August 2013 features the following 4 cancellations: Legion of Super-Heroes (LOSH) #23, Demon Knights #23, Dial H #15 and Threshold #8.

That’s 4 more series DC needs to replace on top of the 3 they already needed to for a few months anyway.

There is a rumoured Villains Month event for September, DC New 52 kick-off anniversary month, where each New 52 series will be renumbered as #1 for a month and be named after the villain of the book. Will some villain-centric series continue into October? I think so, but certainly not 7.

Short-list of “likely” New 52 series:

• Booster Gold
• Justice League International or Global Guardians (1rst New 52 JLI cancelled for creative not sales reason)
• Justice Legion of Super-Heroes or simply “Justice Legion” (a likely replacement for LOSH)
• Plastic Man (written by Gail Simone?)
• Shazam and/or Black Adam
• Trinity of Sin: The Question

Not sure about any Villain-Centric books or other likely hero titles. What do you think?

Also, I have read rumors that DC may be toying with the idea of replacing several titles with 1 or 2 or even 3 weekly series featuring the New 52′s stronger sales performers, e.g. Batman, Green Lantern, etc. However, to do so would require DC to abandon its “New 52″ branding.

DC Co-publisher Dan DiDio has noted that the New 52 refers to 52 ongoing series in terms of the branding; while 52 is also a special number for the company in-story as it is the number of universes in its multiverse.

Mathematically, a weekly comic book series is still 1 series; it wouldn’t count as 4 series in a given 4-week month. So, will it be New 52 for DC Comics into the Fall of 2013? If so, DC needs to launch 7 new ongoing titles in its “New 52″ core super-hero line.

UPDATE 1:

It appears writer Paul Levitz will not be part of whatever is next for DC’s 31rst Century. Here is his farewell message on Faceback to his many fans:

DC’s officially announced the end of the current run of the LEGION with #23…sad to see my old friends go, and hoping my tale for that issue with Kevin Maguire illustrating will be an honorable end. As a reader, I’ll miss them until their next incarnation, whenever and however that may come. As a writer, I’m privileged to have gotten three chances to work with this vast and wonderful cast, and now on to other projects and other worlds.

A big thanks to Paul Levitz for several years of great LOSH stories. I’m loving his Worlds’ Finest too, so Levitz fans can rejoice.

UPDATE 2:

In response to fans worried about the future of the LOSH, DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio assured fans via his facebook by indicating that:

The cancellation of this series does not signify the end of the 31st century. More to come.

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With the DC Comics New 52 entering April 2013 and its month-long WTF Certified initiative – gatefold covers with a job dropping second half – we also see Trinity War taking shape. I had written extensively on the various credible Trinity War scenarios, as seemingly seeded in the New 52 so far, and a few seem to be bubbling to the top of the leaderboard. I’ll walk you through that, a new Batman and Red ARROW, the Top 5 WTF Certified Gatefold Covers revealed so far that are truly “WTF” moment worthy, and much more.

Beware, some SPOILERS may follow. You have been warned.

Trinity War: All About The Justice Leagues?

March’s Justice League Dark #18 seems to have put another piece together for the Trinity War scenario that sees a battle of the Justice Leagues at its forefront.

Justice League Dark #18 finally sees John Constantine say enough is enough and walk from Steve Trevor and ARGUS. In a “you’re with us or against us” type retort from Trevor, Constantine seem hardly worried. This Steve Trevor rebuff follows a similar one from Wonder Woman and the Justice League in that series issue #12. And, we learned from the recent Justice League of America #1 that the whole reason Director Amanda Waller, of Suicide Squad infamy, created the JLA – which includes Steve Trevor – was a countermeasure against the Justice League “in case” they ever go rogue.

We also saw in the cliffhanger to Justice League #16 and in the recent issue #18, that Zatanna seems to apparently leave the Justice League Dark or be a duel member? Zatanna doesn’t seem to complimentary of her JLD crew afterall. We have also seen Black Orchid be revealed as an agent for Steve Trevor earlier in Justice League Dark as well. More roster inter-justice-leagues roster switches coming?

Maybe we’ll have a new Justice League International (JLI) at one point soon too based on the R.B. Silva art and hashtag. Which means we’d have a quad not trinity of Justice Leagues.

All About The Multiverse? Supergirl Requiem & A Growing Earth 2?

Paul Levitz’s Worlds’ Finest has been all-star New 52 series. In issue #6 we saw Damian Wayne / Robin confront his Earth 2 “sister” Helena Wayne / Huntress. It was an interesting confrontation ending with a tender détente. March’s Worlds’ Finest #10 was a Robin Requiem issue with Huntress, for a small part of the issue, mourning the passing of Damian.

Now it is Power Girl’s turn! Starting in April’s WTF Certified issue of Supergirl #19, it looks like PG and the New 52′s Supergirl come to blows. And, in two months in May 2013′s issue #20 Power Girl dons her Earth 2 Supergirl costume to fell or avenge the New 52 Supergirl? Requiem for Supergirl a la Requiem for Robin? Likely not, but I am intrigued by the next few months of Supergirl.

Writer James Robinson, during this weekend’s WonderCon 2013, dished A LOT about Earth 2 happenings coming up. We have a new Batman and Red Arrow among other roster growth, a Crisis of sorts between the Prime Earth heroes and Earth’s Wonders, and more.

May 2013′s Earth 2 Annual #1 debuts a new Batman for that Earth since the original Bruce Wayne version died years earlier. Writer James Robinson has described this New Batman as “…a huge part of ‘Earth 2,’ he’s going to be a huge part of the DC Universe, and everything he does from the Annual onward will have huge implications for the DC Universe.” It is interesting that the character will be important to the broader DC Universe based on the latter part of Robinson’s statement. Maybe culminating in a Trinity War involving the multiverse? Interesting that this new Batman has similarities, visually anyway, to the Flashpoint Batman. Revealing or red herring?

Earth 2 writer James Robinson also revealed that we’ll be seeing an Earth 2 roster growth alongside Batman with Red Arrow (a.k.a. Roy McQueen), Starman (Ted Knight), Wildcat and Hourman. Plus Big Barda joins Mister Miracle as Earth 2 Wonders.

DC also did a multiverse feature recently on their website so I think there’s a method to their madness.

All About Sinners? A Question Series Coming?

With June 2013 sees the debut of two “Trinity of Sin” titled comics with Trinity of Sin: Pandora #1 while Phantom Stranger #9 gets the Trinity of Sin added to it. Could the last member of the Trinity of Sin The Question get a #1 issue in advance of 2013′s Trinity War? Afterall, he does seem to be returning in a WTF covered title this week.

Could Trinity War involve more than one trinity?

WTF Certified April 2013 DC Covers: Top 5 Really WTF New 52

At the time of the writing of this column over Easter weekend, DC has released some, but not all, of the full-versions of their April 2013 shipping WTF Certified “wow” gatefold covers. Here are the truly OMG worthy covers for WTF… so far.

(5) Dial H #11

Wow. Dial H #11 has our everyman dial into the… Flash? Now that is interesting.

(4) Threshold #4

Superman arch-villain Brainiac traps the Hunted on his trophy case of planets in Threshold #4? F-U-N.

(3) Earth 2 #11

Loving, loving, loving writer James Robinson and penciller Nicola Scott’s Earth 2 series. You love the New Gods? Check out Earth 2 #11.

(2) Suicide Squad #12

Writer Adam Glass leaves Suicide Squad with a bang! Big c-c-changes coming starting with the Unknown Solider in Suicide Squad #12.

(1) Talon #7

Pre-New 52 Secret Seven and Batman back-breaker Bane tackles Talon in Talon #7. Now THAT should be cool.

Well, that’s it so far. However, I can’t wait for the color version of Red Hood and the Outlaws #19 to come out because the WTF black and white version is WTF and OMG-worthy, and terrifying.

I also hope you all had a Happy Easter and pleasant Passover.

