DC is going back to the well of one of it’s more successful titles from years gone by.  World’s Finest used to tell the tales of Superman and Batman as they went on great adventures as the best of friends.  As the Silver Age came and went and we were ushered into a Post Crisis world of a darker Batman and a more down-to-earth Superman, World’s Finest was a mini-series that explored the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader working together to thwart the plans of The Joker and Lex Luthor in 1990.   Later, Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness would team up to bring us the exploits of the Dark Knight and Krypton’s Last Son in a book titled simply Superman/Batman.   Well, DC has gone to the well again…this time with a twist.   Superclerk brings us up to speed on DC’s latest foray into the world of the World’s Finest.  Read on to see what he says.

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My favorite thing about the following review? “This just got real.” I think it did. Read on to see what Superclerk has to say about Blackest Night #4:

The Blackest Night has begun…

Issue four is when the heroes of Earth start to get an idea of what they are up against as Flash gets the word out. Once again… this issue isn’t without its losses.

We begin with Flash, Mera, and the Atom trying not to die as the corpses of the villains stored in the Hall of Justice try to tear the their hearts from their chests. Literally.

Jason, the new Firestorm, manages to get control of his body for a short amount of time to let them know that a voice coming from the ring is calling out for Barry Allen. We have known that the heroes who have come back from the dead in recent years were going to be a target of whatever was controlling all this and now is when that starts. Atom does a sweet move to help them escape by having them piggyback through the phone connection to the local 911-dispatch office.

The next thing we see is the risen Azrael gutting folks in Gotham city and leaving Scarecrow behind alive due to his lack of emotion. While this was a quick scene that some might not think was important at all… I liked it. I’ve always liked Scarecrow as a villain and this scene cements that he’s just not all there in the head.

The next small scene is another on that I liked as we see Lex Luthor locking himself down inside a secret bunker. He knows what’s going on and the thought of all the people he has hurt or killed over the years coming back to get him has him in lock down mode. His conversation with the Calculator was a good one as well. We see that Luthor doesn’t see himself as a villain. He’s better than all those who would consider them his peer. That’s the Lex we all know and love. He’s not a team player.

After a quick pep talk from the Flash, Mera and Atom head out to find the one remaining Green Lantern on the Earth. Alan Scott of the Justice Society. A jump through another phone line leads them into the middle of a battle between a bunch of Black Lanterns and the Society.

Flash speeds about the Earth telling all the groups of heroes what’s going down and they all get ready to hold their ground until the Green Lantern Corps can fix all this mess from the main battle out in space.

Alan Scott attempts to take out the Black Lanterns but his power source isn’t working as well as the actual Green Lantern Corps rings can. With the help of the Atom, Damage is able to fight against the Black Lantern who s posing as his father and get pumped for the long fight ahead. A friendship is forged in the heat of battle. One that is all too brief. The Atom watches as his former wife and lover Jean Loring rips Damage’s heart out through his back.

Now, folks… You may not care that some B List hero from the massive roster of the Justice Society has just been killed in a gruesome manner but I do. Damage is a hero I followed when I first got serious into collecting comics. It was in junior high and at this point I was deep into collecting comics that had teen heroes. Robin was at the top and Superboy right under that. Along that same time I got into a small comic titled DAMAGE. It was about a boy who was thrown into the hero role suddenly when he discovered that his whole life had been fake and that he could potentially be one of the most powerful heroes on the planet.

His comic didn’t last long but he popped up here and there from time to time to serve on a version of the Titans and even helped defeat Parallax during the event known as Zero Hour. Most recently he was hurt badly in a battle and his face was scarred horribly. He has since been the ill tempered muscle of the Justice Society on a journey or redemption and self-forgiveness. That journey ended in this comic. I was saddened by this death and it makes me really hope that not all is lost for the heroes falling during this event.

The death of Damage also brings forth the full charge of the Black Lanterns power battery. This whole time we have been seeing each death bring us closer and closer to full charge and us wondering what that means. Now we know.

Barry Allen feels a pull towards Coast City, home of Hal Jordan. When he gets there he witnesses Black Hand welcoming the arrival of the Black Lantern power battery to Earth and the rise of the creature behind the whole Blackest Night. Nekron has risen and with him come the seven million that were killed in the destruction of Coast City at the hands of Cyborg Superman.

