Divulging Divergence: Week Three Sneak Peeks: Post-Convergence DC Comics Previews Filled With Glee! Plus, DC You!! Yeah, YOU!!!

Columns, Reviews, Top Story

Welcome to week 3 of a 4-part series, Divulging Divergence! Week 3 brings more glee :-) Quite the mixed bag: four Bat-centric titles, three alliteratively appellated groups, one alliterative alien, another alliterative adventurer from the far future, and a 360 on the World’s Finest. DC has really crafted some quality stories. I’m seriously tempted to buy everything!!!

Divulging Divergence Week 3 Banner

The newest advertising campaign is perhaps the most clever I’ve ever come across — DC You.

DC You Batman Beyond DC You Deathstroke

After decades of ‘knowing what’s best’, the company is finally listening to us readers. They’re catering to our unique and offbeat tastes. Purchase what you enjoy to keep everything afloat!

In appreciation of the long overdue New DC, I will rate these stories by circles.

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DIVERGENCE: BATMAN BEYOND – “Beyond Recognition” [8 pages]
Dan Jurgens, Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo, Dave Sharpe

Right out of FUTURES END, Tim is fending off various Brother Eye ‘borgs of former friends and foes. The fight is endless and exhausting. He is called out as “Terry”. Surprise surprise!! It’s Matt McGinnis, Terry’s younger sib. Tim has no choice but to reveal his true ID and give the lowdown on the fallen hero. Alfred tells Tim to be wary of new character Nora Boxer. She informs the neophyte Bat that enough humans are still standing. Not all hope is lost. Tim will fight on. {7.5 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: BATMAN/SUPERMAN – “Truth” prologue, pt. 2 [8 pages]
Greg Pak, Adrian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes, Ulises Arreola, Rob Leigh

The de-powered Superman meets the mechanized Batman!! The former Clark Kent rolls into Gotham on a motorcycle, no less!! Little does Supes know that the Bat he loves, admires, and respects is not Brucie!! Lack of x-ray vision royally sucks. In turn, this Bat doesn’t recognize the outed alien. The mandatory misunderstanding leads to brutal battling. Supes is out of his league. A most surprising ally enters the fray: Lex Luthor, looking all slick. Not only does he offer assistance, he encourages his one-time enemy to admit to being with him :0 {9 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: CATWOMAN [8 pages]
Genevieve Valentine, David Messina, Lee Loughridge, Travis Lanham

Selina is still the Queenpin but she has to sludge through shady characters and watch her back more than ever! The gang wars raging through Gotham were initiated by her in an effort to take down her biggest obstacle: Black Mask. The newer cast is given some screen time: her cousin Antonia Calabrese, her fling Eiko Hasigawa, and her ally Oswald Cobblepot. Black Mask has the audacity to attend the soirée thrown by Ms. Kyle. Bullets are gonna fly!! {7 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: GOTHAM ACADEMY [8 pages] “ ‘Gotham Academy Defenders’ by Maps Mizoguchi”
Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher, Mingjue Helen Chen, Steve Wands

Ms. Mia is by far the cutest character of the entire cast!! Her youthful enthusiasm and insatiable curiosity are endearing qualities. She presents her assignment to Olive: it’s a synopsis of the first five issues recapping major events and profiling the main stars. The best part is that it’s told in meter and rhyme!! Her work rivals that of Chaucer, Dante, and Shakespeare ;-P {9.9 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: GRAYSON [8 pages]
Tim Seeley & Tom King, Mikel Janin, Jeromy Cox, Carlos M. Mangual

Agent 37’s mission takes a drop when he has to rescue Hal Jordan’s nephew Jason from freefall!! Just before that happened, Matron is strapped to the underbelly of the plane. The mission remains a mystery to the readers but she bails. Dick chit-chats with Jason especially when he notices the Batman T-shirt. An erroneous assumption leads to overreaction which is how the whole mess began. Upon touching ground safely, a not-so-subtle reminder is thrown in our faces: Jason asks if Dick is Batman. Dick replies that he used to want to be. Real subtle ;-) {9.5 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: MARTIAN MANHUNTER [8 pages]
Rob Williams, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Gabe Eltaeb, Tom Napolitano