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I have spent most of the last five months mourning my fandom due to the ending of the “all-ages” cartoon era at Cartoon Network. The network has cancelled or not-renewed (same outcome either way) several shows that had cross-family, multi-generational appeal with shows like Young Justice Invasion, Green Lantern The Animated Series (GLTAS), and Star Wars The Clone Wars tossed from CN’s 2013 line-up. (If you would like to see more Young Justice, let DC Entertainment know HERE and filling out a related Change.Org petition here can’t hurt.)

This is on top of CN’s cancellation of ThunderCats last year and HUB’s similar dismissal of G.I. Joe Renegades.

In the case of G.I. Joe Renegades and Star Wars The Clone Wars, The Hub and Cartoon Network may have been dealing with the wishes of the properties’ respective owners choosing to go in new directions: Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Renegades cartoon appears to have directly inspired the live-action silver screen G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation film (out March 28, 2013) and Lucasfilm / Disney appearing to move in a new direction cartoon property-wise.

In the end, I have lost 5 TV cartoons I enjoyed watching in less than a year. That is on top of cancellations of comics I have enjoyed from DC Comics New 52 effort including: Deathstroke, Team 7, Justice League International, Legion Lost and others. Luckily there are some DC titles doing well that I can still read monthly from DC like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Suicide Squad and others. Plus Marvel is back on my radar with books like All-New X-Men and Cable and X-Force, so the future doesn’t look too dim for the future especially if you factor in the fact that every book Valiant Comics publishes is AMAZING.

So, this week, instead of mourning the past, we look to the future with my 2013 Top 3 pop culture offerings in film, TV and comics.

Beware, some SPOILERS may follow. You have been warned.

TV: Scooby Doo Mystery Inc., Good & Going Too

While we await a new G.I. Joe cartoon on HUB or elsewhere to follow the G.I. Joe Retaliation film, assuming it is succesful and not Battleship-like, and a new Star Wars animated series to follow Clone Wars likely on Disney XD, the only cartoon on Cartoon Network that I see for 2013 that remains all-ages is Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated (or simply Mystery Inc.). However, it too is ending with its second season in April 2013! Wow, that’s six (6) cartoons I enjoyed being cancelled in 12-month span.

The series has an ongoing mystery in the treasure hunt guided by the Planispheric Disk, simmering character based subplots like Fred and Daphne’s romantic tension, comedy relief with Shaggy and Scooby, with Velma the odd brilliant person out. The added history of several other mystery solving teens over past generations is a cool twist as is the current Mystery Inc. competing with the preceding original Mystery Inc. The series has kept true to the original “mystery of the week no-such-thing-as-real-ghosts” formula that made the first season in 1969 so compelling and successful, but also brought it into the modern age.

However, Season 2 seems to have the team questioning whether a real terror can exist with the mystery of “Niburu” being foretold. It is unclear what Niburu stands for in the Scooby Doo series, but it could refer to the Niburu Cataclysm or doomsday scenario that is said to happen in the 21rst century with a large planetary object colliding with the Earth. Or in Scooby Doo fashion it could be a (faux) Demon. We’ll have to wait and see.

While I remain very disappointed in Cartoon Network’s Fall 2013 offerings, I will sample the new DC Nation Block of Beware the Batman and Teen Titans Go. However, they do seem more kiddie in nature than the Young Justice Invasion and Green Lantern the Animated series they replace.

I’m also curious what will happen with Scooby Doo next with no Season 3 on the horizon. Another reboot maybe? There seem to have been a Scooby Doo series on television in some fashion for the last 40 years: 24 seasons and over 420 episodes.

Film: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Conquers Hollywood

Dwayne Johnson is not only the current WWE Champion headlining Wrestlemania 29 against John Cena on April 7, 2013, he is also set to have his biggest career movie year with at least 5 films being released in 2013 PLUS his active lobbying to get a role in a returning film franchise.

2013 already saw the release of Snitch in February 2013, a film about “A father goes undercover for the DEA in order to free his son who was imprisoned after being set up in drug deal.”

Then we have March 28, 2013′s G.I. Joe: Retaliation, a film that sees G.I. Joe “not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.”

On April 26, 2013 we get Pain and Gain that sees Mark Wahlberg team with Dwayne Johnson and others that see “A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.”

Sometime in 2013 we will get Empire State, a film “drama centered on two childhood friends who plan to rob an armored car depository, and the NYPD officer who stands in their way.”

Lastly, for now, May 24, 2013 brings fandom Fast and Furious 6 where Dwayne’s Johnson’s “Agent Hobbs enlists the aid of Dom and team to help bring a rival gang, led by Owen Shaw, to justice. In exchange for clear records, they must put an end to their schemes, no matter how personal the cost.” The film apparently ends on a cliffhanger that sets up Fast and Furious 7 so there seem to be a few franchises that the Rock will be a part of going forward: Fast & Furious, G.I. Joe, Journey and maybe… Star Wars?

Dwayne Johnson has announced that he is keen on joining the cast of Star Wars Episode VII (Star Wars 7) under the stewardship of J.J. Abrams. It has been reported that at the March 13, 2013 Sydney Australia premiere of G.I. Joe Retaliation that the Rock let it be known of his interest in a Star Wars role.

“I played with two lines of action figures when I was a kid: G.I. Joe and Star Wars.”

“By the way, because we didn’t have a lot of money, I used to steal them. I’d just rip open the packages and shove ‘em in my pockets … like a lot of kids. I got caught a couple of times, got my ass kicked by my parents.”

“So when I got the call saying, ‘How do you feel about becoming the leader of the G.I. Joes?’, it was like if I got a call from George Lucas saying, ‘I want you to be in Star Wars‘.”

“I’m gonna call J.J. (JJ Abrams is directing the next Star Wars film) and you’re gonna help by printing it and I’m gonna be in Star Wars!”

Add with constant fan demand for Dwayne Johnson to play villain Black Adam in any upcoming Shazam or Justice League feature film from Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, it seems that The Rock’s geek credentials are well established.

Certainly looks like its Dwayne Johnson’s world, and we’re just living in it.

Also on the movie front, I remain also excited for other non-Rock 2013 films: Iron Man 3 (May 3, 2013), Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17, 2013), Man of Steel featuring Superman (June 14, 2013), The Wolverine (July 26, 2013) and Thor: The Dark World (November 8, 2013).

Comics: DC’s Trinity War, Valiant’s Harbinger Wars & GAIMAN!!

Since 2012′s Summer of Valiant, the company has been putting out quality book after quality book, month in and month out. In April 2013 we see the beginning of a 4 month long “family” cross-over event that pits Bloodshot against the Harbingers. Bloodshot and Archer & Armstrong are my top 2 fave Valiant titles, but X-0 Manowar and Shadowman are solid, with Harbinger not appealing to me conceptually despite solid art and writing.

That said, I am intrigued by Harbinger Wars as it seemingly will bring Bloodshot face-to-face with his past actions as a Harbinger Hunter. I’m not sure where this cross-over event will go, but am pleased it will feature the debut of another Valiant property with the H.A.R.D. Corps in June. The Harbinger Wars 12-issue checklist is available here. 2013 just got a whole lot more interesting.

This year will also likely see the debut of the DC Comics New 52′s much teased Trinity War. I’ve un-puzzled the various Trinities in DC’s pantheon, but it is still anyone’s guess who or what is going on with Trinity War.

In 2013 we will also get to read more of Neil Gaiman in comicdom. Not just with his Sandman Zero Vertigo prequel series, but also at least one issue of Marvel Now’s Guardians of the Galaxy featuring a guest-star in the Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman created Angela (for Image Comics’ Spawn). The Associated Press reported the following last week:

Neil Gaiman, Angela character are Marvel-bound

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Writer Neil Gaiman is returning to Marvel Comics this summer, and he’s bringing the red-haired heavenly bounty hunter Angela with him.