This just got real, folks.

STORY: 4/5

I dug the issue. I heard a few complaints about this one and was wondering if the story had finally run out of steam but I found that not to be the case. A lot of big things happened in this issue and I felt it was just as strong as what we had scene before.

ART: 5/5

I’m still digging the art behind this series. I don’t expect my mind to change anytime soon. The death of Damage was drawn perfectly and the splash pages were all really great.

COVERS:

Regular Edition: 3/5

The coming of the risen villains was a good idea for a cover on this issue but I would have liked to see more of them instead of a massive Copperhead face filling most of the cover.

Variant Edition: 5/5

The original Atom about to eat a bite sized Atom. It’s simple. It’s awesome.

ALL IN ALL-

I really enjoyed the issue and I’m excited to see the main villain finally revealed. Plus the fact that the main battle has been brought to the Earth raises the stakes even higher. This series has continued to be well written and planned out and I’m still pumped to see what happens next.

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Scarlett Lynn returns with her take on Wonder Woman #33. This is the Penultimate chapter of the Rise of The Olympian Story arc and big things are happening in the world of Wonder Woman. It’s kind of fitting that she’s been tied up with this while Superman has been dealing with Kryptonians and Batman has been…well…dead. I like that DC, even though they’ve got the whole Blackest Night thing going are trying to return to a time when a person could collect one or two titles and be happy. Then, crossovers meant something…but…this is Scarlett Lynn’s review of Wonder Woman, not my take on the state of comics, so without further blabbering on my part…

WONDER WOMAN #33 – Rise of the Olympian, Finale: Monarch of the Dead

Have I ever mentioned that Wonder Woman travels home to the island of Themyscira via a giant, magical, flying clamshell? Sort of like the one in the painting “The Birth of Venus”… only more mobil? If I haven’t, then consider this a quick little primer and heads up.

Anyway… as this issue begins a giant, magical, flying clamshell is skipping across the ocean and slams into the shore of Themyscira as two Amazonian guards look on. (Now aren’t you glad I provided a clamshell-transportation tutorial? Think of how random that scene would be without it!) The guards rush to find Diana unconscious, badly beaten from her previous battle, and they send for her mother. At first Hippolyta is, of course, focused solely on her injured daughter. Then, however, one of the ladies calls her attention to the ocean and the veritable wall of sea-monsters that’s approaching.

Now, Hippolyta is queen for a reason. The woman knows what to do in a battle. Step One: Have the unconscious Diana taken off the battle field to safety. Step Two: Remind someone to grab you a sword when they get a second. Step Three: Take off robe; prepare to defend kingdom in pajamas.

As her mother fights off the invading hordes in her PJs, Diana is slowly regaining consciousness as Phillipus is bandaging up her injuries. Phillipus asks her what happened to her hands, which are especially burnt, and Diana recounts her battle with Genocide. She explains how she had tried to go back for the creature – not wanting to give into the desire for revenge. Her musings are interrupted when she begins to hear the noises of the battle going on at the beach. Phillipus instantly knows what she’s thinking and tries to reason with her but Diana won’t hear of it. Her hands are too damaged to be of much good on their own so she has Phillipus bind a battle axe to her left hand and her lasso to her right hand using the bandages.

In the midst of the battle, the creatures begin to retreat. Ares has ordered Euphemus to focus the attack on Thalarion and Zeus’ Olympians. Athena appears to the Amazons and asks Hippolyta if they will help the men that Zeus wants to replace them with. The two groups join sides against Ares’ forces but Diana bypasses all the carnage and heads straight for the source. In order to stop his twisted plans for the future and to put an end to the war that he had instigated, Diana kills him.

As Diana stands there, removing the weapons she’d tied to her hands, Zeus approaches and congratulates her. Then, oblivious as always, Zeus proceeds to cheerfully tell Diana that he’s created a champion to replace her so that she can run off and be a good wife and mother like she was always meant to. Clearly not catching on to the fact that Diana is not a giddy-little-school-girl at his news, he continues blathering on. When he gets to the part about killing her patron god, however, I think he begins to catch on to the fact that she’s none too pleased. It may have been her punching him in the face and screaming “Murderer!” that finally made her feelings clear. Zeus, however, pompously believes that he knows best and continues on with his decree. Hippolyta will no longer rule, Achilles will take over her role, both the Olympians and the Amazons will be under Zeus’ command and Diana will obey him as her god.

