Infinity Inc. #1

Infinity Inc. #1
I don't know, I really just don't get this. First of all, the 52 era Infinitors were sooooo long ago that I have no clue who had what power. I'm not even sure what their names are/were - even after I'm told! That's how unmemorable they are as characters. The only one I recall at all is Everyman, and that's more because of his supervillain creds than any time he may have spent in Infinity Inc. So tell me, is this a superhero book? Because to me, it seems like a sit on a shrink's couch. And, in fact, three of the characters are featured doing just that, and one more talks about it. And those who don't, they merely just talk a lot. Do these people have superpowers? Or are they messed up without them? I'm not quite sure I get the point. I'll give next issue a try, because I'm feeling generous, but really, you know, EH.

Booster Gold #1

B∞ster Gold #1
Booster Gold is teh awesome! I was poised to give this book merely a rating of VERY GOOD, but then Geoff Johns went and got clever on me. Rip hunter saying that Superboy Prime's punching tantrums changing history makes no sense. Writing on his blackboard that we shouldn't worry about Countdown. Asking why 2008 should hold another crisis when there was just one in 2006, following the one in 1985 and the creation of the DCU in 1939. Asking why Superman is/was no longer a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. These are all EXCELLENT observations about stupidities within the DCU.

And then, of course, there's Skeets informing Booster that he is teh awesome.

Excellent characterization of a creation who was, at one point, one of my favorite comic book personalities. And a hilarious spoof of Johns' own coming storylines feature from the first issue of Justice Society. It is a spoof, right? I mean, it has to be, riiiight?

Could the "Red Lanterns" referred to by Rip be those from Korugar? Where they have red skin? So, that would be Sinestro, Katma Tui, and Soranik Natu.

I'm looking forward to Booster saving Ted and bringing him back to life. But what about Goldstar? She matters too, doesn't she?

Why can't Booster be his own ancestor? Screw continuity. Screw paradoxes. I want to see Michael make it with the hot grandma, and forget about his supposed loser gramps.

I like that Rip Hunter is no longer hindered by the limitation of only being able to use any given time travel method once. Post-COIE, that was the most limiting aspect of his character, and was most probably the reason that he wasn't used too much. In this title, it appears that he will not only be a supporting character (as he was in volume 1), but will, in fact, drive the plot development. Niiiice.

Booster gives Bats the brush off. After commenting that if Geo-Force can be in the League, why shouldn't he be! EXCELLENT stuff.

I also like the new logo. Instead of Boo$ter Gold, given that this time around Michael won't be focusing on making money or becoming popular, the title's spelling has been changed to B∞ster Gold highlighting the infinite nature of his crosstime adventures. It's a very nice touch.

Jurgens' work is also back to form. It's nice to see him back on his own creation. That's how you know that this book won't be teh suck.

Black Adam: The Dark Age #1

Black Adam: The Dark Age #1
Being that I hate Countdown, and thought that World War III was the most ludicrous piece of trash published by DC in the past decade or so, I almost didn't read this. I almost cheated myself out of a GOOD read. And it is GOOD. Even though the outcome is not in doubt - a shame that DC couldn't get their acts together and release this before the start of Countdown, eh? - it's the journey that matters. I was listening to NPR today, and they had a segment on all the successful biopics about pop stars from Cole Porter to Johnny Case, to Sid Vicious and Ritchie Valens. Even though we know all about these people, the movies about their lives are big hits. Why? Because of the fact that seeing people that we're familiar with overcome adversity is uplifting for us. Even when they don't overcome their travails, it's still enlightening. And thus, even though we know where Adam ends up, it's the journey that counts. In some way, each of us realizes that he's never truly been a villain. He's merely been misunderstood for using whatever means necessary to protect his people. Kind of like Doctor Doom, but without the megalomaniacal impulse to conquer the world and make the heroes pay for imagined slights.

There are only two problems with this book.
One) Isn't Teth-Adam supposed to appear significantly different from Black Adam? Apart from the physique, aren't their faces supposed to be different?
Two) Didn't Batman destroy all the world's Lazarus pits, except for the one he created in the Batcave?