The publisher announced Thursday that Gaiman’s angel will return first in the pages of “Age of Ultron” No. 10 in June. She’ll appear again in Marvel Entertainment’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” No. 5 in July that Gaiman will co-write with Brian Michael Bendis.

Gaiman’s previous comic outings include revered runs on “The Sandman” and “Marvel 1602.”

He created Angela in “Spawn” No. 9, and she was one of three characters who formed a long copyright dispute between Gaiman and Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane.

The pair reached a confidential settlement in early 2012.

What Gaiman’s ownership stake in Angela is unknown, but Marvel Comics has pitched Angela as a “guest” in the Marvel Universe. Take that as you wish.

Rumors are also surfacing that Marvelman or Miracleman, whose rights were tied up in part by the McFarlane / Gaiman legal dispute, may actually make his Marvel Comics debut soon. If Age of Ultron is Marvel’s answer to DC Comics’ Flashpoint, perhaps Micky Moran and his alter ego will become a founding Marvel 616 Universe character if time is bent and remade at the end of AU?

Well, that’s my 2013 watch list.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

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Thanks for popping by and checking out my weekly Monday Demythify column.

This week marks the one year anniversary of this column. While I’ve been writing various columns over my decade plus as a blogger, this one is… the least jaded. I want to thank all of our regular readers for checking us out weekly. I also want to thank our topic-specfic visitors for their patronage too. In addition, those of you who have gone the extra mile and taken the time to provide feedback also deserve acknowledgement. Your feedback here, on Facebook and/or Twitter (my coordinates are located at the end of this column BTW), have always been passionate and insightful. I also want to thank the head honcho here at the site Jonathan Widro and the Nexus EIC Graham Scherl for letting me do my thing. You all make it easy to come to work. Ok, with the thank you’s out-of-the-way, if any readers have ideas for future columns let me know.

Before I get into this week’s column, I’d like to bring to your attention three other regular features here at the Comics Nexus.

On Mondays, along with my Demythify column, James Fulton brings us The Weekly Round-Up where he dissects the best of the best comic books from the week that was. On Wednesdays Mathan Erhardt brings us Wednesday Comments where he puts his wealth of comic knowledge to good use plus provides a unique analysis on today’s industry. And, our EIC Grey Scherl does a column called The Gold Standard that gets published whenever he wants. Currently Grey is counting down the Top 50 comic books of 2012.

Ok, now onto this week’s Anniversary Edition of Demythify. Instead of doing a retrospective of the last year, I’ll do what we’ve done for the last 40 columns, and that’s move forward. With that, this week, we discuss the DC Comics New 52 “Trinity War” promised for 2013.

Enjoy.

What is 2013′s Trinity War?

It was in last year’s DC New 52 Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) issue where we were introduced to something called “Trinity War” from DC Comics. As part of that free comic book we had a 3-page gatefold Jim Lee spread showing heroes vs. heroes and a strange new Green Lantern who we would later know as Simon Baz.

Since last year, and with 2013′s FCBD coming up on May 4, 2013, we have not heard a lot about Trinity War. Since last year, there has been a lot creative changes on DC titles with cancellations and new books popping up too. While there are rumors that DC is still finalizing Trinity War, we know there have been a few changes already with the original 2012 FCBD Jim Lee popping up on the internet (see below).

With the original plan seemingly having Hal Jordan and not Simon Baz in it as Green Lantern.

So, despite a lack of any new formal information on what Trinity War is, there were teases in some books and comments from creators that point to at least five “trinities” that could be part of the Trinity War together, in part or singularly.

Here they are.

5. A Multiversal Trinity of Worlds

Now this trinity only came to me this past week when I started reading how CW Arrow’s Andrew Kreisberg, and co-writer with Geoff Johns on the DC New 52′s new Vibe series, started talking about the Multiverse. The hispanic hero Vibe gets his vibrational powers from the mutliversal vibrations that spring from the weakness between worlds that resides in Detroit. Almost like TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Hellsmouth. Detroit on Prime Earth is where Darkseid punched through to tangle with Justice League on Prime Earth and seemingly on Earth 2 when he and his New Gods decimated that world’s “Wonders”. Earth 2 has its own New 52 series, two refugees from that world in Power Girl and Huntress anchor the Worlds’ Finest series from Prime Earth, and now we have Vibe a character who acts as the Guardian of the Multiverse Gateway.

Perhaps Huntress and Power Girl in their efforts to get back to Earth 2, as has been established in their series, get past Vibe and pop up on another Earth, one we haven’t seen, and trigger the War? Then the Justice League of Earth Prime get pulled in?

And, could Grant Morrison’s Multiversity maxi-series play into all this?

4. Trinity of Timelines

In the last issue of Flashpoint we had Pandora appear. She was instrumental in deconstructing the Flashpoint world into the New 52. Interestingly it wasn’t three multiverse worlds she pulled together, but three timelines as she noted herself. Despite Wildstorm being established as part of DC’s Multiverse as Earth 50, it seems it was retconned to a timeline not a world that was merged with the Vertigo “timeline” and the main DCU timeline into the DC New 52 timeline. Retconning this kind of stuff is not surprising. DC did something similar confusing the Crime Syndicate of Amerika, an evil Justice League. There were two iterations floating around the DCU pre-New 52: one from an alternate multiverse Earth and another from the Anti-Matter Universe. They were virtually the same, except for where they came from based on editorial and/or writer whim.

Anyhow, three timelines into one when we have a Trinity War on the horizon does seem too convenient to be coincidental.

Plus, in relation to the Superman / Wonder Woman duo (read on), in Justice League International Annual #1 a Booster Gold from the future came to the past to avert a tragedy. He starts to dissipate at the end of the issue and wonders if SuperWonder (a la Brangelina) is what he came back in time to unmake.

Trinity War may have an impact on the trinity of timelines that lead to the creation of the New 52? Could it somehow play into the Vertigo imprint (and/or “timeline“) 20th anniversary celebrations of 2013?

I know many fans think DC has a backdoor plan to bring back some of or all of the old DC Universe. I don’t share that view, but “three timelines” coming into one New 52 timeline does seem interesting in light of this upcoming war involving a trinity or “three”.

3. Trinity of Sin

As part of 2012′s FCBD we saw the debut of the Trinity of Sin. We saw the mysterious Pandora also seen in Flashpoint, as noted earlier, and in all of 2011′s New 52 #1 issues. On FCBD we came to learn more about her and the other two that make up the Trinity of Sin.

All three committed transcendent sins and were punished by the SHAZAM pantheon. We have Pandora, joined by the Phantom Stranger and a mystical Question that appears a lot like Vic Sage pre-metamorphosis. Poor Renee Montoya.

This Trinity likely will have a large role in Trinity War since the 2012 FCBD cover featured Batman holding “Pandora’s Box” and he also has it in that Jim Lee Trinity War spread above.

2. Battle of the Trinity of Justice Leagues

In the recent Justice League #16 we had a call for reinforcements by Cyborg to assist the League in the War with Atlantis. Many of those faces were on the Justice League #1 teaser cover from 2011.

Slight spoilers below. You have been warned.

Not sure who Goldrush is, but everyone else are known quantities to fans of DC Comics.

End of spoilers.

Interestingly, when looking at the 2011 Justice League #1 Jim Lee spread, we see the core Justice League in the middle bordered by other heroes with the ones on the left in red and the ones on the right in blue.

Could those bordered heroes actually represent other Justice League rosters yet to coalesce? Deadman on the left is clearly one of writer Jeff Lemire’s Justice League Dark heroes. Could the rest on that side represent the JLD? The Atom, as Dr. Ray Palmer, on that side has appeared sans costume in the now cancelled Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. series. While DC creators has said that the Atom in the JL #1 Jim Lee picture is not Ray Palmer, but Ryan Choi a younger Atom, we’ll see.

On the right we have Hawkman, Green Arrow and others. Could this side represent Justice League of America? It even has Mera it seems at the bottom and we know she is as aggressive as the rest of the “heroes” on that side.

