Alright, I LOVE the opening with one Earth and Earth-2 Clark Kent walking to Perry White's office. That scene was so well paced and organized that even though I knew what the gag was going to be I found myself reading faster and faster to see how it would play out. Great way to open the issue and to introduce the readers to the concept that there is only ONE Earth now. I wonder, did a lot of fans guess this twist? Or was this a huge punch in the gut to readers? I was 5 years old when this came out so I have no idea. Anyone out there have anything to share?
Artwise, the shot of the single Earth floating serenely in space was directly referenced in Infinite Crisis... maybe in Final Crisis, too? I don't remember as I have not re-read that one. It's a simple shot but useful. On the other end of things, I didn't really care for the cover, which was too busy. Maybe a throwback to the old Silver Age style covers which used this sort of trope?
As a Flash fan, I also marked out for the "Twin Cities" sign for Keystone and Central City. Especially as someone who started reading Flash during Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn's run, where the idea of the twin cities was important, seeing it for the "first time" was a real treat for me. Of course just having Jay and Wally together is fun for me for much the same reason.
A shot which gave me a big belly laugh: Earth-1 Superman Tugging on Earth-2 Superman's cape! Well played, Wolfman and Perez!
The sequence with Huntress & Robin was very cool as well, much in the same vein as the Kal-L scene from earlier. These are not characters I have any particular affection for, but the way in which Wolfman illuminates Helena's grief (coupled with Perez's facial work) is very compelling comics. These are issues which are not always addressed in these sort of crossovers so having it be at the forefront is very appealing.
I liked the investigation of Brainiac's ghost ship, although I am not sure what purpose it serves. What's up with that? Post-Crisis, Brainiac became Milton Fine right? So he wasn't a robot again for a long time. So yeah, needless to say I am confused but only because I am familiar with the later version of Brainiac. And for the record, I like this robot version a good deal more than the Milton Fine version. He was cool in Panic In The Sky! but I like the coldly logical automaton from this series a LOT more.
Unfortunately, the scene with Dr. Fate, Etrigan, and Amethyst was pretty much worthless for me as I am not an Amythest reader. I have heard good things about the series but this is akin to the Omega Men stuff from a few issues back which simply has no meaning for me.
When Harbinger is retelling the new Earth's history, the appearance of the historical genre characters made me smile. Both as a great reminder of the characters from earlier in the series as well as keeping those classic characters in continuity without question. As a fan of genre comics, that made me happy.
Cave Carson! You have to love any time Cave Carson pops up!
This issue did not have much in the way of action but in one sense it was one of the most satisfying issues of the entire series. The emotions on display are grand without being hammy, and the ramifications of what went down last issue are given their appropriate context and weight. It's all been building up to this, and I cannot wait for the finale.
Next: Final Crisis!
1 comment:
Brainiac and some of the pre-Crisis things existing for a short while in post-Crisis earth, I think, is explained away in All-Star Squadron right after the Crisis ends. I'm not exactly sure I'm right about that, though--ask the Tales of the JSA guys.
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