Other than that, it's a GOOD book, and I find myself, against all odds, looking forward to the next issue.

Justice Society of America #8
Much as I love his artwork, Alex Ross' covers for this series have been annoying. The characters featured on the issues have often not even been the focus of the actual issue. If I'm not mistaken, the fact that they're featured on the cover doesn't even guarantee their presence in the issue whatsoever! This issue is therefore a nice change. Foremost, it's nice to finally find out how Rick and Jesse got together. "That will be explained in World War III." Shyeah, right. Sure, it's still a bit vague, but just seeing them together doing more than making out adds untold depth to their relationship. It's a cute story, with worthwhile character development for both Rick and Jesse, and some excellent character beats for Damage as well. (Plus, there's an editor's note referring the reader to Damage #0!! If only DC would collect that series on trade for those who haven't read it. But then, that's why there's DCP! Not to worry, though, I've got all 21 issues. Damage is one of my favorite characters, and I've got almost all of his DCU appearances.) Also, there's some good exposition regarding Jesse's powers and their source. My only complaint regarding this issue was the absence of Starman. But I guess you can't always have it all. And you know I love me my done-in-ones. VERY GOOD.

Countdown #48

Countdown #48
Man, is that art UGLY! First of all, I thought the meteors seemed to be going upwards, rather than down. Were cars falling from the sky? Since when does Superman look like THAT? And is Jimmy Olsen supposed to be the new Flash?
If Black Adam doesn't have his powers back, then why does he have elf ears, huge muscles, a six foot frame, and his Black Adam costume on? Not to mention the apparent ability to rip intruders in half? And what's with calling this abandoned building the consulate of Kahndaq? And if Mary BATSON no longer has her powers, then why is she referred to constantly as Mary MARVEL? And why do some panels portray her as a little girl, whereas others show her to be a young woman? Exactly how old is she supposed to BE?
Still no actual forward momentum, as the series crawls along at a virtual standstill. AWFUL.

Surprisingly, though, whereas Jurgens' History of the DCU was one of the worst parts of 52, his History of the Multiverse is actually quite GOOD. I'd rather just read an entire issue like that, rather than the mindless drivel which fills the beginning of the book.

Countdown #49

Countdown #49
I decided to give this book another chance after last week's debacle. And I'm very disappointed. Apparently, none of the changes from 52 seem to be sticking: Ralph Dibny possesses Jimmy Olsen? [Edit: Damn, I'm an idiot. I just remembered the fact that, in my alter ego as Rick Tyler, I referred to Jimmy's long-ago ability to be affected by Gingold in the same manner as Dibny (in the comments sections of the dibnydiary). Elastic Lad is BACK! But how does that fit into continuity? Others are asking similar things.] Black Adam has his powers back? What? Why? Also, I'm still confused as to why James Jesse is a bad guy. Didn't he used to work with the FBI? Didn't he outwit Neron? And why the hell is Mary Marvel in Gotham again? Why couldn't she just call Freddie? And apparently, Jimmy still knows who Jason Todd is. So wouldn't it make sense that he knows who Batman is too? And everyone else? Why? How? What? That makes no sense! (The Chewbacca defense.)

This series is providing very little in the way of actual explanation, which makes it seem like even the writers don't know where they're going. A major problem with this book is that to newbies it'd be completely impenetrable, and even to those of us familiar with the DCU, it doesn't seem to be sticking to any of the rules or status quos which were previously established. It's basically saying "everything you know is WRONG!" without replacing it with something even possibly RIGHT. I feel that it's just a matter of time before this series implodes under its own dead weight. Will DC continue to publish it when it's selling fewer copies than Firestorm? Probably, merely because their editorial department seems unwilling to admit to their mistakes nowadays.