In addition, that 2012 FCBD gatefold Jim Lee spread has Black Adam in it instead of Shazam. Could Black Adam be joining the JLD or JLA or JL?

We’ve had four Justice Leagues in the New 52: Justice League, Justice League of America, Justice League Dark and the recently cancelled Justice League International. However only a trinity of Leagues exists today. Could another JLI emerge from a Justice Leagues Civil War?

Well, it does appear that R.B. Silva is on such a project featuring Shazam, Nightwing, Black Canary, Batgirl, Red Tornado and a previously spoken for Hawkman. Check out the pic from Silva’s Instagram below.

BTW, did you notice the Justice League International hashtag in the second pic above? Hmmm. With that, here are some of those JLI heroes as drawn by Silva on his instragram: Shazam, Booster Gold and Black Canary.

Fun times ahead.

1. DC’s Traditional Trinity

Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. These characters have been referred to as DC’s Trinity for decades. Two of them are now a couple and the other one knows and knew the moment the relationship started. In Justice League #14 Superman and Batman Wonder Woman embraced with Batman looking on from the Justice League’s monitor.

In a tease of things to come in 2013, we see that Superman and Batman come to blows. Could this be a key part of Trinity War? Is a plausible scenario that Batman and Superman exchange blows over Wonder Woman? Is there a super-break-up in the cards? Superman and Wonder Woman have gone toe-to-toe before. What happens when that kind of battle is loaded with emotion?

And, why are Superman, Wonder Woman and Shazam fighting in the earlier teaser?

In that same teaser, Pandora hands her box to someone. Is it Batman who has it as per the many other images we’ve seen or did he steal it from whomever Pandora gave it to?

Lastly, in relation to the preceding Trinity section of this column regarding a Justice Leagues Civil War, the teaser above also includes Cyborg noting that their core JL membership drive let in a traitor. Who among the newbies are a traitor to the League? That doesn’t mean they’re evil. Maybe they are doing it for JLD or JLA? A distrust of the powerful Justice League does seem like a motivation for the creation of the new JLA. Interesting.

Whatever it is made up of, I’m looking forward to Trinity War. Any other theories that YOU have to share?

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The last week in DC Comics news has been a-buzz by the spotlight issue of writer Scott Snyder’s Batman #12 on a relatively new character the Batman lore: a female tech-erchin named Harper Row.

Along with that, the postponement of Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc. #3 from its July release date to August 22 has also garnered attention due to some likely graphic imagery in the title that DC Entertainment seemingly thought may be too soon to see so close to the Aurora Dark Knight Rises shooting tragedy. That said, many retailers have honored DC’s request to postpone release of the issue, but many also did not. I picked up the title on its July release date and am only know writing about it.

While writers Scott Snyder and Grant Morrison suck most of the oxygen out of fandom concerning the Dark Knight, Peter J. Tomasi’s current Batman and Robin arc should not be overlooked. While Batman Inc. #3 advances Damian Wayne’s (not Robin’s) story and Batman #12 gives Harper Row screen time signalling big things for the teen’s future, Batman and Robin #12 plays with Damian and all the ex-Robins: Nightwing, Red Hood and Red Robin (who was now never an adjectiveless Robin, but still part of the fraternity).

I’ve been intrigued by how DC Comics over the last few months have unveiled the complex relationships of these boys since in the New 52 Stephanie Brown was never a Robin which now males it 4 not 5 ex-Robins in current lore. The relationship building started with the reveals of 3 of the 4 Robins associations in Scott Lobdell’s Red Hood and the Outlaws series and the more recent Batman and Robin series reveals in recent months that make it 4 for 4 Robins kinships explained.

With that, let me walk you through the most recent significant Robins-centric reveals in the DC Comics New 52′s Batman and Robin #12, Batman Incorporated #3, and Batman #12; the latter was reviewed favorably here at the Comics Nexus.

(From left to right: Regular cover to Batman and Robin #12, regular and variant cover to Batman Incorporated #3, plus regular and variant cover to Batman #12.)

…Beware SPOILERS ahead!…

Batman and Robin #12: Damian’s Ex-Robins Quest Ends

Despite Grant Morrison’s introduction of Damian Wayne pre-New 52 and his indication of his big plans for the character in Batman Inc., writer While Peter Tomasi has been like a stepfather for the character and dealing with his emotional and intellectual growth in the pages of Batman and Robin. Damian is actually the biological son of Batman, he clearly has his mother’s aggressive streak, Talia Al Ghul, who is the big bad behind the nefarious organization Leviathan in the pages of Batman Incorporated and who also popped up in the recent The Dark Knight Rises hit movie.

Certainly when Damian was introduced he was portrayed as rough, with a chip on his shoulder, but more skilled in the Batman-like dark arts than any of Batman’s other Robins.

At the opening of the current Batman and Robin arc, the ongoing subplot behind the villain Terminus’ battle with Batman, has been Damian’s attempt to overcome his inferiority complex by pledging to defeat each of the previous Robins. In the first issue he tackles Tim Drake, Red Robin, and succeeds in showing Tim through a battle of wits – distracting Tim through a battle of brawn – that young master Drake, um, Drake-Wayne has his own dark side despite his squeaky clean persona.

Damian then tackles Jason Todd, Red Hood, in the next issue – a character most like Damian certainly at each’s opening Robin years – in a more traditional winner-takes-all-fight where Damian may get his Red Hood mask souvenir, but readers also see that Jason has matured beyond his original petulant, impulsive, Robin beginnings.

(From left to right: First two panels from Batman and Robin #10, third panel from Batman and Robin #11 and final panel from Batman and Robin #12.)

Lastly, in the pages of Batman and Robin #12, Dick Grayson, Nightwing pre-empts Damian by proactively offering his fighting stick as a trophy to the boy and indicates that Damian is a legit Robin and THE Robin of the family. Nightwing certainly demonstrates his maturity here and it does feel like a passing of the baton both figuratively and literally from the iconic pop culture Robin, Dick Grayson.

This has been a really fun arc by writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason. I wonder what the future holds for father and son, Batman and Robin, in light of the developments by Damian’s literary father Grant Morrison in the pages of Batman Inc.

Batman Incorporated #3: Damian Nests Or Flies The Coup?

Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc. series has been less about the INC and more about the family feud. The writer describes the series as follows:

This is Batman, Talia and Damian, caught in the middle of this gigantic global war. It’s really about parents falling out with each other — only these parents have the power to crack the world in half. [Laughs] One side has a supervillain army with assassins and Man-Bats and genetically engineered troops. It’s kind of the horror of what goes wrong in a family just expanded to a global scale.

This is pretty Shakespearean with Damian having to forgo his Robin identity in this title, since mama has a bounty on his head.

So, does Damian hire Redbird to do his bidding? Or is something else at play?

Well, with Batman Inc. #3, Damian finds a creative way to honor his dad’s wish to not be Robin right now so he is not a target. What does Damian do? Well, he dons the Redbird sidekick gear and it seems he’ll be fighting alongside the new Wingman – a mystery those still about who is under the mask – per the cover to Batman Inc. #4. The Comics Nexus’ EIC has speculated that it could be Jean Paul Valley, formerly Azrael in the pre-New 52 DC universe (DCU), under the Wingman mask. Who do you think it is?

(From left to right: Two panels from 2012′s Batman Inc. #3, cover to 2012′s Batman Inc. #4, plus Batman and Wingman panel from 2011′s Batman Inc. #6.)

Will Damian stay as Redbird? It would make some sense since Tim Drake-Wayne’s Red Robin costume changed in the New 52 and Damian’s Redbird costume is very similar to that old costume that was designed by Alex Ross as part of the classic Kingdom Come series where the painter partnered with writer Mark Waid. In Kingdom Come’s then future of the DCU, Dick Grayson was Red Robin, but DC liked the costume so much, they gave it and the mantle to Tim Drake when Damian became Robin. Anyway, DC can’t have two like costumes in the Batfamily – Redbird and the classic Red Robin feathers.

