Tag Archives: DC Comics

Batman Beyond 2.0 Rewired Review

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It looks like Batman Beyond has returned! His show was certainly a lot of fun so it’s good to see the hero return to the spotlight with his various comic series. Hopefully he will have a place to return to once Convergence is all over. Looking at the future through Batman Beyond’s comics continues to be cool and you won’t be disappointed by this collection.

Terry is still at odds with Bruce so now he’s teaming up with Nightwing instead. I think Terry’s in the wrong here, but I’ll get into that more in a bit. The mayor has been assassinated so it’s up to Terry to stop whoever is behind this. It will be tough though as the new villain has assembled a super powered team to help him and each member is very deadly. After tangling with them, Batman Beyond won’t have much time to rest as the Man Bat returns to cause some chaos. Can Terry save the day while keeping up with his social life?

Terry continues to show his similarities to Peter Parker as he is letting his job as Batman consume him. He’s falling behind in all of his classes and his family relationships are beginning to get strained. It’s not quite as innocent as Peter’s predicament though. Peter didn’t want everything to fall apart, but he couldn’t help being away for long periods of time. Terry is choosing to ignore his social life because being Batman allows him to avoid his problems. The same result as Peter, but Terry certainly had a choice. Still, it’s safe to say that it hasn’t done wonders for his friends.

It’s good that Terry is trying to be a really good hero, but he’s also making some big mistakes. He’s really upset at Bruce’s earlier deceptions from Joker night and he has basically cut all ties with him. I think that’s a huge overreaction as you have to expect some secrets to be kept in this line of work. Does Terry actually think that Nightwing will be completely honest with him as they continue to team up? I highly doubt it and I hope that Terry keeps this in mind. Also, as much as I like Nightwing, he’s no Batman. Bruce Wayne will always be smarter and more prepared to help Terry out from behind the scenes. This comic really showed that as he figured out the whole case from the Batcave. At the end of the comic, Terry is slowly starting to get back into the real world without the Batman suit so hopefully he will also decide to give Bruce Wayne another chance.

The art is solid for this collection and it does a good job of emulating the style of the DCAU shows. We actually get several flashbacks to various DCAU episodes, which is cool. I saw the episodes rather recently so it’s like a good boost of nostalgia. The action scenes also look good with this art style and it is certainly a keeper. Good artwork can really go a long way into making a good comic that much more fun.

The new villain’s abilities were decent, but he definitely seems to be more of a one shot character. Let’s just say that the guy’s secret identity didn’t do the villain any favors. It’s cool that he got his own group, but his abilities aren’t even that great. He has some mild thunder control, but that’s about it. Batman did have a difficult time with him though so I should give the villain some credit. He doesn’t go down without a fight. Inque and Spellbinder don’t look very good, but at least the sonic villain got some good hits on Batman as well. It just goes to show that Batman always has to be careful since the weapons at the villain’s disposal can still pack a punch if they hit.

Compared to the big villain team up, Man Bat’s arc was noticeably less intense. It’s just hard to take the guy seriously. The heroes did feel unprepared for him though as Bruce basically gambles the city on Man Bat actually being a good guy deep down. That’s an incredibly big gamble to make and he’s wagering with lives here. I would have preferred a satisfying victory where the heroes just outfight him. It is fun to see Bruce Wayne actually fight a little bit though as he throws a few batarangs to take out some of the villains.

There’s a mini comic at the end where Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordan decide to hash out their differences. Things didn’t really go well between them so they’re always rather serious in the present. They decide to just forget the past and try to work as allies in the present. Hopefully it works out as they have both been very helpful to Terry during his current crime fighting. Gordan is also going to need some help soon as the new mayor seems to dislike her for some reason. I assume that he may have some kind of secret reason for this, but maybe he actually does think that she is simply too old for the job. It’s not illogical thought to have as she is certainly very old and the average person would have retired by this point. As long as she is making a difference, the mayor should allow her to stay, but that doesn’t seem like it is going to be in the cards. I suspect that he is corrupt anyway.

Naturally, things don’t go well at Arkham once again. It seems like that place is simply doomed to never work in rehabilitating criminals. They are simply too far gone in Gotham and other villains are constantly trying to break them free. Since Batman is the only real hero in the city, it also makes sense that there are simply too many crooks for him to be there all the time. What he needs is a sidekick of his own. Batgirl Beyond could become one if she shows up soon or maybe he’ll find someone else. The only problem is that he’s already pretty young so a “sidekick” could be tricky.

Overall, Batman Beyond 2.0 was fun. We got to relive some DCAU moments while watching some entertaining fights. I’m more than a little skeptical of Ten’s supposed allegiance to the good side, but hopefully Terry will continue to be wary of this as he hangs out with her. Getting tricked 3 times by the same person would be pretty embarrassing. I’m not sure how the Dana situation will play out as Terry tries to be a better person outside of the mask, but hopefully the comic doesn’t dwell on that. We had some very mild romance going in this volume, but it was handled well. I would expect no less from Batman Beyond! I recommend checking out this comic as it is still a fun version of DC’s future and the art is really good. If DC’s future actually were to end up playing out this way, I’d be satisfied. It’s a little bleak since there don’t seem to be many heroes anymore, but likewise, most of the super powered villains are gone as well. That means that the heroes from the good ole days essentially succeeded in their mission. Now, I’m just waiting for a time travel comic to happen in this series so that we can see Terry team up with the classic Batman in his prime!

Overall 7/10

Showcase Presents Blue Beetle Volume 1 Review

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It’s time for another installment in the Showcase series. Like Marvel’s Essential, this collection brings a bunch of comics and makes for some intense reading. This showcase actually brings the whole Blue Beetle series, which is pretty neat. It’s very self contained comic with few guest stars, which really cements the 60’s vibe that you get from the collection. The 60’s tone is a good thing in this case as it feels retro and engaging.

