basic levels that should not be present in a story from a profession comic book writer working for a company like Marvel.
Having said that, I do feel that Fraction has several plotlines in place that have the potential to be rather interesting. I think that die-hard X-Men fans will enjoy this issue as will any reader who is a fan of Fraction’s style of writing. Outside of those two groups, I would be hesitant to recommend that you spend you hard earned cash on Uncanny X-Men at this point.
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Last month's issue was the first time I tried this book. I was surprised. The writing was excellant. The art did not measure up to the level of the writing. This month's offering has a different artist. Let us see if the writer hit it lucky last month or if this is a quality read.
A well-written X-Men book would be a change of pace from the flagship title. This book harkens back to the old X-Men days.
Creative Team
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Pencils: Rafa Sandoval
Inks: Roger Bonet
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Eric Gitter, the former X-Man known as Ink, is drunk and running through an alley. He is under 21 so he should not be drunk. If he was sober, he would hear them coming.
His pursuers catch up to him. They are the Hellfire Cult. They participate in hate crimes against mutants. Eric is aware of the irony. As he hits the smaller one, he touches the biohazard tattoo. This makes him sick.
Before Ink hits the larger one, he touches the Colossus tattoo. His fist shatters the attacker's face plate. Eric tells them that they just got sent to the emergency room for a false alarm. He is not a mutant. He leaves them laying in the alley as he walks away.
48 hours earlier...Eric is talking to Cyclops, Sunspot, and Moonstar. They are breaking the news to him that he is not a mutant. Hank McCoy's tests prove it. He wants to know how he got his powers.
Cyclops says that Hank's theory is that the tattoo artist is the real mutant. Eric is surprised and thinks the artist will be surprised too. He wants to know why no one else received powers after being tattooed.
Cyclops tells Eric about a young man who blew out the wall of a prison to free his brother. The man had a bomb tattoo on his hand. Eric starts to leave. Sunspot says he is still a member of the team. Eric reminds him that no one on the team speaks to him. The only reason he joined was for protection. Since he is not a mutant, he doesn't need the team's help. Eric leaves. Moonstar is worried how many other gang-bangers have received the power tattoos.
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco...Anole and Rockslide are in a training room exercise. They are debating what to call the new Danger Room. Rockslide is glad Anole has returned. Dust interupts and tells them Sunspot and Moonstar wanted them ready to go in 5 minutes. They have a new mission.
The X-Jet, en route to La Jolla, California...Rockslide wants to know if there are only 198 mutants, where did the tattoo artist come from? Moonstar thinks there are only 198 known mutants. Some others have not been identified.
A tattoo parlor in La Jolla...Leon Nunez wants to know what was parked on his roof. Sunspot and Moonstar are in street clothes. They want to know if he knows he is a mutant? Leon says why not. Did he break some mutant law? He tells them to leave.
Dust and Anole are checking out his office during the discussion. Dust discovered a picture of Leon playing paintball. One of the players has the same bomb tattoo as the man who broke his brother out of prison. Dust tried calling the local paint ball place and it was out of business. The team heads to the abandoned park to find the fugitives.
As they search, Graymalkin tells Anole that he is anxious. Moonstar spots the fugitives. Sunspot tells the team they need to capture them and turn them over to the police.
The X-Men power up and attack. One of the fugitives has cheetah tattoos. He speeds up and claws Graymalin's chest. Another blasts Anole with an eye blast. The man with the bomb tattoo sends Dust flying. Another opens fire with a gun. One of the bullets strikes Moonstar.
Sunspot grabs the leader and tells him to call off his boys. The X-Men have them outnumbered. The leader hits a button on his cell phone and tattooed gang-bangers come from every direction.
Back in the alley with Eric... as he leaves a voice tells him he is still an X-Man and his team is in trouble. He wants to know who is talking. A young girl in a X-suit steps out. Her name is Cypher.
Comments
The Good: Another good story by Guggenheim. I like the way he handles the various characters. Each of them has there own personality. The rookie status of this team prevents them from working together as well as the more seasoned teams. This allows the author to show how the bonds are being formed between the various team mates.
