Forever Evil #7 FINALLY hits stands today. It clocks in at 48 pages compared to last issue’s 32 pages and is one dollar more at $4.99. Does it satisfy or disappoint?
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by David Finch and Richard Friend
SPOILERS follow within this Forever Evil #7 review.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Here are the Top 5 developments / moments from the Forever Evil finale.
(5) MAZAHS’s Partner and Superwoman’s Baby Daddy Revealed
As we covered before:
- In Forever Evil #6 we learned who was the Earth 3 hooded prisoner of the Crime Syndicate after going through the key candidates.
- We did also explore the only viable option for who MAZAHS’s Partner is from his earlier Hooded Prisoner days. We also noted the only viable candidate for the father of Superwoman’s baby. And, it turns out we were right.
Alexander Luthor and Superwoman are partners in crime and of the heart!
(4)(a) Fate of the Crime Syndicate
As we covered before:
- What is the post Forever Evil #7 fate of the Crime Syndicate? They’ve had 50% of the Earth 3 members killed. It really does appear that Lex Luthor may have more of a role in this than we thought.
More death comes to the Crime Syndicate.
Alexander Luthor a.k.a. MAZAHS kills Deathstorm.
And, “our” Lex Luthor kills Atomica (he also vanquishes Ultraman as the sun is un-eclipsed by Black Adam and Sinestro).
(4)(b) Lex Luthor vs. Lex Luthor
Looks like Lex Luthor can defeat a super-powered enemy! He vanquishes MAZAHS! Wow.
The issue end with the Crime Syndicate’s trinity as the only entities left standing from the evil Justice League from Earth 3! However, Owlman is MIA on Prime Earth!
(3) Dick Grayson / Nightwing’s Fate
As we covered before:
- Nightwing’s fate was sorta shown in Forever Evil #6, but there’s clearly to all this as we chronicled the scenarios for. I can say with the certainty that despite the solicit for Forever Evil #6, the final fate of
NightwingRichard “Dick” Grayson really comes in Forever Evil #7. - Although, we do know that Nightwing’s alter ego will be anchoring a new ongoing series starting in July 2014.
However, the preview for Forever Evil #7 revealed whether Dick Grayson really died at the end of last issue.
WOW. DC gave THIS away for FREE in their PREVIEW. OMG.
The actual issue also shows why Owlman was so interested in Nightwing.
While Lex Luthor is picking apart the Crime Syndicate as noted in #(4)(b) above, Batman is able to free the Justice League from the Firestorm Matrix using Wonder Woman’s lasso to connect with her. As a result, the Justice League are back!
(2) Who is Earth 3’s Destroyer and What Is DC’s Spring 2015 event?
As we covered before:
- Who or what is the Earth 3 Destroyer entity? We may have already gotten our first look at the entity, but it didn’t help narrow down the list of candidates we’ve explored. However, we did successfully identify who he is!
- How does the below-the-radar return of one DC Comics current Top 10 time anomalies in the New 52 play into the Forever Evil finale and Futures End launch?
We also recently learned that Grant Morrison’s Multiversity and all three of DC Comics’ New 52 weekly series (The New 52 Futures End, Earth 2 World’s End and Batman Eternal) end at the same time next Spring. Plus that is also the 30th anniversary of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. So, it stands to reason that the reveal of Earth 3’s destroyer would set a new multiverse and time-bending event for Spring 2015 in motion.
So, Forever Evil #7 reveals the Earth 3 Destroyer as…. the Anti-Monitor! And he has a hate on for Darkseid!
Anti-Monitor vs. Darkseid for the fate of the multiverse and time itself in a new Crisis on Infinite Earths for Spring 2015?
(1) What else is Next?
While we see the debut of the Ant-Monitor in the New 52, Forever Evil sets up some other interesting tensions for the DC Comics Universe and the Justice League.
On one hand in Forever Evil #7, Lex Luthor is the one who removes the Kryptonite bullet from Superman’s body saving his life.
On the other hand, Lex Luthor also discovers Batman’s secret identity! Just what will he do with that info?
(BONUS) Ted Kord makes his New 52 debut
The issue also includes Lex Luthor choosing not to takeover Kord Industries; seemingly believing in the son of its former CEO, one Ted Kord. Has Lex Luthor really turned over a new super-hero leaf?
Looks like the classic Blue Beetle logo is also the logo for Kord Industries in the DC Comics New 52. Will Ted Kord become the new Blue Beetle? We do know he will play a part in the Justice League in the future.
Overall, Forever Evil #7 accomplished a lot in its delayed over-sized finale issue. The art was solid and the climaxes, resolution of mysteries and setting up of new tensions felt satisfying.
Thanks for reading. All feedback welcome.