What is the future of Batman Inc. after Grant Morrison’s final issue with series with its issue #12 expected in 2013? Certainly DC Comics has not capitalized on its previous Knight and Squire mini-series that spun from the INC concept. In addition, while its ongoing DC New 52 Batwing series is intriguing, it is not lighting the sales charts on fire.

It would appear that Grant Morrisons’ years in the Batverse are coming to end and all his threads will be tied up. In describing Wingman and Redbird from the upcoming Batman Inc. #4, he teased his own end to the book and the culmination of his years with Batman was follows:

But they’re obviously the end game of “How many iterations of Batman can we get to?” The whole idea of “Batman Incorporated” will start to fold back in on itself as Leviathan’s schemes become more and more evident. We wanted to create a finish for that, in a way…

…Every little thread we’ve had for the past six years gets a payoff. As I’ve said all along, it’s kind of a heartbreaking story ultimately because it has to be. But I can’t say in what way it’s heartbreaking. We’ve seen a little bit of this in the first issue, with Bruce Wayne under arrest. Things are happening here that will change things forever, as we always say.

Certainly, since Morrison had described the book as a family feud between Batman and Talia with Damian in the middle, folks are speculating a tragic end for Damian. That is difficult to contemplate since he’s been shown to be alive in the pages of Batman #666, an issue that included intel of Damian Wayne’s past and future written by Morrison, but something about this family will see tragedy likely in the future. Perhaps Talia kills and replaces her father – Ra’s Al Ghul – as THE prime Batman immortal rogue? Nah. It’s probably something else. Do you have any thoughts on the “game changing” end to Grant Morrison’s Batverse odyssey?

Since Batman Inc. is showing to be a successful book sales-wise, I can’t see DC cancelling it after Morrison departs. Could a Batman Inc. anchored by Damian Wayne’s Redbird alongside Batwing, the Knight and maybe the new Wingman be a compelling evolution of the series? I would actually prefer a Batman Inc. without Batman so we can see these other characters solve and defeat threats out from under the shadow of THE Bat.

The INC part should be focussed on after Morrison, and hopefully, Batman will leave the title.

Batman #12: Harper Row Gets Prepped For Prime Time

The much buzzed about Batman #12 retraces story beats all the way back to Batman #1 through to Batman #11. By the end, we know who Harper Row is in current Batman lore, but we’re not clear on what’s next for her. When you consider what just happened concerning Damian Wayne in Batman Inc. #3, it does seem to be interesting timing for Harper’s vault to prominence.

Writer Scott Snyder has indicated that Harper Row is a big deal and that we’ll be “seeing more of her in Gotham soon – she has an important role to play in upcoming stories”. It is not clear if that will relate to Snyder’s upcoming “Death of the Family” arc featuring the Joker or beyond that as we know DC plans a few years out.

I quite enjoyed Batman #12. The story was compelling despite not having a lot of Batman in it, but it was nice going back and reliving some of the events from Batman #1 to now through Harper’s eyes. I think artist Becky Cloonan has a clean manga style to her art which felt fresh and I tip my hat to her for being the first female to provide art on the Batman title. However, while I liked her style, I’m not necessarily sold on it for the Batman anchor series. Andy Clarke’s artwork in the back part of the book, with James Tynion IV co-writing with Snyder, felt more like an authentic Batman story visually. DC Comics NEEDS to get Andy Clarke on a New 52 title… STAT!

Writer Scott Snyder has also revealed that:

BATMAN #12 properly introduces a character I care a lot about, Harper Row. You saw Harper briefly in BATMAN #1 and in BATMAN #7 (when she basically jump-started Batman’s heart), but her story – her relationship to Gotham and Batman – has yet to be told. So this is where you’ll learn all about her, and why she seems so familiar with the Dark Knight. Hers is also a story that matters a lot to me.

He sure seems like he has a master plan. It was nice going back to see those olde Harper Row panels in issues #1 and #7. See below.

(From left to right: Panel from from Batman #1 and two panels from Batman #7 with art by Greg Capullo.)

So, what are the big plans for Harper? Is she a future Robin? Although, I do think Ethan Van Sciver does a very nice depiction of Stephanie Brown as Robin. That said, what plans do you think Scott Snyder has in store for Ms. Harper Row?

I’m intrigued by the future of Harper and all of DC’s current and ex-Robins.

DC needs to get that rumored The Robins series off the ground as part of the company’s inevitable Wave Four after a few more New 52 series are ended. I think a Robins-centric series would do well. Don’t you?

Till next week, thanks for reading. As always, all feedback welcome.

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The team is in utter shambles, with only Booster, Guy, Batman, August General, and Godiva in any sort of reasonable shape.

Fire is in a coma.

Vixen suffered spinal damage, she may never walk again.

Ice has multiple fractures in both legs, not to discount the internal injuries.

Rocket Red, as well as Andre Briggs and Emerson Esposito (the liaisons from the UN to the JLI) are all dead.

All because someone set off a bomb and then sent in a super villain to keep everyone off balance after the fact. The villain, Lightweaver, goes after Booster after everything else, but Booster is saved by someone who I can only presume to be the newest member of the JLI.

Batwing.
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WARNING: This column contains SPOILERS for recent Batman issues.

We’ve written before about the logic bombs in DC Comics continuity concerning Batman three confirmed ex-Robins (Nightwing / Red Hood / Red Robin) and even Stephanie Brown a.k.a. Spoiler, (maybe) Robin, and Batgirl.

Batman is one of DC Comics most successful franchises pre-DC Comics Relaunch / New 52 and post. As such, a lot of the old elements still exist, despite causing one headaches if we think too hard about them. However, that’s just related to the past. It doesn’t impact today’s stories too much in terms of enjoyment. So, we can give DC is a bit of rope on the continuity challenges concerning at least 4 Robins in 5 years, during which a Robin graduated to Batman at least once (although you’ll note Dick Grayson was technically Batman at a point after Azrael relinquished the mantle during Batman’s spinal issues, plus Dick’s most recent role after Bruce Wayne’s presumed death).

So, I’m wondering based on today’s Bat-books, whether DC is letting the writers just plain old write without any sense about how each book’s portrayal’s fit with the broader Batman narrative. It would be great if Batman sneezed in Detective Comics, that he’d have a cold in Batman, and perhaps eat chicken soap delivered by Alfred in Batman and Robin. However, I do “get” that once a story starts, the pace may be different from one to the other in this era of decompressed story-telling. Detective Comics’ first arc could be over a span of a few days, while Batman could be a few weeks, etc. So, I do know tales need to unfold at a reasonable pace letting the story roll out in an organic way.

However, when in issue #1 of Detective Comics we have a facial scalped Joker as the key hook in the book, why exactly would the Joker be hearty and hale in Batman: The Dark Knight #2, one month later? While some editorial gaffes might help advance Bruce Wayne’s playboy persona, namely all of the women he had sex with and/or made dates with in September 2011, the Joker plot point / misstep seems a bit glaring. Why do the writers all have to feature Joker and Two-Face in some capacity in their books? Batman has the best Rogues Gallery in comicdom. Its not like there aren’t other characters that could be used that would have almost as much of an impact as Batman’s numero uno nemesis.

Three scenarios come to mine: Either (1) Batman editorial are having a deliberately loose editting style that contributes to what I would term “atmospheric continuity”, namely that the key elements of the Batman Family lore / atmospher are consistent, e.g. Batman is Batman, no major injuries, etc. Alfred is the butler, etc. while everything else is up for grabs in the efforts to tell a good story… or (2) Batman editorial are making mistakes by not cross-reading books and these Joker missteps should not be happening… or (3) the role of Batman editorial in the New 52 are as spell-checkers and grammar police only.