And what's this I hear about a new Crisis being in the works? Seriously, if the status quo just goes ahead and changes every single year, then what really becomes of continuity? It gets completely lost. Sure, continuity was wonky before the COIE. But after that it got even more messed up. And then there was Zero Hour, which accomplished nothing. And then Infinite Crisis - which, really, was quite stupid. And then 52? Also stupid. And now? Is it even possible anymore for DC to repair the mess they've made of things over the past twenty-something years?
If I thought that such repair were possible, I might be inclined to rate this book as okay. However, DC editorial is so caught up with patting themselves on the back, tooting their own horns, living in their own fantasy world, (insert your own metaphor here,) that I have no confidence in that whatsoever. It's not gonna happen. DC needs to stop being so insular and start listening to its fans. Because if this current mentality of eliminating letters pages in order to congratulate themselves about things that none of US care about continues, DC will eventually lose its fan base. We've become very jaded over the past few years. And Didio's attitude is a large part of that. Utterly EH.

More 52+ fixes

Me, responding to Duncan's comment (static link):
Are you saying to bring Bloodhound back or retcon him away? If the former, I agree. If the latter, why bother? Also, it would create problems with the first run on Firestorm's most recent title.

It's not "Lazarus Man", it's "Resurrection Man". And he isn't gone...he is, and always HAS been, one of the "Forgotten Heroes".

It's not Metzger, it's MELTZER!

It's not Tachyon, it's TAKION. He's currently the leader of the New Gods, which, since they don't get used very often, doesn't really impact the rest of the DCU that much. It was a cute little book. Did it really traumatize you that much? Or were you just mystified at his recent appearance in JLU?

Bloodlines was DEFINITELY stupid, but as far as larger impact upon the DCU in general, it didn't really have one. The idea for this contrived series was to create a mechanism for the introduction of a new crop of Superheroes. Very few ever got used beyond the annuals: Anima, Loose Cannon, and Hitman were the most persistent of the new characters. Others used for a time were Edge, Nightblade, Prism, and Joe Public. Ballistic, Geist, Mongrel, and Razorsharp were also headliners of the Blood Pack, a cute four issue series, and appeared elsewhere in the DCU...but not much. So, although the crossover was AWFUL, it was mostly because of the writing. The events within didn't contradict anything within the DCU, and really haven't been referred to since.

The purpose of this exercise isn't to delete all bad stories from the DCU without any selectivity. It's to selectively delete stories which have, over time, posed massive continuity problems within the DCU and contributed to the sense of muddled history that plagues it today.

For instance: the first of my recommended deletions? Millennium. It posited that there had been Manhunter agents hidden throughout the DCU for years, just waiting for the proper time to strike. What made no sense about this was that many of these agents were characters who had been established for YEARS, with no hint of such motivations. Even worse, DC didn't stick with it following the event. Everyone pretended it hadn't happened. One of the more famous failures here was Lana Lang. Even stupider was the fact that the Millennium event had a Legion of Super-Heroes crossover...IN THE FUTURE! That's right! The manhunter agent in that book waited 1000 years AFTER the utter DEFEAT of the Manhunters to begin her machinations. STOOOOOPID. However, the Millennium event did, unfortunately, have larger and more persistent ramifications throughout the DCU. One of the most atrocious was the creation of the "New Guardians", some of whose members were most recently seen in the pages of Green Lantern (vol 4) as members of the Global Guardians. Others, thankfully, are dead.
Also, the Millennium event changed the status of the Green Lanterns and the Guardians for quite some time. And the Manhunters have kept on showing up from time to time.
So it needs to be taken care of.