Diana refuses. She renounces all her gods and because they are the gods of the Amazons… she declares that she will no longer be an Amazon. She says goodbye to her mother and promises her that she’ll be alright with her friends and alludes to possibly making amends with Tom. With a final warning to Achilles to look after her people she flies off. Alone.

Skulking around (as she apparently just lives to do) Alkyone mutters to herself about Diana still being an evil dragon and is disgusted with her for abandoning her mother. She reveals that, prior to his death, Ares placed Genocide’s soul in a totem in Alkyone’s possession. She vows to kill Diana and become the mother of Genocide.

STORY: 4 out of 5

DANG! They really weren’t kidding when they said they were planning on shaking up the lives of the DC Trinity. Diana’s not an Amazon any more and is on her own. Her former people and family just had their whole world completely turned upsidedown. And you’re left at the end of this story with no clue as to where it’s going to go next. Her best friends in the superhero world aren’t around anymore… for various reasons. The people who surrounded her in her day-to-day life are just completely messed up at the moment.

I love the story for having the guts to just take the character out of her comfort zone and try something new. Best of all, though, is that they haven’t just shaken up her story in some arbitrary way. It’s been a slow, honest change based on the logical progression of the story and the characters. Continuity for the win!

Forget about what’s coming next, though. [Although considering how late this review is... you may already know what comes next and what happens after that and whatever comes after that. Sorry!] What this issue does so well is payoff one little thing I’ve been begging to happen. Someone finally decked Zeus like he’s been deserving for a while now. Thank goodness it was Diana. (I also would have accepted Hippolyta.)

The only thing that’s holding me back from five stars was that face off with Ares. Really? Way to go out without even trying, Ares. I get that quick is good sometimes but of all villains in Wonder Woman’s rogues gallery… Ares has been there a pretty long time and could have gone down with a little more fanfare and a bit more of a fight. Especially on the heels of the previous issues epic battle with Genocide. Maybe that’s it, though. It’s kind of impossible to top that smack down so they went with the exact opposite.

It was a good summation of this Rise of the Olympians arc and it definitely makes me want to see what comes next for Wonder Woman.

ART: 4 out of 5

Not quite the 5 out of 5 that the last issue delivered for me but still good. It probably has a lot to do with my own personal bias. Big, scary monsters are never going to be my thing. They always come off a little cheesy for me and there are quite a few in this issue. It’s the renditions of the characters that always impress me with Aaron Lopresti’s art. Their body language and facial expressions are always so honest and indicative of precisely where that character is at in that moment. I could have used a few more epic frames though. A panel or even a full page to really climax the events. Near the end it all felt so small. Still, it was definitely enjoyable.

COVERS:

Main Cover: 3 1/2 out of 5

I liked that this cover was essentially a sequel to the cover of issue #31. It’s as though Wonder Woman is standing in the aftermath of the events on that previous cover. While I do like it for that aspect, there’s something about it that comes off a tiny bit bland. It feels a little more like an internal panel than a cover. The imagery works… Diana, alone on the battlefield with evidence of the Olympians and the Amazons having been there. It definitely conveys what’s going on for the character at this point. Yet, while it worked for me on the other cover, here it just feels a little too spelled out and on the nose. Nice art but I think the concept could have been played with just a bit more.

Variant Cover: 5 out of 5

This cover is just pretty and I mean that in the best of ways. I think it’s a beautiful piece of art. A haunting, elegant portrait of Wonder Woman. I love the colors that were used. The sleepy-eyed, close-up of Diana as the feathery sparks and flames fall all around her makes for a gorgeous picture. Plus, it still manages to convey elements of the story. It’s a striking cover. It jumps out at me. I really liked it.

MEMORABLE QUOTES/LINES:

Diana: “Bind the lasso to my right hand, General.”

****************

Athena: “Will you aid the men who mean to take your place and everything you have sacrificed for, for thirty centuries and more?”