(Now, there is a possibility that the ending to Detective Comics #1 didn’t happen as we believe it, but if that’s not the Joker’s face, then I think readers will feel cheated.)

Putting that niggling, cheated feeling aside… I’m not a continuity czar by any stretch of the imagination, but the Joker plan / gaffe IMHO, is a bit distracting when one reads that the New 52 are being heavily managed and manicured. It would seem the Joker is playing a KEY role in Detective Comics arc while seemingly a plot footnote, like Two-Face was, in a broader White Rabbit story in the Dark Knight. If that’s the case, as an editor IMHO, Detective Comics takes precedence. It gets Joker.

To be fair, the Batman Family of books are the strongest all of the DC’s New 52 families, so some latitude makes sense, but I think greater efforts to ensure a more consistent portrayl of Batman and key rogues and key supporting characters would go a long way. Or, if we must, why not use those old blurbs from the editor to say “This takes place before/after/whatever the events of issue #X of Detectice Comics #Y” when a head-scratcher emerges. If not on the issue’s cliff-hanger page, perhaps in the next issue’s opening scenes that continues from said cliff-hanger?

With all that considered, many of these elusive new readers and lapsed readers may not be as well versed in comic book time or comic book logic as us grizzled veterans, so every little bit will help to make as many of DC’s books as accessible as possible going forward.

The problem can be exacerbated with a character like Batman who is a regular in several ongoing titles in the New 52:
- Justice League
- Justice League International
- Batman
- Batman and Robin
- Batman Incorporated
- Batman: The Dark Knight
- Detective Comics

That’s a minimum of seven books that Batman is guaranteed to be in. That doesn’t include books he will visit like Batwoman, Batgirl, etc.

Ensuring some level of consistency across his appearances, including his rogues, would only help readers appreciate and understand the new DC Universe and Batman’s important place in it.

Happy Halloween.

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No excuses with issue the twos! And, with week one of month two as a barometer, many of them serve up the action in October. I am pleased to say that both of the misfit team books reviewed below do just that. But, do they do it well?

Ok, let’s get to it…

Hawk and Dove #2:

I’m a sucker for doppelgangers. It’s probably one of the reasons I enjoy stories from DC’s multiverse and seeing villains as mirror opposites of the heroes they face, e.g. Zoom to Flash, Bizarro to Superman, Owlman to Batman (which we may see in the New 52 from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman series), Teth Adam to Captain Marvel, etc.

Dopplegangers have been a big part of Hawk and Dove lore since the book was relaunched from its 1960s roots in the 1980s. In fact the initial 1980s mini-series focused on a new character called Kestrel who was very similar to Hawk and Dove. He was a villain primarily clad in purple resembling Hawk somewhat; a deliberate color choice with the visual blending Hawk’s dominant red and Dove’s overt blue costume hues. Now, Kestrel is nowhere to be seen in this new Sterling Gates penned and Rob Liefeld penciled Hawk and Dove series so far, but we do meet another avatar: a new primarily brown costumed avatar in the form of Condor who debuted on the cliff-hanger page of issue #1. And, there are more avatars.

With the cover of issue #3 revealed, and the interior teaser images from issue #2 released by DC Comics, I don’t think I’d be spoiling too much by saying that Hawk and Dove #2 unites the villainous Condor with his new female partner, the dominant yellow costumed Swan. What is interesting about Swan’s in-issue origin is how she assumes her “avatar powers”. While we don’t know who her or Condor’s sponsoring avatars are – while we do know Hawk is the avatar of war and Dove is the avatar of peace – readers are left wondering if the only way to assume avatar powers is how Swan did. If so, what does that mean for how Dawn Granger assumed the Dove avatar from Don Hall, Hank’s brother? It was teased in issue #1 that Dawn and Don had met before which is a bit of a reboot from the pre-Flashpoint era.

The remaining mystery is why Hawk’s costume changed from red and white to gray and white for this new series, but I imagine that is coming – as folks may recall, the flashback in issue #1 did show Hawk’s originating costuming being the classic red and white.

Hawk and Dove #2 also has our titular heroes in battle with Alexander Quirk’s Monsters of Mass Destruction. I’m not a fan of zombie terrorists, but it is so over-the-top it is kind of fun to read. However, these creatures are more of a plot distraction and they’re dispatched easily by our heroes, but not before a seemingly lonely Deadman literally pesters Dove in the heat of battle like a jilted teenager; I guess those are the risks of Dove having a “ghost boyfriend”. For an avatar of peace, we see her lose her cool a bit with Deadman, which seems uncharacteristic for the typically calm Dove. The internet has been going gaga over this characterization by Sterling Gates, but I believe even the most calm person can get angry now and then, the same way Hawk also has his restrained moments yet he is usually a ball of rage on the battlefield.

Away from battle, we see old favorites like Hank’s ex (in-the-New-52) girlfriend Ren Takamori alongside Hank’s very-much-alive veteran Judge father who surfaced last issue…. and even current U.S. President Obama. With that, it looks like DC Comics is going back to having its U.S. President aligned with “real life”. I think the company stopped doing that after President H.W. Bush or during the Clinton administration, I don’t exactly recall when. After that DC started to have comic characters assume the presidency. Good to see we’re back to the future in this portrayal approach in the DC Comics Relaunch. Since Washington D.C. and politics will be an important backdrop for this title, I find that this presidential alignment gives the book a bit more authenticity.

The cliff-hanger of this book involves almost all of the characters I’ve spoken about in this review so far, so it is a biggie.

Overall, the story is entertaining and in many ways embraces the ridiculousness and fun of the super-hero comic book genre. There are even interesting bits of humor peppered in the book including Hawk remarking that despite his nom du guerre, he can’t fly, but it’s not a big issue since he just needs to smash.

Sterling Gates crafts an intriguing and entertaining yarn in issue #2 of Hawk and Dove as business really picks up. I am also loving the Washington D.C. backdrop in our characters’ civilian lives. I’m hoping one of our main characters, maybe Dawn, interns on Capital Hill. It’s clear from this issue that Hank Hall sympathizes with either Republicans or Libertarians, and I wonder who Dawn leans to, Democrats or perhaps she’s an independent?

Rob Liefeld’s pencils service the story. There is an energy in his pages and his characters take centre stage on each page. However, while we do see a lot more backgrounds from Liefeld than earlier in his career, there isn’t enough in this book. Most of the backgrounds are just plain walls in the different locales. Yes, our characters have proportional feet, but I think more defined backgrounds in the scenes would help the action pop better off the page and improve the flow of the book’s visuals. However, since this the same style he uses in his Image Comics series The Infinite, I imagine we won’t see any evolution in the art. Can I live with that? Sure. Do I hope we’ll see a bit more effort on backgrounds? Yup. However, the other aspects of the art are relatively good. With Liefeld, you get the Liefeld style, which despite the internet’s keyboard warriors, remains a draw – pun intended – for many readers.

I’m entertained and intrigued by Hawk and Dove #2. With that said, I am so down for next month’s issue #3.

Stormwatch #2:

The inherent challenge for writers with team books is the constant struggle to feature as much of the team in innovative ways that make them seem vital all the while advancing the major plots and subplots in an organic way with the appropriate tempo. The challenge the DC Comics Relaunch overlays on these traditional team book trials is the need to explain the premise of the book and provide sufficient snapshots of each protagonist to entice readers to come back for more even if they’re left in the dark a bit. After all, there is no way to properly introduce all the characters all at once, with the antagonists as well, and do all that mentioned early in one issue; I’m not sure you’d want to anyway as a writer because why have a characterization earthquake in issue #1 at the expense of action, suspense, etc. So, that creatively means enticing and intriguing readers enough with your plot and initial characterization to warrant a second look.