My second recommended deletion? Zero Hour. Zero Hour threw the entire chronology of the 30th century into flux, erasing all Legion stories up to that point, creating severe continuity glitches throughout the 20th century due to all of the stories where time travelling Legionnaires played a pivotal role. Booster Gold's history got messed up due to this. So did, once again, Superman's. Not only did Zero Hour mess up the Legion, it messed up the (incredibly lame) Team Titans by positing that they'd been agents of Monarch or the Time Trapper. Dumb, poorly written, and best forgotten. However, the Team Titans had many crossovers in their short-lived series with other, more enduring characters, two of which are Donna Troy and Damage. Also, don't forget that the most persistent character in that series was the original Terra. They actually worked for the US government for a time. So when Zero Hour hit, it messed up all these stories. Zero Hour also served as the catalyst for the Warrior-ification of Guy Gardner, something which is also best forgotten. And it removed the death of Joe Chill from continuity. Or did it? The final issue of Zero Hour featured a fold out timeline of the DCU, many of whose elements were incorrect, and even more of which were IMMEDIATELY contradicted. The ONLY positive thing to come out of Zero Hour was Starman.

In other words? Be more selective. Just because something was a bad idea doesn't mean it should be erased. But if said bad idea affects the rest of the DCU and has lasting impacts on future stories, or features prominently in later contradictions, not to mention if the story made NO sense in relation to anything which had been established previously, it should DEFINITELY be deleted.

52+ fixes

Scipio Garling of the Absorbascon posted a list of 42 (then 43) items which need to be addressed by DC in order to completely fix the stupidities they've perpetrated over the years, not to mention conflicting origins, timeline errors, misinterpreted characters, bad writing, and awful storylines. You can find his list here.
He issued a challenge to his readers to come up with 10 (then 9) additional elements that require changing by the DC PTB's.
I've expanded the list to 58.

Here are my additions:
44. Get rid of Millennium.
45. Get rid of Zero Hour too.
46. Get rid of Argent's Teen Titans.
47. Get rid of saying that Mxyzptlk comes every 90 days. That's just stupid, and it continually throws the timeline into flux. Just let him come whenever he wants to.
48. Get rid of anything Bruce Jones has ever written. And don't let him write anything in the main DCU ever again.
49. Get rid of Superman Red/Blue and Electric Superman.

50. I like the portrayal of many of Batman's rogues gallery as individuals having a difficult time keeping their hands clean, as opposed to homicidal psychopaths. Keep Ivy (not to mention Woodrue) the champion of mother nature, no matter the costs. Keep Harley out on her own. Let the Penguin continue to operate his enterprises just the other side of shady. Let Two-Face be a district attorney who occasionally resorts to dirty tactics to get convictions. And please, please, please, let Riddler remain the celebrity detective he was born to be.

51. Evil Batgirl has got to go.
52. Likewise, Identity Crisis has got to go...while we're at it, how about forbidding Meltzer from writing anything for the DCU ever again?
53. Anything beyond the initial arc in Superman/Batman has got to go. [Edit: Oh, all right, you can keep Kara if you really want to.]
54. DC should get rid of Bart becoming the Flash. He's just not ready, and neither are we. Bart needs to be a kid. That's part of his charm.
55. The Steve Niles creeper needs immediate erasure.
56. Likewise the "New Skrull on the Block". J'onn is too rich a character to relegate to second rate stupid plots.

57. Speaking of J'onn, figure out his origin already, for God's sake! I'm going with Ostrander's. Make fire for J'onn sort of like yellow for Green Lanterns - dangerous, but only if he cannot overcome his fear of it.

58. And one more thing: undo War Games so that we can have Stephanie back. She was, like, my favorite Robin...ever!

Notes on Scipio's list and associated comments:
2. ...if Jason must be around. Otherwise, let him stay dead. Better yet, erase him altogether.
8. ...but Barbara should remain in a wheelchair, or at least a chair. She's indisposable as Oracle.
9. Emperor Joker did have its moments. It was a cute story.
39. Firestorm hasn't been as good since Dan Jolley left the new title.
43. Of course there's a Doctor Polaris, he's Grant Emerson's "uncle"!

Constantine and Swamp Thing aren't denizens of the DCU proper any more? What? Why? Does that mean that we've lost Constantine's relationship with Zatanna as well? Noooo!

52 #51

I haven't posted for a while. Sorry.
Here's the first of a few new reviews for you.