Hippolyta: “… I’ll get my boots.”

*****************

Diana: “Then I will no longer be Amazon.”

Batmatt is back with his take on Batman and Robin #4 check it out:

I was well-pleased with issue 4 of Batman and Robin. The last issue was iffy with the tie up of the Pyg story arc and the introduction of Red Hood.

I must now change my tune and say Grant Morrison is The Man. I don’t know what happened last issue maybe he was asleep, but he woke up. Don’t get me wrong.   I’m not trying to be hyper critical but the last issue was not my favorite.  Enough with the old, now on to the new:

Issue 4 starts out by introducing a new baddie  by the name of Lightning Bug. He is a thug running a protection racket backed up by some cool gadgets to help intimidate.  He gets scared off by Batman and Robin then runs into the Red Hood and Scarlet.   Scarlet is Sasha the unfinished Dollotron from previous issues, and she is now a psychopathic sidekick.  She clocks Lightning Bug and the Red Hood shoots him but does not kill him.   No, not yet, he has to check his iPhone and update his Twitter account.

“Excuse me, but I need to change my status  update to ‘murdering a wanna-be supervillain.’”

He then shoots Lightning Bug and tosses him out a window.   Bad guy has ceased to be, he is no MORE.

Batman and Robin are a little late to the action, because apparently they had to make a latte stop, and when they arrive it is raining bad guys and money. Floating down with the money is a red business card that Batman snatches from the air and it reads “vengeance arms against his red right hand.”  Batman is not happy that they missed the Red Hood again, so what does he do?   He goes to a fundraiser for Gotham Police.   That’s what he’s got to do.   I also found it interesting that the public, Lucius Fox included, does not know that Bruce is dead but thinks he is in hiding and trying to clear his name in his own way.   I’m sure he will die in a skiing accident or crash in a small aircraft accident when they are ready to figure that one out.   That’s how celebrities go out if it’s not drugs or a case of the crazies.

Dick Grayson is introduced to an odd looking man by the name Oberon Sexton.   Dick also stated an alias of Oberon’s as Gravedigger.   Being the Geek that I am, I looked up the name Oberon Sexton and it has several meanings. The one that stood out for Oberon was a legendary king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature.   He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,  in which he is Consort to Titania, Queen of the Fairies.   His last name, Sexton, means the church official who looks after the graveyard and may act as a gravedigger and bell-ringer.   The connection makes sense now doesn’t it.   For a minute I thought he may be the Red Hood, but my theory was proven wrong because the story transitions to the Red Hood’s lair.

The next bit of writing was in my opinion done very well.  The interaction between the Red Hood and Scarlet is amazing and smart.  The Red Hood seems to be educated and has a respect and a gentleness for Scarlet that he does not hold for anyone else.   This is immediately followed by an interaction between Batman and Robin.  We get to see the mentor role Dick has taken on with Damion.   There is even a moment where Batman shows Robin how his hood can become a blindfold by yanking it over his head. Damion then shows Batman that he can fight blind, something left over from his training by the League of Shadows.

This is just some fine writing.

Batman and Robin swing into action, they are going to crash a business meeting of Gotham’s organized crime, but they are late to the party once again because Red Hood and Scarlet are already killing everyone in the room. The only guy left is Oswald Cobblepot, AKA, the Penguin.   Batman and Robin get in between the Red Hood and the Penguin, who by the way, is saying he is innocent and he was at the meeting by mistake, who saw that coming?  This is the first meeting between the Red Hood and Batman, and Dick utters the name “Jason?”   AKA, the second Robin who had once taken on the role of the Red Hood.

Art: 5/5 A homerun again!  I know I sound like a broken record but Philip Tan is amazing and should never stop doing what he does best, drawing.

Story: 5/5 The story really came back and grabbed me.   I may have to go and look some stuff up to get part of the back story but I like that kind of thing.   I can’t wait to see if it is Jason under the Red Hood and that’s what keeps bringing me back for more.

Covers:
Main cover: 3/5 It was okay it just a standard shot of the bad guys of the story.

Variant cover: 5/5 Stop the press what is that?  Why did this cover get shelved over the main addition?  The shot was a little like Spiderman but way better in my opinion.   I would have loved to see it colored and I would have bought that issue over the main issue.  Very cool cover.