Blue Beetle is a man named Ted Kord. Ted is rich and he also makes for a great crime fighter. He runs a lab personally along with his two assistants as they try to build things. We never get to see any of their actual inventions, but I’m sure that they’re good. Kord’s main objective is to enforce the peace in his city and stop the villains who show up from time to time. There are subplots, which continue as well since this comic’s continuity is actually very tight. One of his teammates is stealing from him and giving tech to her boss. Another teammate is being blackmailed by a crime boss. Kord’s personal assistant who does most of his actual day to day duties goes from being a potential love interest to threatening him while on the job. Finally, Kord is trying to build his own legacy after the original Blue Beetle died, but it’s a little harder than he thought it would be! You can see that he’s under a lot of pressure eh?

First off, the art for this graphic novel was actually quite good. You can really enjoy the fight scenes here as well as the fun character designs. It was partially thanks to this that I actually thought that I was reading something from the 60’s. I was shocked to find out that this was actually an 80’s series. It does make sense of course when you think of the continuing plot and continuity, but it’s still surreal. Also, The Amazing Spider Man was in the 60’s and it had continuity on its side as well right? Unfortunately, this collection decided to transform the art into black and white, which makes reading it slightly less fun than it would be with color. At least you can appreciate the designs like a manga this way I suppose.

Next, the writing for the collection is very good as I alluded to earlier in the collection. Blue Beetle’s lines are very witty without being too obvious. He replies to villains in a way that is making fun of them, but if taken seriously, the lines would actually make sense. That’s the best kind of pun as it could actually be used in real life if you really wanted too. The villains also make some pretty good comebacks as well. For example, Blue Beetle might say “I wouldn’t want you to put me to sleep with that!” as he dodges a wrecking ball and the villain will say “Actually, I plan to kill you with that.” The villains say it in such a somber and matter of fact tone that it works for the humor.

Blue Beetle is a good lead and he can certainly hold his own collection. Among the many plots, his was typically my favorite. I always liked to see how he handled the office and he didn’t back down to anyone. He was a really nice guy while still being ready to smash into the villains when a fight broke out. What really seals the deal for me was how he handled the ending. It’s really terrific and shows just why he became such a good superhero. What he lacks in actual super powers, he more than makes up for with his intelligence and gadgets.

As I mentioned earlier, the ending for this collection is terrific. Let’s just say that a few of the characters had been giving him a tough time for quite a few issues. They finally go to Ted and admit that they were wrong, but he explains that he simply doesn’t care anymore. Then..he just walks off and leaves them to the their situation. It’s so unexpected and sudden that it’s simply amazing. It would be great to see what his next appearance was after this although I think the character may have been reconnected at that point. I hope not since I don’t think that they will ever be able to make a Ted Kord who is cooler than this one. I don’t even think a Blue Beetle could top him. He’s certainly weaker than the average one, but personality wise, this was really everything I could hope for in a lead. He was a little flirty towards the beginning to be sure, but at least it was only with the love interest and he acted respectfully with everyone else.

This series really tries to be a solo title in its truest form so there are very few guest stars. That being said, they do pop up from time to time. Batman and the Justice League of America appear at one point, but Blue Beetle tells them to stay back since he can handle this. The Teen Titans also arrive for some backup support, but they actually don’t look great. As characters, they’re likable and they’re epic, but when it came down to a fight…I dunno. I feel like any team that has three powerhouses in the form of Starfire, Cyborg, and Wonder Girl should be able to vanquish a team of cadets who were engaging in their first ever fight. It was a surprisingly close battle considering this. Finally, we can’t forget the Question. The Question has one moment that is pretty humorous when he jumps from Blue Beetle’s ship and barely survives the landing. He claims that he had to do it as a matter of pride, but if he had actually died, it probably would have been the saddest way to go. Seriously….for honor!

The villains aren’t very imaginative here on the whole, but at least we had some decent ones. The original Blue Beetle returns from the grave to destroy Ted Kord. The Scarab is manipulating him so the original Beetle seems pretty upset and fierce. Not to worry though, Ted Kord knows how to defend himself. Ignoring plot hax, it’s easy to see why the original Blue Bettle would win in a fight. Ted can try to out think the guy, but it would really be a futile effort. I am glad that the original one regained his mind though and showed us some true will power. A villain who came from another comic series was the Time Lord or Chronos. It was one of those names anyway I believe as time was his gimmick. His abilities are deadly, but he never uses them correctly so he was hardly a threat. Likewise, there was a guy who could do anything with his mind like transforming a kid into an animal, but he didn’t think to use those tricks on Blue Beetle. His loss I suppose.

One of the subplots that was a lot of fun was Lt. Fisher and how he wanted to put the Blue Beetle out of business. Eventually, the guy went to an island and discovered an immensely powerful robot. That robot was pretty cool and his abilities were certainly impressive. You almost feel bad for the guy who inhabited the suit as he really thought that he had surpassed the original Blue Beetle for a second there. Little did he know that he was seriously out of his depths here.

Blue Beetle’s strength really lies in its continuity and how much you enjoy each plot since they will be sticking around. There were times when I’d actually be waiting for Blue Beetle’s plot to end because I wanted to see what was happening in the meanwhile. The plots were simply fun that way and it’s why I ended up giving the comic an extra star. It really reminded me of The Amazing Spider Man from back in the day. I don’t know why Blue Beetle never hit it off the same way.

Overall, You’re bound to like this comic if you like Blue Beetle as the lead. Since Ted Kord gets a lot of screen time, you really need to like him to thoroughly enjoy the collection. Naturally, the same goes for the subplots since they will be around the whole time. If both of those turn out to be winners for you, then you will really like this collection. The art is solid and the writing is very witty, which leads to a pretty powerful combo here. This collection is also much longer than the average one as it is around 600 pages instead of just being over 400. You certainly get a lot of value for your purchase here. It is regrettable that this concludes the Blue Beetle series since I would have liked to have seen him go on more adventures, but I suppose that it was simply his time. I recommend checking this out when you get the chance!