Eric's personality is revealed in the amount of force he uses against the Hellfire Cult. He is cutting loose and not really worrying if he hurts his attackers.
Graymalkin has the potential to be one of the team's better members. Guggenheim has to tread a fine line between revealing enough to keep the fans interested while still keeping him a man of mystery. The past X-teams have contained mystery people. The main ones being Wolverine and Gambit. Time will tell where Graymalkin will fall on the list. Fans loved Wolverine and Gambit but were not as impressed with Madeline Pryor.
I liked the way Sandoval broke down the fight scene between Ink and the Hellfire Cult. His use of panels show the influence of Frank Miller. This reminded me of some of the fights in the old Daredevil's Miller drew.
The Bad: The art might have been a little better than last month but it still does not seem up to the standards of a X-book. The backgrounds are thin. More time needs to be put into drawing in the backgrounds.
If you exclude Rockslide, everyone has the same thin body type. More variety needs to be used. Go to a mall and look at crowds of people. Real people come in many different sizes and shapes.
Overall: This book has my attention due to the efforts of the writer. I still think the art is the weak link. With the right artist, this book could really take off.
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DC COMICS
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #19
FLASH #246
JSA KINGDOM COME SPECIAL MAGOG #1
SUPERGIRL #35
TANGENT SUPERMANS REIGN #9
TRINITY #25
MARVEL COMICS
AGE OF SENTRY #3
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #578
AVENGERS INVADERS #6
FANTASTIC FOUR #561
IRON MAN DIRECTOR OF SHIELD #35
MOON KNIGHT #24
UNCANNY X-MEN #504
X-FACTOR #37
X-MEN LEGACY #218
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #6
A large shipment of comic books are headed to the Bunker today. We are getting a total of 16 titles. This week is heavier with Marvel comics. I am much more intrigued by the selection of comic books headed our way from the House of Ideas than I am by what DC is offering this week.
Which DC comic book am I most looking forward to reading? I never thought I would ever write these words but I am actually looking forward to Supergirl #35. The New Krypton story is so good that I am even willing to purchase an issue of Supergirl in order to get the next installment of this story.
However, the DC comic book that I am most looking forward to reading is JSA Kingdome Come Special: Magog #1. I loved the last JSA special centering on the Kingdom Come Superman. And the Gog story arc has been such a gripping read over in Justice Society of America. I fully expect this special issue centering on Magog to be a great read.
Which DC comic book am I least looking forward to reading? That would be Trinity #25. This title continues to fail to generate much excitement.
Which Marvel comic book am I most looking forward to reading? I am certainly excited to read Avengers/Invaders #6. Krueger and Ross continue to do a fine job with this story. It has been fun watching the Invaders interact with the characters of the modern 616 Universe.
However, Fantastic Four #561 is the Marvel comic book that I am most looking forward to reading. Millar is doing an excellent job with this title. I fully expect Millar to throw several more twists and turns at the reader with this issue.
Which Marvel comic book am I least looking forward to reading? There can be only one: Uncanny X-Men #504. This title has been a hideous read. However, there is something positive about this issue of Uncanny X-Men and that is that Dodson is taking over the art duties. If nothing else, at least Uncanny X-Men #504 will be a visually pleasing issue even if the writing continues to be fanfiction.
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Normally, I stick to simply reviewing and critiquing comic books. And, this week I did not get to even publish my normal four to five reviews. But, I have a good reason for that as I am working on something new and special for The Revolution. Hopefully, we will be able to unveil it in a week or so.
At any rate, I felt compelled to publish my take on some news from a few interviews with Dan DiDio and two rumors connected with the scatter-brained EIC of DC. The LA Times blog, Hero Complex, posted a a great interview with Dan DiDio. It appears that DiDio is intent on “shaking” things up in the DCU in the wake of Final Crisis.
DiDio confirmed that DC will be bringing back Adventure Comi