Final Thoughts: This issue  was way better then the last by a mile.  It is far superior with a lot of little golden nuggets to dig out if you so desire.

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Batmatt’s back with his review of Batman and Robin # 3.  What did our resident Batman fan think?  Read on:

Hello fellow geeks, Batmatt here with the next review of Batman and Robin’s latest escapades. We left the last issue with Dick Grayson speeding off on a four-wheeler that would make any redneck jealous. As issue three opens we find out that Batman has been busy, he has Rex the flame head hog tied and is tearing down the road holding his face just inches from the pavement. He is doing this to loosen the circus freak’s gums and get him to talk. Rex spills the goods on his boss on the steps of Gotham PD, and Commissioner Gordon is a little upset by the tactics used and flat out demands to know who this Batman is. In response, Dick Grayson says the line made famous by Michael Keaton, “I’M BATMAN”. Batman also gives a clue to Pyg’s plan but we readers have to wait a little longer because we need to see what is happening to Robin.

Remember last issue the snot nosed spoiled brat was getting overtaken by a mob of creepy dollatrons and is now tied to a chair. As Robin wakes up he delivers the best line of the issue “so… whose neck do I break first?” I got to say this kids got guts, ten years old, tied to a chair, and he still knows he has the upper hand. So after I have a good chuckle I then get to cry big man tears as I have to read through some really bad writing. I suffer through 3 and a half pages of Pyg dialoguing in a way that only a lunatic can. Say what you will about any of Batman’s foes but you can always count on their dialogue to at least make some sense. Not so when it comes to Pyg. I finally got to breathe a sigh of relief when Robin removed his rope restraints and started to kick everyone’s teeth in. Then we go to Batman kicking the posterior of a dollatron that has an “Al-Qaeda special” strapped on, but there is no bomb only a sneezy dollatron that tries to blow his nose on Batman. Dick then realizes that the threat is biological. Robin is still fighting off the dollatrons and gets some help from an unfinished one named Sasha, the daughter of Niko, the drug dealer Pyg turned into a dollatron in issue 1. As Sasha burns Pyg he squeals and runs away. Robin pursues him and then gets knocked out. Batman rides in and saves Robin from getting skewered and both Batman and Robin knock Pyg out. In the words of the immortal Porky Pig “Th-th-th-that’s all folks!”

During the moments after the fight and before the police get to the scene Batman and Robin are talking and the realization that Dick saved Damien’s life settles in on Robin. It is my hope that some of the harder edges on the character of Damien are going to soften, at least to some degree. Right now all I see is a ten year old with a sardonic mouth twice his age. The end of the issue gets interesting as Batman and Robin are chasing down a lead on the guys that killed Bruce. Pyg is now in Arkham Asylum, and Sasha is killing off the dollatrons. The cops try and stop her, but they are gunned down by the Red Hood. The last time I read anything about Red Hood was in a genesis story of the Joker. The Red Hood was an idea, he was never just one man. The costume was passed around from thug to thug. The guy that was to become the Joker was wearing the costume when Batman pushed him into batch of chemicals, then poof, out comes the Joker. But in issue three, the Red Hood alludes that he is going to be a vigilante. Not like Batman, because the Red Hood carries a big red gun and does not have a problem killing cops.

Story- 3/5 This was a wrap up issue for the Pyg story arc and I have to say I did not like the villain at all which makes the experience harder to find good points in the story. The story lagged in a few spots, but it did have great action and some good dialogue between Batman and Robin.

Art- 5/5 Again great work, the art is so detailed and is one of the main reasons I enjoy reading comics today. A comic can have a great story and be completely ruined by poor, sloppy, lazy artwork. This does not happen in this issue and I hope it continues down this same path.

Covers- Main issue cover 5/5 it really conveys the Closterphobic feeling from the swarm of dollatrons as they close in on Batman and Robin.

Variant cover- 4/5 great cover I just felt that it did not have anything to do with the issue. It was just a good picture of Batman and Robin.

Final summary- This issue did not grab me like the first two did but there were several good moments in the story that helped redeem it. Not that I am complaining, I still get to read a comic and write about it. How sweet it is.