Overall 8/10

Showcase Presents Super Friends Volume 1 Review

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It’s been a while since I checked out a Showcase Presents collection hasn’t it? Well, the Super Friends was one that I definitely needed to get and I was shocked to see it at the library. I loved the cartoon and still own one of the box sets, but I never really thought that I would see it in comic form. It certainly holds up well and the collection goes really quickly.

The Super Friends is mostly filled up with comics that act as stand alone issues. Typically, the adventure will be a multi part one so the adventure will last for 2-3 issues or more. That helps to make sure that each story isn’t rushed. The issues also tend to follow a very formulaic route. Each issue will have the Super Friends split up into 3-4 teams and then we see each of them try to stop a villain. Typically, you can guess what will happen to the other teams on the missions. If the first group succeeded, then the rest will, but if the first group lost, the rest of the heroes will lose. It does make each story a little predictable, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Figuring out how the heroes will lose it typically the exciting part.

There is a plot in the background that is around…slightly. The first half of the collection features a pair of kids and their dog. They are being trained by the super friends and they eventually graduate as they become full fledged heroes. They leave the series at that point and are replaced by the Wonder Twins. I can’t say that I missed the kids because they felt out of place here. They are just kids so how can they hope to keep up with the actual heroes when it becomes time for serious business? The plot hax was a little too heavy when they were around.

The Wonder Twins aren’t much better I’m afraid. They arrived on Earth because they ran away from their home planet, but they are eventually freed from their charges. The problem is that they save the Super Friends several times to show us that they have certainly earned a spot on the team. I don’t mind them joining, but they are certainly weaker than most of the heroes so I don’t see why they got so much hype. They are also not familiar with Earth customs and that’s a trope that I’ve never cared for. They make mistakes when trying to utter Earth sayings and that gets old very quickly.

Luckily, that’s one of the only things that gets old here. It should also be noted that the Wonder Twins aren’t good characters here, but they would probably be a lot more likable in comparison if the super friends weren’t so likable. The Wonder Twins certainly aren’t nearly as bad as the average unlikable character. The art looks really sharp here as expected. Unfortunately, the collection is in black and white so it’s a little hard to say exactly how good it looks, but the art is clear and you can always tell what is happening. The action scenes always look good and that’s one of the most important factors for a comic book. You really feel it when a characters punches Superman around.

This took place during an interesting time where the Justice League was around as well as the Super Friends. This meant that most members of the Super Friends had to juggle their responsibilities. Some members like Green Lantern basically decided to be with the Justice League and to ignore the Super Friends. This is the kind of thing that probably wouldn’t fly nowadays, but it gave us an excuse to have our favorite heroes have more than one adventure at a time with the various comics on the shelves,s which was pretty neat.

Showcase Presents may take away the colorful aspect of the art, but at least it also bundles together a good amount of issues. This particular collection was a little over 400 pages, which is certainly a lot. You’ll be having a blast so the pages will be over in no time, but at least you can definitely be confident that you are getting your money’s worth.

As for the adventures in question, there are a bunch of them, but I’ll quickly mention some of them. One adventure has a villain robbing people by making circus animals tiny and then bringing them back to normal size when it came time for a heist. A monster woke up from its slumber in another issue and proved to be virtually unstoppable as even Superman could not defeat it. The Mirror Master came closer than most of the other villains to winning as he trapped the heroes in a mirror world. Unfortunately for him, Superman’s FTL so he just dragged the other heroes back to reality.

Naturally, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of adventures and by the end of them, you’ll certainly have bonded with the heroes. They’re all in character for the duration, which is always good. One scene where I questioned Flash though was in the Mirror Master plot. With the Justice League trapped, the Wonder Twins would have to fend off the villain on their own. Flash knew that they were a target, but he decided to stay on Watchtower duty instead of going to help them. That felt a little out of character as his speed would have enabled him to help right away. I know that he trusts the heroes, but it was still a bit much.

It’s always nice to see the classic Batman here. Robin is around as well and he’s always got some puns at the ready. He is always paired up with Wonder Woman for missions, which is a little dicey for him since he never really gets to help out as a result of this. At least he still has some puns at the ready and he always fires a few off. This was back when Batman was very chipper so it’s nice to see him throw in a pun once in a while. Superman is at his best as he is extremely confident. He’s still a nice guy of course, but he realizes that he is the strongest. Unfortunately, almost all of the villains have kryptonite up their sleeve, but this doesn’t stop Superman from getting serious when the time is just right.

As far as the Showcase Presents go, this is easily one of the best ones. I definitely can’t say that it is the very best of course. As long as Justice League and regular Superman is around, that will be extremely difficult. Nonetheless, Super Friends puts up an admirable fight and it reminds me why I’ve always been a fan of the series. It’s essentially the Justice League series, but with more of a light tone and a roster that tends to include Robin on the team. You can’t go wrong there!

Now, this collection is practically a comedy and it’s meant to be cheesy, but it’s still worth noting that there is a lot of plot hax to be found here. It’s always a stretch when someone like the Riddler is able to take out Superman, but that’s why we have Kryptonite right? I just feel like Superman isn’t as susceptible to Kryptonite as the comics would have you believe. He can still melt it or just stay away. There are also quite a few villains who are able to just overpower Superman, which is certainly surreal. Almost every comic has a moment that is a little iffy like when Batman or Superman is defeated, but the scenes are typically funny so I suppose that we can live with it. Aquaman fans may be sad as his weakness of being away from water for too long becomes a liability for him more than a few times. It’s tough being a fish guy before The New 52.

Finally, the comic has fun showing off guest star heroes as well. The Super Friends have to team up with global heroes on more than one occasion. This includes another Batman who doesn’t seem to be as cool and a guy who uses objects from biblical times to help him fight. The guest stars are pretty cool and while they all seem weaker than their Super Friend counterpart, it’s nice to know that the other countries aren’t completely defenseless. After all, it seems like the US area with Gotham and Metropolis is extremely secure with so many heroes helping out.