52 #51
GOOD! This is the first issue that actually made me feel happy when reading it. Buddy Baker comes back, with funky solar powers, and greets his family lovingly. Starfire is just like ET, but with double D's! I was right about The 52! What they are and what it is. Bruce, Clark, and Diana meet up again. Too much talking - it's just a really GOOD issue!

52 #50 and World War III #1-#4

52 #50 and World War III #1-#4

EH. I really don't see how you can get a World War out of this. It's basically a many-on-one fight. No countries are involved, no enemy superheroes, just everybody on Black Adam. And the art is extremely confusing. I still can't make heads or tails of the panels where they're supposed to be manoeuvering Adam into position for the lightning strike. And who caught him? And how in the world could Billy change his magic word? The explanation given here is ridiculous, that all magic flows through him. And what's with the white streak in his hair? And when are all the events that were alluded to in the OYL books going to occur? Ugh. Forget it, I changed my mind, this is AWFUL. However....Booster Gold does reappear in this issue, as does Rip Hunter, and it seems that next issue we'll finally learn the significance of 52, and this issue features the only satisfying plot resolution of the entire series, so, huh, I don't know. Okay, I've made my decision. AWFUL. Seriously, bringing Green Arrow and Arsenal, and Manhattan Guardian, along to take down Black Adam? Are you insane? Why didn't it just start and end with the Marvel family? The rest of the big fight is superfluous nonsense, made for the specific purposes of having a few "character" moments. Ridiculous. Black Adam doesn't go right to China, but instead proceeds to attack nearly every other nation on Earth first. Italy, Greece, Egypt, USA, Australia. Why? Uh, that's not ever really explained. AWFUL.

And don't even get me started on the actual WWIII issues. Again, how stupid is that? Calling it WWIII? First of all, the DCU already had a WWIII, and that one was much more deserving of the appellation, being that it was partially characterised by many nations taking arms against each other simultaneously. So, this would be WWIV. But what kind of World War features not a single nation fighting any other? Um, none that I've ever heard of. And what's with the WWIII issues pretending that every single thing that happened between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later happened during this exact week? Donna taking Wonder Woman's armor, Themiscyra disappearing, Deathstroke recruiting Batgirl, Hawkgirl being shrunk back to normal size, Firestorm getting unmerged, Supergirl reappearing, Crispus deciding whether or not he'll choose to be the new Spectre, J'onn finding a new form, Aquaman becoming the Dweller, the plight of Sub Diego (which, by the way, makes zero sense in light of the pre-crisis issues of Aquaman - did the writers of WWIII even read any of those books? Riiiight, the Western coast of San Diego is raised by - wait for it - magic. Wha huh? What, is Rick Veitch writing Aquaman again?), that's so ridiculous. And Zatara falls in action, but then he's back again at the rock of Eternity, as if nothing happened? Are the writers even communicating with each other? Plus, the dialogue by Martian Manhunter is so hackneyed. Even the art is bad, since, for example, apparently the Bronze Tiger has red skin. Seriously, at first, I thought he was Brick. And what the hell is all this about Rick Flag? And truthfully, it's been soooo long since Infinite Crisis that I barely remember what was happening pre-Crisis, let alone One Year Later. And amidst the final gathering of heroes, don't you think that someone would have noticed that Hal was missing? And then possibly tracked him using some sort of satellite? How can plastic man bleed? How can his costume be ripped, his goggles cracked? That makes no sense! He doesn't have blood, and the costume is merely a manifestation of his shapeshifting ability! Also, isn't the great wall of China actually inside China's sovereign borders? If so, then how could the heroes wait there? And never have I seen J'onn so useless in a fight.
These books deserve a rating of ASS - and in fact, due to the inability of the myriad writers of 52 to provide any sort of allusion to any of these events in any of the preceding 49 weeks, the entire series of 52, as a whole, deserves an ASS too. Because really, they had how many months to plan all of this out, and they still couldn't pull it off? Ugh.