J’onn J’onzz has more powers than any other hero and more clout as well but he’s never warmed up to the public at large. He could (and should) easily give Superman a run for his money but hasn’t. His abilities are under-utilized. This all changes with an encore attempt. The Manhunter from Mars is asked to rescue and retrieves astronauts from a botched mission. Dr. Helen Demoff admits to asking him instead of the Man of Steel [called it!] because he needs to be observed and simply can’t be trusted. J’onn finds the capsule and comes across another Martian: himself(?) This is unsettling for him in many ways. The astronauts have all perished. He is thanked for his efforts. I collected the first full on-going from John Ostrander and thoroughly enjoyed it. Let’s hope that this new series catches on fire. I found this story gripping. The art is breath-taking. {9 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: NEW SUICIDE SQUAD – “The End Times” [8 pages]
Sean Ryan, Philippe Briones, Blond, Tom Napolitano

Black Manta, Captain Boomerang, and Harley Quinn take down a mecha-sized Rocket Red. Of course, wanton destruction comes with the territory. Boomerang delivers a cheesy pun when Waller congratulates them. Little does Task Force X know that the U.S. Government wants to permanently take them off the radar. Pronto!! {4 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: ROBIN – SON of BATMAN [8 pages]
Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz, Todd Klein

Happy happy! Joy joy!! The same creative team (sans Peter Tomasi) carry on as the brash Damian Wayne finally gets his own book!!! The resourceful and etiquette-deprived Robin saves a monk and some precious scrolls from Man-Bats and ninjas. Wicked combo! Damian has a new playmate: Goliath, an appropriately named were-bat. The two-page spread is jaw-dropping!! Damian is unaccustomed to patting himself on the back. This observation is astutely made by NoBody. Who? Morgan Ducard, the primary antagonist of BATMAN & ROBIN vol. 2 #1-7. Damian had supposedly killed him. Huh. He obviously recovered from that one. This does not bode well for young Master Wayne! {9.6 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: SECRET SIX – “The Eternity Gem” [8 pages]
Gail Simone, Dale Eaglesham, Jason Wright, Travis Lanham

This much-delayed series had better return for sure in June! Two issues in and it’s already a fan-fave!! How can it not be with Gail writing and Dale drawing?? The less-than-heroic group rob the Eternity Gem (oddly similar to Marvel’s cosmic jewels). During and after, they stop a security guard from being shot by her traitorous co-worker. Black Alice drops Constantine’s name. What’s even more eerie is that she emulates him in appearance and action!! Do not prolong the torture any longer! This book has to hit the stands NOW! {9 circles}

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DIVERGENCE: TEEN TITANS [8 pages]
Will Pfeifer, Kenneth Rocafort, Dan Brown, John J. Hill

Tim (Red Robin) and Cassie (Wonder Girl) have an extensive conversation regarding one of their own: Kon-El (Superboy). They obviously are not seeing eye-to-eye. Cassie sees him as a criminal. Tim believes he deserves a shot at redemption. Divided camps have arisen: Cassie has Kid Flash and new members Guardian, Klarion and Power Girl as part of her team; Tim has Beast Boy, Bunker, Raven, Superboy and the latest addition Algorithm(?)(!) as his crew. Tim graduated with honours: “Sometimes, I think everything I say sounds like an ominous ultimatum.” “I wonder who you learned that from…” Manchester Black thinks he has the drop on RR by tracing the call but that particular group is anywhere but the pinpointed location. Tim has decided that Cassie is not a true-blue Titan. East Coast vs. West Coast!! {7 circles}

Comic book junkie, now blogger/reviewer. Trilinguist. Educator of many. Complex individual with simple insights.