Overall, The Super Friends is a really fun collection to read. The comics will certainly keep you busy for a while and the cast is filled with well known characters. Batman and Superman are regulars along with the other heroes and it’s always neat to see how the villains will try to win against such odds. The art is very good as well. The original characters certainly weren’t great and I didn’t miss them when they were gone, but it’s not like they really hurt the comic either. All’s well that ends well right?

Overall 8/10

Justice League 3000 Volume 1 Yesterday Lives Review

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Booooooooooooooo. Okay, Justice League 3000 wasn’t terrible, but it was certainly pretty bad. This is a plot that had a lot of potential and it was a little similar to Future’s End. Unfortunately, the series couldn’t live up to its potential and you can tell that things are going south right from the get go. I just don’t understand why the writers made some of the decisions that they did.

It has been ages since the Justice League formed. The year is now 3000 and the universe is essentially ruled by The Five. They are super villains who did what no other ever could, they conquered everything. If a hero tries to rise up, they just blow up his/her planet and move on. The only thing that stands in their way is Cadmus and they aren’t much better. Cadmus is basically what’s left of the government. The only problem is that they have no real heroes and there are spies everywhere. Nowhere is safe from them! Cadmus decides to change this by bringing the famous Justice League back to life. They do this by placing their DNA in normal humans, so that the DNA takes over the vessel and essentially becomes the hero. With the exception of Cyborg, The New 52 Justice League roster is back…with some changes. Can they defeat The Five and liberate their future?

The plot should have been good, but it just didn’t work out. The main reason is the twist that the heroes have lost some key memories so they are not acting as they once did. Superman is now much meaner than usual and he’s about as likable as the average horror film protagonist. He’s extremely unintelligent and he basically acts like a cave man. Wonder Woman is back to being extreme in her views on how she strongly dislikes all men and likes to slaughter any foe she comes across. Green Lantern, Batman, and the Flash are mostly like their usual selves although Batman doesn’t mind cracking a joke once in a while. It essentially plays out like a fanfic and that’s the last thing that I could have wanted here.

Superman is also badly nerfed to help move the plot along. He can no longer fly and his physical abilities seem to be a lot worse as well. Wonder Woman and Superman were getting crushed by a goddess, one of The Five, and that’s something that I can’t see happening to their true New 52 selves. This lady may be strong, but one simply doesn’t take out the top 2 Justice League members so easily. The humiliation doesn’t end there as the strongest member of The Five, a Reality Warper, defeats the League with ease. Already, you can tell that this is going to be the kind of series where the heroes are on the run for the whole time and that can certainly get old rather quickly.

Towards the second half of the graphic novel, Firestorm joins the ranks and the sad thing is that he’s the most likable member of the team. It’s just sad because he’s essentially a villain here as his mind is even more corrupted than the other members. He wants to slaughter anyone who gets in his path and luckily he has the power to do it. His abilities come in handy against the villains, but it’s too bad that he couldn’t have kept his moral compass along the way. Ah well, at least the Justice League has one member who can fight.

Let’s talk about The Five. One of their members is named Locus and she appears to be the strongest member by far. She is the reality warper that I mentioned and her abilities are limitless. The only way to beat her is to knock her out before she can form a thought Naturally, this leads to plot hax whenever she has to fight and cannot win at the moment. She’s a psycho, but I’m sure that we expected this. Kali is a warrior whose strength seems to surpass that of Superman and Wonder Woman’s. Both of these villains have yet to be on the losing edge of a fight aside from a knockout blow from behind and Firestorm’s impressive debut. Convert is one of the more useful members of The Five even if he’s not a fighter. He invades people like a plague or the Phalanx. He currently controls billions of people across the universe and he can literally turn an entire population against you by controlling them. Finally, we have Coeval who attacks from the cyber world. He seeks to weaken the wills of the heroes by playing on their doubts.

Naturally, to be The Five, those 4 need a leader. He does end up appearing at the end of the graphic novel and it should come across as a decent surprise. It certainly makes things look a little dicier for the heroes as there is not much they can do about the situation anymore. The leader is probably the weakest member aside from Coeval as the average human could probably beat him, but I’m sure that the leader will dig up a robot somewhere to finish the job.

Technically, it’s a good idea to have a supervillain team to face the League. Kali and Locus were good starts even if they were overpowered, but the other members can’t fight, which limits the potential. One thing that hurts the comic is the natural need for it to be gritty. A lot of Superman’s lines revolve around him flirting, making suggestive comments or threatening to hurt people. Locus literally rips one of the heroes to shreds and while the page has a lot of energy and spacial effects to distract you, the scene is much more violent than it needs to be. We have the classic Man of Steel moment as well to make sure that the comic covered all of the bases. An eye stab also happens and nothing Narutoesque happens since the opponent is basically invurlnable, but I always found that to be a rather dirty fighting technique that crosses the lines of justice and injustice.

Really, the comic just isn’t that good. Even the art isn’t up to par with the high level of quality that DC is known for. It helps that the character designs are mostly lacking. Only Batman’s looks good from the original team although Firestorm joins him later on. Green Lantern’s cloak is cool, but without it, he doesn’t have a very good design. The fight scenes are where the art shines, but there aren’t many true fight scenes to see so this is pretty limited.

It goes without saying that the writing isn’t very good either. Meanwhile, it has certainly been a long time since the year 2000, but I find it hard to believe that some of this happened. How could the Five conquer the galaxy and the Green Lantern race was eliminated so easily? I don’t buy it and I don’t see how Earth fell so quickly as well considering that we have such an unstoppable army of superheroes. Locus is strong, but Kali would be defeated by a good fighter like Supergirl or Darkseid and the rest of the team could seriously be beaten by the Teen Titans. Where’s Lex Luthor when you need him!?

This is only the first volume so the series still has some hope, but it’s going to have to move quickly. For starters, the series should not try to be as dark and gritty as can be. Right now, the heroes really have no hope unless they can revive the other heroes, but what then? Even if they defeat The Five, they’re living in a future where just about everything was eradicated. It’s not going to be much of a life. Toning down the dark atmosphere should be enough to tip the scales, but the comic also needs to make the Justice League a whole lot more likable. Superman’s already getting some development, which is a start, but we’re going to need the writers to accelerate the process.