52 #49

52 #49
The past two weeks have had the most amazing covers of the entire series.
p.2 "I am the Socialist Red Guardsman of the Great Ten of the Chinese People's Republic" - Besides the fact that his group has been previously called the "Great Wall", and that the country is commonly referred to in English as the People's Republic of China, how can he not start laughing upon hearing such a ridiculous sounding statement coming out of his mouth?
Instead of wearing an eyepatch, why doesn't Alan Scott just leave one eyehole of his mask closed? Or wear a glass eye?
p.3 This is the first time IIRC that the group of mad scientists on Oolong has been called the "Science Squad", and the first time it's been implied that Egg Fu does NOT work for Apokolips, but is, in fact, a freelancer, an entrepreneur.
p.4 Our bodies have very little gold in them, and, hopefully, NO lead - if I recall my Bio courses. Likewise Mercury, which isn't mentioned here. And, of course, no Platinum, Tin, or Plutonium. So either Doc Magnus is bullshitting Egg Fu (which he probably is), or WTF???
p.10 Interesting revelation, that in fact, Chang Tzu (Egg Fu) IS a member of Great Ten.
p.12 When was the last time we saw Billy's talking tiger?
p.14 As ridiculous as SRG's statement on p.2 was, Will Magnus's here is AMAZING "I have a particle wave ray gun and bipolar disorder!"
p.15 Why is Egg Fu green inside? Is he a rotten egg? HAH! I kill me.
p.16 panel 5: I see Thunderbolt, but I never saw Jakeem. Huh?
p.22 Summoned from where? Without a knowledge of the Ragnarok battle, this makes no sense!
p.23 Have the events in panel 2 happened yet?
Which Wildcat is this? I or III? Why don't Green Lantern and Flash get to keep their superhero names?
Ummmm....OKAY?

52 #48

52 #48
Back to EH, this "auctioning Black Adam off to the world as your very own nuclear deterrent" just seems like a complete waste of potential. Why not use him? I don't know.

52 #47

52 #47
Grant Morrison's writing becomes obvious for the bulk of this issue. The scenes with Robin and the Monk? Grant. Buddy? Grant. Not sure who else, but Grant shines through. OKAY...even though absolutely nothing happens! Hey, not every day/week can be action packed. (Now, last week's issue was GOOD!) We see that all along, the entire purpose of all the machinations from the very beginning of this series was to drive Adam mad - in order to control him. Which apparently will be the big bad in coming weeks - a mind-controlled Adam.

52 #45

52 #45
Seriously, DC, you promised us that this would be the best series of the year, and so far you haven't managed to get this book any higher than EH. You promised that this book would have immense ramifications for the rest of the DCU, and so far, there haven't been any. In fact, almost all the plotlines in this series have been entirely self contained. And it's obvious you haven't listened to the fans reaction regarding this series, because if you had, you'd have realized that Ralph Dibny is one of the most popular characters since the introduction of Batman! And then you go offing him for no apparent reason? WTF? Not only that, but killing Vic Sage? You should know by now that he's the reason people even cared about Montoya's storyline anyways. (And what's up with that? Black Adam asks Renee, "where's Vic", but throughout the entire series he's gone by 'Charlie'! And Black Adam can slap Montoya and she just gets up and shrugs it off? Every bone in her face should be broken!) The only thing that's kept me reading this travesty of a series is the momentum, and at this point, you've really begun to lose it - especially sad, considering the fact that this is the point when it should be picking up steam. It almost seems as if you've given up on 52, and are instead focusing all your efforts on Countdown, if the last few weeks' DC Nation page are any indication. Are you trying to drive up the aftermarket value on these pins? I don't get it. And at this point, I don't much care. EH.

What is/Who are "(The) 52"?

What is/Who are "(The) 52"?
I just figured it out...

The Earth of the mainstream DC reality, and, by extension, all those living on it, is/are "The 52". Take this quote from Father Time in this week's Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters:
"...I know who and what created you, Gonzo. Mathmagicians of the Anti-Life Equation...Chaos Architects, or should I call them Shadow Demons? You're a probe, dispatched to gather data and assess the threat level. Fifty-Two frightens them, doesn't it? Their backs are against the wall...and you're here to tenderize the world before--"
Following this, Father Time is revealed to have been a chronal agent.