Stormwatch adds an even further wrench into things by not being a traditional DC Comics property so it’s the attention-grabbing covers of the book and readers buzz that likely get people to crack the spine of the book. Once that happens, in my humble opinion, you can’t help, but be a little intrigued. With nine protagonists, many new to DC Comics readers old and new, writer Paul Cornell has his work cut out for him. For the uninitiated this new Stormwatch team consists of a mix of classic Wildstorm “Authority” characters, one DC standard bearer, and a few brand new ones:

• Martian Manhunter – Is the green-hued alien shapeshifter DC hero that has traditionally been affiliated with the Justice League. He has super strength, the ability to fly, and other powers reviling even Superman. And, that’s it for traditional DC characters on the Stormwatch roster, just Manhunter.
• Apollo – Traditionally this Wildstorm character has had solar based powers similar to Superman (wow, with Martian Manhunter that makes Stormwatch pretty powerful). It is interesting that this Superman analogue is now in the DC Universe with the genuine article. How they are differentiated should be an interesting feature as Cornell fleshes out his Apollo on Stormwatch. We don’t know much about Apollo in this book so far, but we do know he is powerful, potentially more powerful than Superman.
• Midnighter –The team will also have Wildstorm’s Batman analogue in the form of Midnighter. Not much has been revealed in Stormwatch so far about this character either, but he is scrappy, effecient and effective just like Batman. And, he also has a pretty cool costume except for the addition of shoulder spikes and a chin spike. I know, weird.
• Jack Hawksmoor – Wildstorm also brings us a character that can talk to cities and draw energy from them to fuel his abilities (pretty cool actually). He also has metal on the soles of his feet and palms of his hands that have yet to be explained, but they provide a cool visual. There hasn’t been too much revealed about the New 52’s Jack Hawksmoor either. He had a larger profile in issue #1 than issue #2.
• The Engineer – She is a genius imported from Wildstorm covered in a living metal skin and responsible for communications between the members of Stormwatch from the Eye of the Storm, Stormwatch’s base in Hyperspace. She also has leadership ambitions.
• Jenny Q – She is the last of the Wildstorm alumni reimagined for the DC Comics Relaunch. She is a century baby – a long line of individuals who live for one hundred years – that is being mentored by the exceptionally long-lived new character Adam-One. Her powers have not be fully explained so far, but they are based on 21rst Century phsyics. Intriguing.
• Adam-One – This new character has been alive since the Big Bang and has been aging backwards (like Jonathan Winters’ character from the classic TV show Mork and Mindy starring Robin Williams). He is a brilliant tactician and (current) leader of the team, despite not inspiring confidence. He resembles slightly the Drummer character from the fan favorite Planetary from Wildstorm of olde.
• Eminence of Blades – Another new character who is a master swordsman and a misdirection artist (a convincing liar ). Not much else is known, but he may have psychic abilities as well after his exchange with the Scourge of Worlds in Stormwatch #2. He is probably the most interesting character of this Stormwatch team despite a seemingly unfortunate turn of events in issue #2. This character seems to role with the punches if issue #2 is any indication.
• The Projectionist –This is the least defined new character of the team. However, we know she has he ability to influence perception on a global scale which comes in handy in issue #2.

With the dramatis personae complete, I can report that the sophomore issue of this book continues to unwrap the team’s cast of characters for DC Comics readers in the thick of big and crazy action from the mind of writer Paul Cornell. The team is divided trying to recruit Apollo on one hand in Russia and on the other hand dealing with the threat of the Scourge of Worlds that turns the moon into the greatest weapon to ever be pointed at Earth.

It’s interesting seeing Martian Manhunter in action trying to recruit both Midnighter and Apollo to Stormwatch. What’s been great so far in Stormwatch is we’ve seen a tougher side to Martian Manhunter and certainly seen his powers used differently. The cliff-hanger from issue #1 was a great showcase of that. We still don’t see too much of Apollo’s powers here in issue #2, but we know that he and Midnighter, his destined-to-be-lover, want no part of being “super-heroes” which are seen as amateurs by the two-some and by Stormwatch. Midnighter has been stalking Apollo, literally, whether for professional reasons or personal reasons is unclear at this point.

In terms of the Scourge of Worlds plot, I have to say how cool is that a giant sentient physic eyeball is threatening the Earth with the moon as its weapon. Wow. I never thought I’d ever type something like that in a review or column. We learn more about the Eminence of Blades who has had his brain hard-wired literally to the giant eyeball villain. I won’t spoil this plot for you, but it is interesting to see the exchange between the two.

Also, seeing how the Projectionist’s powers work to conceal what’s happening on the moon and who is behind it, leads to an interesting Justice League International cameo. I got a nice chuckle at those scenes.

In the heat of the moon battle, the Apollo recruitment efforts in Russia, and the scenes in hyperspace, almost half the members of Stormwatch still have time to conspire against Adam-One for the leadership of the team.

The book ends with another great cliffhanger that brings the action, horror, sci-fi and suspense. There is so much going on in this book, but it all fits together well.

Stormwatch #2 is a genre-bending and blending issue that has solid characterization that reveals to true nature of many of the characters. Cornell is not afraid to make these characters fallible submitting to human vices and desires, but all-the-while fighting the good fight. I’m curious as to what keeps such a band of misfits together. The action of the book, zipping between locales, and the unorthodox lunar antagonist build on the solid characterization to craft a tale that feels very different from the other New 52 titles and carves out a unique place in the DCU for this team and stories like this.

The pencils of newly DC Comics exclusive Miguel Sepulveda really evolve in issue #2 as he is clearly getting more comfortable with the characters. In particular, the fact that he makes the scenes between the Eminence of Blades and the Scourge of Worlds seem important with the world’s fate at risk is a testament to his skill as an artist. Those scenes could easily have looked ridiculous – because really it is a crazy yet entertaining plot involving this giant eyeball antagonist – by a lesser artist

I loved issue #2 and am excited to see where Cornell and Sepulveda take this next month. This isn’t a traditional super-hero yarn and despite that I’m really surprised how much I have been sucked into this title. Wow.

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1. Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire.

   After a surprisingly successful Justice League: Generation Lost weekly maxi-series in 2010/11, it was surprising that DC went the wholesale reboot for the JLI. It was originally a fun book from the 1980s that coined the “Bwa-ha-ha” phrase from the laughter through action throughout the series.

   From the first issue of the new 52 series it appears that this is the first team this case is getting together. Although Captain Atom was rebooted, DC Comics could have removed him from the JLI back-story, but no reason others should.

   I am enjoying the current JLI, but I feel that it’s JLI-in-name-only.

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2. Young Justice by Peter David and various artists.

   This is a title that has many fans for its irreverent take of youthful super-hero side-kicks. It seems that even before the DC Comics Relaunch, the TPTB at DC already wiped out David’s Supergirl run through Jeph Loeb’s Supergirl epic in the pages of Superman/Batman (and both are now written out the new DCU), but it looks like other critically acclaimed YJ run is out too. I know these books were written at a different time, but it showed the evolution from tween heroes and heroines to teens.

   While I enjoyed the DC Comics Relaunch’s New 52 debut Teen Titans issue, I just found the characters a bit more jaded than previous incarnations. When looking at YJ, it was a fun book that showed tremendous character growth. You can still have that in the new Teen Titans series, but it the past the characters started off as being a bit naive, not hard-edged. Interesting that Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans run is out of the new DCU too.

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3. Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.

   With the new Action Comics book in the New 52, it does appear that the most recent revamp of Superman’s early years never happened. He likely has not been Superboy so that Morrison can square this new version of Superman with his early Golden Age portrayal as a strong man in tights who can leap great bounds, but not fly. Perhaps some of TV’s Smallville series could have occurred thematically, a boy in highschool struggling with growing powers and doing good covertly as the “blur”.

   In fairness, Johns’ SO was the last in a long line of reboots of Superman that even pre-date John Byrne’s classic 1980s Man of Steel. It seems that Superman’s beginnings has been in flux and subject to change or tweaking every decade or so. I guess this new version by Morrison happens very early in a new decade.

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4. Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, by anyone.

   DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio has mused that Ted Kord was not the inspiration for the current Blue Beetle Jamie Reyes. While I have not been able to find a direct quote, I do remember spying a comment on Dan’s facebook page a few months ago shortly after the DC Comics Relaunch was announced. Time will tell if this comes to pass.

   After reading the New 52 Blue Beetle, it certainly seems that Jamie Reyes doesn’t even know who Ted is, which is a bad omen. Even in the new JLI series, Booster Gold doesn’t reference Ted at all and perhaps that’s not surprising since JLI is also rebooted from scratch.

   So no Blue and Gold, well with Carter and Ted anyway.

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5. Justice Society of America, all incarnations, post-Crisis on Infinite Earths.

   While Superman in the New 52 sparking the modern age of super-heroes doesn’t preclude an earlier age of “mystery men” in the DCU, the musing by Dan DiDio and key creative talents make that seems highly unlikely. The New 52 provides a ground-floor entry into its universe, a younger universe one at that. Having colorful costumed heroes active around WWII may undermine that from the DC Comics TPTB’s perspective.

   I’m still hoping that isn’t right, but it may be that the only JSA we will get is as part of Grant Morrison’s Multiversity which could include Earth 2 where an incarnation of JSA exists on a parallel Earth. This could kick off the announced new JSA series written by James Robinson and pencilled by Nicola Scott. Well, if DC has a multiverse, I guess it should publish a few books placed on a few, and the JSA is a good candidiate for that.

---

What else did you notice as big omissions in the DC Comics Relaunch so far?

There were some tweaks here and there too that will be interesting, e.g. JLI #2 indicated that Green Lantern Guy Gardner only dated Ice a few times or Shade #1 preview teasing that blue-alien Starman is friends with Congorilla, yet their Justice Leagye likely didn’t occur in this new DCU.

Also, please note, that Captain Marvel and the Shazam family have not been listed above, not because it hasn’t been overlooked in the initial DC Comics Relaunch, but because DC has indicated some kind of Shazam-in-the-new-DCU project will be part of a future relaunch wave.

So, any omission leap out at you so far in DC Comics Relaunch’s New 52?

STAYING CONNECTED

(1) I am now on twitter and can be found at BabosScribe.

(2) I am also on Facebook and can be found at BabosScribe.

Cheers!

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And since I picked up every debut last week, I figured I’d share my thoughts on all of them individually. In this here column.

(I’ve listed them in order, from what I loved to what I didn’t like.)

Action Comics – What was there not to love about this book? I loved the new status quo. I liked the nod to Clark working at the Daily Star as well as his relationships with Lois and Jimmy.

Seeing Clark in action was cool as well, both in terms of his attitude and him being a relative novice. And I enjoyed the appearance by Lex and his air of superiority and fear mongering.

I also liked the subtle things in the book. Like the nod on the cover to the year Superman made his debut. I also liked the nod to Will Eisner and allusion to the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Animal Man – I’m not going to lie; the text page threw me off. I wasn’t down with all that reading.

But then things got better. So much better. The art was stellar and really drew me in as a reader. The story was very engaging and I loved the character work. As someone who didn’t read his Vertigo adventures, I think I’m glad that she’s been reintroduced into the DCU. This book was probably the biggest surprise for me this week.

Batwing – I had high hopes for book and it didn’t disappoint. First off Ben Oliver’s art was everything I was hoping for. It was dynamic and vibrant. Characters had distinct looks and the storytelling was there.

And Judd Winick actually managed to be subtle. The story didn’t have any hint of heavy-handedness, which his scripts occasionally have. I liked the non-linear approach as well as the early introduction of Batwing’s supporting cast.

Stormwatch – This book made me realize how much I actually missed The Authority and all of it’s glorious characters. Seeing Angie, Jake, Apollo and Midnighter again was a true delight. It instantly made me excited for this book.

The attacking lunar surface was pretty far out, but I’m willing to ride with Paul Cornell on this one. I’m also very intrigued to see how J’onn plays into everything. This book seems to be the one carrying the Wildstorm torch and I’m going along for the ride.

Swamp Thing – This book hands down wins for creepiest of the week. When the antagonist takes over the archeologists and spins their heads around, I was genuinely disturbed. It reminded me of the old Nightwing villain Torque.

I enjoyed what Scott Snyder did with the story. The conversation between Superman and Alec was a joy to read. From Alec explaining the animal deaths to his speech about how violent plants are. And Yanick Paquette’s art matched the script perfectly.

Batgirl – It’s weird, but because of Birds of Prey and Secret Six, I’m used to totally loving a book scripted by Gail Simone. This issue didn’t click with me immediately. I can’t explain it. I liked it, I just didn’t love it.

I like the whole thing about Babs having a roommate. I like the story possibilities there. And her roommate sort of reminded me of Bridget Clancy, Dick Grayson’s ex. I also like the Mirror as a foe and that Babs isn’t quite over The Killing Joke.

Again, I enjoyed this book. I just didn’t fall head over heels in love with it, like I usually do with Gail Simone books.

O.M.A.C. – This book was a total surprise. I didn’t know I had been missing old school super hero action, but apparently I had. And this book was a total throwback, from the art to the story to the characters to the cover.

I really, really enjoyed this book. And I never thought I’d say that about a book scripted by Dan DiDio. But this book was all about the action and Keith Giffen paying tribute to Jack Kirby.

Detective Comics – This was an interesting status quo setting issue, with a cliffhanger designed to bring people back. Tony Daniel crafted a pretty solid first issue. As an artist, I saw some Frank Miller in some of his panels, and I appreciated his art more than I had in the past.

Yeah, that cliffhanger was brutal. It caused quite the furor, which is hard to do when you’ve got Batman facing The Joker for the umpteenth time. I will certainly be back for the second issue.

Hawk & Dove – I really wanted this issue to be so much better than it was. I’ve got fond memories of Rob Liefeld’s original Hawk & Dove mini. I liked the nods to the old Hawk & Dove monthly. I appreciated the acknowledgement of Brightest Day. And I’m intrigued by the guy hunting Hawk & Dove.

But I didn’t really enjoy this book. The art was tolerable, but Sterling Gates’ story left me flat. Maybe it’s because I already knew all of the back-story covered in the issue, so it felt like filler to me. I’ll be back, but I don’t know how long I’m going to stick around.

Justice League International – Wow, talk about a momentum killer. This book seems to have completely squandered all of the good will generated by Generation Lost. I like the characters and the notion of Batman being an overt mole.

But I just don’t like the story. It didn’t move me. I don’t care about this team. Yet. Which is weird because I like Rocket Red, Booster, Guy, Fire, Ice, Vixen and August General in Iron.

Static Shock – This book was the biggest disappointment of the week. I was a fan of the original Static book which is why this book hit me so hard. There was literally nothing I liked about this book.

The villains felt generic. The story of Virgil moving from Dakota to NYC felt forced. The quips felt extremely forced. This book wasn’t fun, which generally books starring Static are. And John Rozum was a Milestone creator! The cliffhanger was decent, but mostly because it meant the end of the book.

Green Arrow – I was hoping I’d enjoy this book, but doubting that I would. I was right. I really wanted to care about Ollie again, but he seems like more of a Batman/Bruce Wayne clone than ever before.

More generic foes show up here. The supporting cast was interesting and it appears Ollie’s going to have his own Oracle. The art was good, but the story was to paint by numbers. The only way I’m coming back for a second issue is if I forget to drop it from my pull list.

Men of War – I knew this book wasn’t going to be up my alley. While I like Ivan Brandon’s work, I’m not a fan of war stories. This book did little to sell me on the genre.

It was yet another book with generic characters. Tom Derenick’s art didn’t really do much for me either. Honestly, I didn’t see a reason to come back for a second issue.

And there you have it; my take on the first thirteen books released on the first week of the new DCU. I’m sure that I’ll do it all again next week this week’s books.
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