Overall, I currently don’t see the point of this title. The future is grim and the heroes must save the day again, but this kind of story has already been done and with much greater efficiency. Typically, a future story is extremely interesting and that’s what keeps you reading. The new villains have conquered to be sure, but the heroes are still ready to deal out some damage. Here, the writers have stacked the deck so much in the villain’s favor that the heroes really do not stand a chance. Locus just has to think and they’re all dead. So, there’s literally no way that they should win and the amount of plot hax in future issues is going to be immense. Just check out the time travel episode in Justice League Unlimited and you’ll witness what this comic should have been like. Likewise, Hitman Reborn had an arc with this kind of plot that was infinitely superior. The heroes should have definitely been in character and I guarantee that this comic would have been much more enjoyable. Well, if I do check out volume 2 anytime soon, we’ll see if the series will have managed to improve. As of now, I recommend checking out Superman Unchained instead as it’s an epic action story with some guest stars to help you out as well.

Overall 4/10

Batman The Animated Series Update

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I now own the complete Batman TV show! This ties in well with the Superman series and I’m even farther along in this one. Both reviews will likely be coming in soon once I’m done with them. This is certainly a very good Batman series and it does have a theatrical feel that the others simply don’t have. This is certainly a keeper!

Superman The Animated Series Update

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I now own the complete series! You know what that means? I’ll be writing a review for this title once I have seen all of the episodes. I’m currently in the middle of season 2 I believe so I’m certainly getting there. This is still the definitive Superman series and it’s incredible.

Action Comics Volume 3 At The End of Days Review

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All right, it’s time for another Superman review. Unfortunately, this one is not quite as positive as Unchained and it actually looks pretty bad in comparison. It lost focus on what it means to be a Superman comic. I had actually enjoyed the first two volumes, but this one just wasn’t that good. It has its moments, but everything is too chaotic and it makes it hard to just have fun. Superman is also on the run a lot, which takes away opportunities for big fights.

The plot….well, the first story is a quick one about a guy from the Phantom Zone who learns that you can escape it by inhabiting a mummy suit that allows you to move in the real world. The main positive from this is that we finally get to see Krypto. The main chunk of the comic is about a new villain who’s from the same world as Mr. Mxysptlk. He wants to destroy Superman (For awful reasons that are explored in a flashback( and with his reality warping powers that shouldn’t be hard. He gets a little greedy though and decides to destroy Superman at many points in time all at once. He attacks Superman in the past, present, and future. He disrupts a lot of things in the timestream so Superman’s life has been radically changed. How can he possibly defeat this villain? Let’s just say that it involves the limitless power of words.

First of all, I have to say that the cover of the comic is an instant warning sign. There’s way too much happening on it to the point where the comic doesn’t look interesting. I’ll take a classic “Superman holding a car” over this any day. It does work as good foreshadowing for how confusing the comic is though so I’ll give the cover some props there. It’s going to need it!

One thing that you will notice right away is that the art is nowhere near the quality that we have come to expect from DC. It’s not very streamlined and the art fluctuates so much that it can be pretty scary. Gone are the days of Superman Unchained folks! The art isn’t very bad, but it’s a considerable step down from the average DC comic. It’s like adding more fuels to the flames.

All right, I’ve gone over some pretty minor weaknesses of the comic, but let’s go into the bigger ones. The main problem with the collection is that the stories simply aren’t that good. I didn’t really care about what was happening in the first adventure and it didn’t make a whole lot of sense either. The villain’s will power was just so strong that he created a suit and escaped? I really don’t buy that. As for the long arc with the Mr. Mxyz ripoff, that wasn’t much better. This guy is virtually all powerful so it’s hard to fight him. It means that we won’t get a real nailbiting finish as we have to settle for plot hax instead. How does Superman stop this guy? Wait for it…wait for it…waiiiiiiiitttt-he talks to him. See, talking in 5D actually hurts people so Superman just talked along with the citizens of the planet and the villain was defeated. Game set and Match…thanks!

That was rather anticlimactic. Now, there were some pros to the whole time travel aspect. I did enjoy seeing the Legion of Superheroes make an appearance and Superdoom makes for an intense opponent. He’s a Superman who gets stronger and stronger as you think about him. It’s impossible to not think of someone that you’re currently fighting so this makes him pretty tricky. The villain group who each have different Kryptonite abilities was also pretty neat. They seem pretty weak on their own though so I don’t see them doing too well without some outside help.

Lex Luthor joins the fray as well through a robot that he has under his mental control. It doesn’t last for very long of course, but it’s good to see him helping out. Things wouldn’t be good for him either if the villains win so it’s a good time to swallow his pride. Krypto looks pretty great and I’m glad that his character was depicted correctly. He’s fearless and not an opponent that you want to underestimate. It’s too bad that he couldn’t crush the villains some more, but I suppose that it would have been tricky without getting hit with the animal violence badge. Maybe it was for the best.

So, the comic certainly had some good additions to it. It’s fun to see Superman have to team up with Lex and I also liked the references to the older comics. Like Superman’s team up with Ali and he death against Doomsday. We also got to see Captain Comet return along with his new team. They came out of nowhere, but they seem like they could ultimately become a fighting force to be reckoned with. If the comic had been written a little better, this could have been a winning formula.

Unfortunately, there are too many parts to the story that simply aren’t interesting. Anything that had to do with Mr. Mxyz and the new villain was rather boring and the Legion should have actually helped out a little more. A lot was going on and yet, the situation would hit a stand still at times. I just couldn’t get into the comic the same way that I could get into most of them. The art, writing, and lack of action just blended together in a way that didn’t work out.