What do you people think about this theory?

52 #44

52 #44
What the hell was that? I'm not talking about the comic itself, though there's certainly much to talk about. No. I'm talking about the DC Nation page! WTF??? Oh, Mighty Didio, please bring back letters pages. I'm tired of reading this kind of shit in every single comic, every single week. It never changes, it's always the same. Some editor (not you, of course) thinks they're witty and therefore inserts their narcissism into every single one of this week's comics. If it were only in back of 52, that would be one thing. Heck, that'd be the natural place to find such drivel. But how many people do you think read this page every single time they reach it? Now, Marvel comics...sometimes I open up straight to the letters page to see who's there. Will it be my friend Adrian Watts? Will it be me? Sometimes, I do this even for comics that I don't read!
With DC, I have no such pleasure. Here's an open plea, to you, the Gods Of DC, please restore the letters page!

And now, the issue itself. A huge fight wherein the four horsemen of Apokolips kill Isis. And talk - a LOT. Most of their talk is in reference to who they are and what their purpose is. More narcissism! And then, at the end, Isis's rose dies in Nanda Parbat and Renee leaves for Khandaq. And we don't even see her faceless!

Metatextually, perhaps this is meant to juxtapose the narcissism of the Four Horsemen with the complete lack of ego which is (apparently) required of The Question. Since Grant Morrison is involved here, I'd say that's probably the case. But in truth, it just comes across as annoying.

And Mark Waid doesn't even show up to give us a breather at the end!
AWFUL.

52 #37

52 #37
The following are my comments on this issue, as directed towards the readers (and writer) of Douglas Wolk's excellent site "52-pickup".

The Gauntlet: Kara must have delivered it to Bats after her other self kicked the crap out of Luthor.

Good observation last week that Supernova was in a footballer's pose.

JLA Storage: I'm sure that every member keeps extra costumes and utilities in the JLA headquarters, wherever that may be - because you've GOT to replace torn outfits, and have GOT to have backups for equipment which was damaged or used up in fights. We know Ray made at least two belts. Why not more?

Since Supernova utilizes Phantom Zone technology, which has often been used as a means of teleportation, he must have just teleported into the cave.

Hawkgirl's N'th metal: He could take it from "JLA storage (or JSA storage)" or just grab a piece of her GIANT wings when she came back from space.

Superstrength: Just because he's being Supernova doesn't mean that Booster will have relinquished all his former powers.

Teleportation via the Phantom Zone:
STEP 1: Enter the Phantom Zone.
STEP 2: Navigate to a point within the Phantom Zone corresponding to the desired destination.
STEP 3: Exit the Phantom Zone.
I can't bring specific citations, but it HAS been used like this before.

I read the Ollie quote as a comment on the fact that part of the greatest part of loving someone is knowing how and when to let them go. Interestingly, remember how Ollie had, at one time, wanted kids, and Dinah nixed that idea (Longbow Hunters #1)? Ollie eventually let her go without a fight, and today it seems that motherhood is Dinah's raison d'etre. Thus, Ollie let Dinah go in order that she could develop emotionally to the point where she is today. They're obviously still close.
Then again, maybe he was really pondering the fact that Dinah seems to have something of a death wish - jumping to a flagpole without a safety line.

Firestorm: Pretty pointless to feature a character whose introduction is recent. Wouldn't it have been more interesting to explore the origins of the Firestorm elemental force?
And no wonder it's been cancelled: since Dan Jolley left the title, it's pretty much sucked.

Is anybody besides Calimike actually reading Ion?

The Jurgens Titans title featuring a regressed teenage Atom has been ignored since it was cancelled. The only holdover from that series is Argent. All else is a big "whoops!" a'la Hawkman.