Overall, Action Comics fell down a step or two here. Considering that this was a Superman comic and that we even got guest stars in the form of the Justice League, it should have been a lot better. A 7 is essentially the minimum for how good a Superman comic should be. I definitely did not expect to walk out of this with a 6 at the ready. It just doesn’t seem right or natural and the comic was actually very close to scoring a 5. The action at the end saved it from that fate. The writer was probably trying to be clever by thinking of such a convoluted plot, but it epically backfired. If you want to check out a Superman comic, I recommend buying Unchained. Otherwise, you may as well just skip this volume since it’s practically filler. You won’t be missing much.

Overall 6/10

Superman Unchained Deluxe Edition Review

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I finally got to check out one of Superman’s recent comic titles and it’s safe to say that Unchained lives up to the hype. It’s too bad that it couldn’t have kept going on since it was certainly on the right track to fame and fortune. Snyder does a good job of depicting Superman and we get a very good amount of action. It’s easily one of, if not the best Superman stories that I have read and you can make a strong case for this actually being the best comic book of all time. I’m not going to go quite that far yet, but it is certainly awesome.

For the plot, Clark Kent no longer works at the Planet. He’s finally just getting to enjoy life and everything seems right with the world. Unfortunately, a terrorist organization has been getting pretty active lately and that keeps Superman pretty busy with nuclear strikes and their other forms of mayhem. It wouldn’t be so bad if the government didn’t continue to get in Superman’s way, but that’s just how it goes this time. They have an ace up their sleeve in the form of Wraith. Wraith is a mysterious figure who has been helping the government from the sidelines for decades and his powers are comparable to Superman’s. Superman’s going to have the fight of his life on his hands, but luckily he has Batman and Wonder Woman to back him up considering how many dangerous situations continue to pop up.

First off, the art is really good here. It’s easily some of the best in the business. The only parts of the comic where the art looked off was in the flashbacks, but for some reason that was actually intentional. It was drawn with a lack of color and it doesn’t work very well. Next to the colorful fights, it just doesn’t work. Luckily, this is pretty rare and the rest of the art easily makes up for this. It looks dynamite and a lot of attention was given to all of the details. Superman’s display of his x ray vision is a good example of this as his eyes turn blue. It’s a small detail that is appreciated as you read the issues.

As this is the Deluxe Edition, there are a lot of bonus covers at the end. You may have been surprised at how thick the volume was and that’s why. A good 20-30 pages are spent showing us a lot of fun covers. They’re pretty cool and it’s always enjoyable to see the retro ones that had such interesting plots. We also get the director’s cut for the first comic, which is pretty fun as well. I would have preferred that for a comic with more action, but it was still pretty neat.

You’ll be glad to know that the characters are portrayed very well. Wonder Woman gets less of a role than Batman, but she still gets a good hit in and there’s nothing that will make you question her character. Batman looks awesome right from the start. “If you’re here to intimidate me, then you’re wasting your time” is one of his better quotes. Another good one arises when Wraith lets Batman know that there’s no way that Superman can detect the villain’s presence thanks to how he can control his energy. Batman’s reply is essentially, “Good, now he can’t save you” and it’s pretty great. I always like to see Batman looking so confident and awesome. He holds his own against Wraith for quite a while and that is an extremely impressive feat. I also liked his new suit and Batman’s ring invention worked perfectly. If Batman had some more prep time, things definitely could have gotten dicey for Wraith.

As for Superman, I was not surprised that he also looked really good. We got a flashback to show how heroic he was even as a kid. He was always ready to help someone and he would never take a life. In the present, he constantly makes sure not to cross the line and he’s very confident in his abilities. Not in a rude way as he is sometimes portrayed, but just in the way that a commander has to be confident. Superman’s genius is also displayed at times and he doesn’t mindlessly punch his way through things. The author shows us how Superman sees a situation and it’s pretty cool. He’s always analyzing and thinking of possible solutions to a problem as he approaches it. Superman’s easily my favorite comic book character and when he is portrayed like this, there’s nobody who’s even close. If only Man of Steel could have used this storyline for the film to show off Superman’s heroics.

Wraith is the big villain and I’m sure that you’ll find his mere existence to be a stretch. How did nobody notice him in the last 75 years right? He can turn invisible, but it’s definitely something that you will find hard to believe. Well, we’ll just let that slide this time and look at him as a character. Wraith is not a likable “hero” but he makes for a pretty good villain. He snaps rather quickly, but I suppose that we didn’t expect him to keep up the facade for very long. It does make his final appearance a little sudden, but at the same time, he is still committing to his role as a soldier. He wasn’t made aware of his race’s plans and protecting the Earth in his way is still Wraith’s main mission. It’s too bad that he was so stubborn since he really could have been a valuable ally to the heroes. That being said, one should never cross Superman. He is said to be a little stronger than Superman, but I naturally don’t buy that. Once they battle in an even playing field, Superman proves who the stronger warrior is. Superman’s a master of hand to hand combat so his super abilities are definitely not his only asset.

The supporting characters are also present of course. Lois looks pretty good as she takes chances, but she is pretty reasonable once she is thrown into dangerous situations. She also helps out a little when the army ends up going nuts. Jimmy is around, but his role is pretty sad. He just can’t stay away from trouble. Lex Luthor also looks as sadistic as you would expect and he admits that Superman isn’t half bad when the man of steel cannot hear him. Lex definitely makes for a pretty interesting villain and he is typically one step ahead of the other characters.

If anything’s a little dicey, it’s the fact that the government seems way more powerful than usual. Since when do they have the ability to casually fire black hole bullets and energy blasts that can even cripple Superman? They were apparently organized for such a battle, but getting the tech is just unbelievable. It’s ironic that the government always looks good when they are about to face a superhero, but then they crack once an actual villain appears. If their weapons are this good then they should have defeated Darkseid and the Aquaman villain. Of course, this is a mini series so you can say that the continuity is a little dicey, but it’s just an example. Things would be so much different if the government was this strong. They were actually defeating Superman, which I still find hard to believe.

On the bright side, it did give Superman an excuse to don his Superman Prime outfit. Now that was an awesome moment and I think I speak for all DC fans when I say that we miss the guy. Superman Prime was just so intense and his outfit was definitely a keeper. Once again, I do have to reiterate that no matter how much tech the government had, there’s no way that they should be able to defeat Superman. Superman’s speed should be able to totally outclass their tech and the battle would be over before it even started. That doesn’t happen, but Superman still fights on to the bitter end so it was handled rather well compared to how it could have ended.

Finally, there was one main reason above all that made this comic not just good or great, but amazing. It wasn’t the incredible writing, the dynamic art, or even the fact that Batman got to be so awesome. No, the clinching factor was the amazing fights that we got. The whole trade paperback is loaded with action and the fights between Superman and Wraith are definitely the highlights here. They get punched across cities and continents. You never want to take your eyes away from the action for a moment. The series may have been quite a few issues, but you’ll find yourself just blasting through the whole collection because you can’t tear yourself away. I haven’t read something this enjoyable in terms of action in a long time and now it’s time for the big question..is this the greatest comic of all time?

Before now, that title would go to either the Secret Wars or X Sanction. Both of those are great comics to be sure, but I have to say that this one tops them both. It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that I still do prefer DC to Marvel. Adding in the fact that Superman is the main character here and it’s a no brainer. It’ll be almost impossible to top this collection and I don’t see such a thing happening for a long time. It’s really too bad that Unchained ended so quickly, but we got a great ending and a really fun ride. Thus, I can safely say that I am satisfied with it and I highly recommend checking this volume out. If you wanted to see a likable Superman and a comic that fits in a lot of action while still having great dialogue, this is the comic for you!

Overall 10/10

Adventures of Superman Volume 2 Review

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It’s time for a good ole DC review! The Adventures of Superman is a decently fun series with the main drawback being that each story is a stand alone comic with completely different art each time. So, some stories are naturally a lot better than others so the important thing is to make sure that no comic is downright bad. They all need to at least a little entertaining if this trade paperback is going to work. It’s definitely not as good as the average Superman comic and the art does get pretty bad at some points, but it ends up being a (quick) satisfying read.

The first story starts the volume on a high note as Superman learns about his past and realizes that his father may not have been as heroic as he thought. There were some significant pieces left out in his story about how he warned Krypton of their upcoming demise. Superman also learns about the Phantom Zone and must decide whether he should be willing to use it on Mongul when the titan attacks Earth. This is definitely a solid premise and the artwork looks pretty good here. I was definitely satisfied with Superman’s decision at the end and the fight with Mongul was pretty fun. If the whole volume had continued from this comic it would have been great, but that’s the thing with short story collections. You can never get too attached since things end up changing. Still, this was easily my favorite story in the batch.

Next up was a comic dealing with the Church of Superman. Basically, a group of people started to think that Superman was such a great hero that they would jump off of buildings so Superman could catch them. If he didn’t, then they were just meant to die. Superman tries to convince them that this is off the walls crazy, but they don’t buy it. Meanwhile, Metallo is making his move! The art takes a slight dip, but it still looks reasonably good here. Superman’s portrayal is also pretty great as he shows that he’s willing to make the tough calls and yell the people the truth that they need to hear even if they don’t want too. The concept of a Church of Superman that got so widespread is a bit much and everyone deciding to jump off of their roofs will just make you shake your head. It’s sad that Superman has to deal with all of this. All in all, it’s a pretty entertaining comic even if it’s all a bit of a stretch.

Continuing on was a short story where Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter get brainwashed by Darkseid. Superman has to save them and quickly heads back to Earth before a kid falls off of a tree. The stakes have never been real for Mr. Kent and it’s a fun story. I could have done without the subplot of the kid, but at least we finally got some guest stars. The art isn’t very detailed, but it’s pretty fun and the fight scenes look pretty good as a result. That’s definitely what I like to see.

In the next comic, Superman gets word that Krypton is still alive so he heads over there. His father informs him that the explosion never actually happened and he was arrested for “scaring the civilians.” Superman manages to convince the court to let his father out of jail, but something feels pretty suspicious about the whole endeavor. If someone’s messing with Superman..they better watch out! You will probably assume that the whole story of Krypton surviving is fake from the start given that it always turns out to be a trap, but it’s still fun to see Superman interact with Krypton. It’s not quite as action packed as some of the other adventures, but it’s a good story. The art also holds its own so maybe our art worries were for nothing!

Bizarro got to have a big role in the next comic as a “cure” allows him to act and speak normally. Superman believes that Bizarro could actually be a good guy deep down so they team up to help the world. Unfortunately, Bizarro starts to revert to how he used to be. Why is this happening? This comic definitely wasn’t that interesting and I can’t say that the ending was very good. It was just really hard to get into. The art was also a little more sketchy than the previous ones and I guess I would call it average looking. The characters are still easily recognizable, but they typically just look a little off.

This next comic was easily the worst in the batch. Superman travels to a town after getting some mail from a kid telling him about a monster. Superman shows up and it turns out that the kid is the monster. Can Superman actually defeat this menace? The ending is pretty terrible and Superman didn’t look very good during the battle. The art was also easily the worst as Superman looks overweight and there is absolutely no detail in the art. Everything is just vague and not cool. Well, we got the worst story over with so it’s all uphill from here right?

Finally, we get a short story where Superman fights with Metallo, but the villain gets the upper hand when Superman has to protect some civilians who wandered into the line of fire. The ending is pretty emotional and it shows that Superman always cares about every individual. He’s not just a hero, Superman is The hero. It was a good way to end the collection.

So, it’s a pretty short read, but this collection did a good job of being entertaining. I don’t see it doing very well in terms of sales since this is the kind of collection that’s better to read at the library instead of paying the big bucks for it. My advice to DC would be to switch the format over to one continuing story and they could still keep this atmospheare of the good ole Superman days. It’s less risky and it could have given the comic an extra star.