And on the Multiverse still being around? Well that's just stupid. I mean, I'm happy about it and all, but the fact remains that two massive miniseries with a multitude of crossovers were dedicated to getting rid of it. And none of it succeeded? That's just ridiculous. Not to mention that even following the first Crisis, various writers found different ways to reintroduce worlds and dimensions that they felt they wanted. One of the most recent was Grant Morrison's Earth 2 series, whose characters crossed over into the JLA title two years ago. And even today, after IC, we've seen many hints in the OYL titles of the multiverse still being around, primary amongst them the existence of scads of Monitors. So I really must ask, what in the world did Infinite Crisis accomplish? Why did Conner die? Why is Pantha's head a'rollin? Why is Ted Kord dead? These things were supposed to have meaning, but now that Didio has come out and told us that "yes, kiddies, the secret of 52 is that the multiverse still exists"? Pshaw. That's the big secret? 37 weeks of mediocrity (or worse) for this? Ridiculous. If I actually paid for this title, I'd stop buying it.
ASS

[This post has been reprinted over at Sequart]

52 #32

52 #32
An OKAY issue. Not up to the standards I expect, yet compared to most issues of this title, OKAY is saying a lot.
I found it odd for most of this issue that the Perfect Accomplished Physician, who's obviously in tight with the Tibetans, should work for the Chinese. It's not so much explained as such, rather the dialogue alludes to him having made some sort of compromise regarding his ideals, for the sake of the greater good. But a little more exposition would have been nice - blame Morrison for its lack.
Also, I found it interesting that the PAP did not view Ralph's presence in Nanda Parbat as a violation of the superhuman whatever treaty, as the GL's presence in Russia were several months ago. Perhaps this comes to show us that although the PAP works for the Chinese, he still views Tibet as a separate entity, regardless of the politics of the region.

And on page 19, it says "Hey a Neal Adams Effect", in reference to Neal Adams "Hey a Jim Steranko Effect" from Strange Adventures #216. Thanks to Douglas Wolk for the reference.

52 #24

52 #24
OKAY. What this title really needs is all Ambush Bug all the time! And is that Captain Jack Sparrow on the front page of the Daily Planet? I'm disappointed that in Booster's origin, they completely glossed over the fact that BG's original equipment was destroyed by Doomsday and successive battles, and he then had a cybernetic suit of armor (along with a new arm) built by Blue Beetle. What happened to all that? And perhaps this question is late, but how did he revert to his most recent incarnation?

Somebody help me identify all the characters in the snapshots surrounding Atom Smasher. I can identify the following: Bane, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang II, Clayface?, Goliath, Icicle, Onomatopeia(!!). Who are the rest?

52 #22 / Heroes 1x02

52 #22 / Heroes 1x02
This EXCELLENT show, for which Jeph Loeb is an executive producer, is, to my mind, very like what 52 should be. Every week we get to see a little bit of each of the characters, advancing each of their plot lines, however so slightly. Questions are raised, small answers are given, clues to the future are present, and plotlines seem to converge somewhat.
52 should be the same way. Instead, this week we get ONE PAGE with actual dialogue from one of our main characters (Steel). The rest of the issue focuses on Doc Magnus (who at some point since T.O. Morrow's disappearance has apparently gone loony), Lex Luthor's not being able to metahumanize himself, and Jon Standing Bear - some Native American dude we've never seen before. And the profile of "Green Lantern", not "Hal Jordan" or "Green Lantern 2814.1", is incorrect - the yellow impurity was not "overridden by Hal's will", as anyone who read Rebirth knows. Also, as part of the essential storylines, Jordan's turns as Parallax and Spectre aren't even mentioned - nor is his death! An incomplete bio if I ever saw one. Instead of the John Stewart panel, how about one of him conquering Parallax? If this comic is ever going to actually tell complete stories, now would be the time to start doing so. I've basically lost interest in this book (which is why I haven't reviewed it in detail, heck, at all, for some time). Very much sub-EH.
But if you love comics you should definitely be watching Heroes. Don't let it get cancelled.