Overall, Adventures of Superman was a pretty good trade paperback. I still prefer an ongoing plot series to one where each comic is a different story, but most of the stories were good, which was a relief. Most of the writers seemed to have a good handle on who Superman is as a character and it was fun to see so many of his adversaries pop up. From Mongul to the Toyman, they all tried their best to land a good hit on Superman. I definitely recommend this comic to Superman fans or to anyone who wants a casual comic to check out. By “casual” I mean that it’s short and simple. There are no large plots or character development to watch out for, but the stories are pretty fun and entertaining. In the end, that’s all that we could want from this right?

Overall 6/10

Batman Beyond Batgirl Beyond Review

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It’s time to read one of the Batman Beyond comics. I believe that this is actually the first one that I’ve checked out and it’s good to see the the characters once again. Even though the title talks about Batgirl Beyond, she only gets a quick comic and actually isn’t that important to the plot. So, this would definitely rank pretty high on the misleading covers list. It’s still a pretty good adventure though even if we don’t get many serious villains yet.

The first adventure is an 8 part comic that takes place after Joker’s mad onslaught against the city. Bruce Wayne is critically injured and Dana is still trying to work past the traumatic events that have occurred. She decides that she will help Terry from now on in his quest against crime. She doesn’t really get to appear after that, but I’m sure that she will be back. Batman deals with one of his old sonic themed foes before realizing that it is a distraction. The real villain has kidnapped one of his friends and intends to destroy the city..and maybe even the world. Batman will have to hurry on over if he’s going to make it on time.

It’s a pretty good adventure and we definitely get our fair share of action. A lot of the story is running directly from the Joker incident so it probably won’t have the same emotional impact that it would have if we actually read that comic. Dana’s bro turning evil must have been a big twist..although I don’t think we ever saw him before that so maybe we wouldn’t have been surprised. Terry’s doubts about being Batman aren’t that great though as I feel that just about every teenage superhero seems to go through that doubting period and it gets old after a while. Batman never doubted himself so often back in the good ole days. I’m fine with Dana knowing Terry’s secret, but I hope that they mostly stay in the friend zone or that the romance at least doesn’t become a huge part of the series.

After that the Batgirl comic starts and it seems to really be a stand alone title at this point. Barbara Gordan finds out that one of the neighborhoods is getting pretty violent and people are fighting in the streets. She heads over to investigate, but is quickly defeated by the crooks. She’s saved by the new Batgirl who lets her know that they have been turned crazy by some kind of poison. Barbara Gordan goes to the nearest company to get to the bottom of this, but she may be in trouble now. Batgirl will have to come to her aid once more, but can the vigilante be trusted!?

I’m sure that Batgirl will inevitably meet up with Batman Beyond at some point, but so far this comic was basically filler. Batgirl seems like a decent fighter, but only decent. I don’t see how she will be anywhere near Batman level anytime soon since she is self taught and you can’t become a grandmaster in a year or two like that. She does pretty well in this comic though and Batgirl seems like she isn’t crossing any lines yet. She’ll be a good supporting character to have and maybe she’ll even help Barbara stay more relevant in this series. Having the two of them team up could make for a pretty good subplot.

Finally, we also get a bonus comic at the end where Ink returns. She wants to be human so she gets someone to give her a serum, but what side effects will this have? Ink has no time to worry about this as Batman shows up so the two of them begin to battle. Ink will need to think of something quickly to turn the tides against this futuristic superhero!

That comic is pretty short and the art takes a dip. It’s decent enough and the adventure is fun, but it’s certainly a stretch to see how Ink gets away in the comic. She seems outmatched from the start and Batman had every possible edge. It should have been easy for him to have won the match, but I guess he just wasn’t prepared to get scratched. Ah well, it beats the average bonus comic that you see at the end of a trade paperback.

Aside from the last comic where I wasn’t a big fan of the art, the trade is pretty consistent in how it looks. It’s not going to go down as one of the greatest pieces in DC history, but the character designs and battle scenes look pretty smooth. The art definitely works and it helps kick in the nostalgia glasses that I always wanted. I definitely have no complaints with it.

We get some guest stars in the form of the Metal Men. It’s good to see them return to the front lines and they seem to be pretty dependable as supporting characters for Batman. They’re the kind of characters that I wouldn’t want to appear too often since they could get old very quickly, but appearing once in a while won’t hurt. They seem likely to appear again soon based on how their character arc ended.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne seems to finally be learning about the values of teamwork. I guess a near death experience coupled with Terry’s doubts has forced him to think of all the options at his disposal. Bringing in more and more allies will definitely keep the world safe as well as attract more super villain groups. Actually, that reminds me of another story in this comic and actually the best one of the batch. That would be the Batman vs Batman Beyond comic. Bruce finds out that Terry is slowly losing his mind and he’s forced to take out the hero before Terry can hurt someone. It shows that Bruce can still fight even at his old age and he will always have the edge over Terry. With prep time, I have no doubt that this is true.

There is some plot hax in the fight of course and without prep time, Batman Beyond should definitely win. That being said, I don’t mind a little plot hax here since Wayne is in the lead. Terry is a pretty decent hero and he still acts like a mix of Batman and Spider Man. Again, I don’t care for the fact that he is doubting whether to be a superhero or not, but I’m sure that he’ll get over this soon. All true heroes overcome their doubts at some point and now that he’ll have more allies, the fight against crime will be much easier.

Overall, Batman Beyond gives us a pretty good adventure here. The title is very misleading, but maybe Batgirl’s comic got a lot of buzz when it came out so they wanted to capitalize on that. Regardless, none of the issues are actually bad and we get a good amount of action. The villain who unleashes the giant metal monster is pretty underwhelming though and she has an anticlimactic end after such a strong start. She is probably a one shot villain who will never appear again and I hope that this is the case as we don’t need any more third rate villains. I want more guys like the sound villain and even Ink since these villains tend to put up a good fight or at least talk tough before taking the loss. I recommend checking this comic out and especially if you’re a fan of the Batman Beyond comics. Time to see if Batman Beyond makes the right choice to tough it out as Batman!

Overall 7/10