Archive for March, 2010
Supergirl – Issue #51
Posted by Ryan Brewer in Supergirl, Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton on March 28th, 2010
Supergirl issue #51 is the second issue in the story arch Last Stand of New Krypton. Actions begins right where Last Stand of New
Supergirl Issue #51
Krypton Issue #1 left off. 20 miles outside of the City of Kandor a small group of school children is being ushered through the New Jewel Mountains. They are escorted by their teacher Pat-Ur as the city is under attack. Although Pat-Ur is trying to keep the children calm and has a smile on his face that doesn’t stop one of the children from playing with her super hearing. With tears streaming down her face she tells Pat-Ur that she can hear people all the way back at the city screaming as they die!
Supergirl then narrates a quick recap of what’s being going on here in Kandor. New Kryton has been invaded. Brainiac has returned to undo all the things they have built over the last year. He’s there to take them back. Kara say, “Like hell he will!” Mon-El and Supergirl are battling Brainiac probes left and right. Again it’s great to see them really cutting loose since they aren’t battling living beings. Decapitations and fist through probe skulls are now commonplace occurrences. Kara warns Mon to beware of the larger probes, they have some pretty slick upgrades and have the ability to fire red sun blasts at the Kryptonians thereby rendering them vulnerable to physical attack. Mon wants to know why they haven’t taken the fight directly to the ship in orbit and Kara explains that they attempted that before and were unsuccessful due to the force field around it. Their job is keep the probes as under control as possible until they figure out a way inside the ship. At that moment Mon-El is blasted from behind with a red sun blast is left vulnerable on the ground.
Kara rushes to his aid and takes out the probe before it can cause any real harm to Mon-El. But before he fully recovers he’s blasted with a psychic message from Tellus. In Last Stand of New Krypton – Issue #1 Zod turned on Connor and the Legion and took them into custody. Tellus relays this information and details about Superman’s fate telepathically to Mon-El seeking help. Mon-El decides to race to the Brainiac ship in orbit while Kara will go and help Connor and the Legion. After a brief dialogue explaining why Mon would sacrifice himself anytime for Superman, Mon-El attempts to leave but not before Kara grabs him and lays a kiss on him. A stammering Mon-El doesn’t know what to make of it. But a smiling Kara tells him it’s simply for luck and to go save her cousin so they can both come back and kick some Braini-ass.
We then cut to the Legion and Superboy, surrounded by a group of unconscious Kandorian guards. The shaken up group has little time to rest as Kara’s mother bursts in to finish off the job the guards were unable to accomplish. Supergirl is getting frustrated by the disjointed manner the Kandorians are fighting this battle. They are not working as a cohesive unit, instead they are fighting only side by side with members of their own guild. As Kara struggles to pull the Kandorians together she hears her mother struggling in battle and rushes to her aid. Just in time to rush in on her mother being suspended by her neck with her cousin Connor’s hand wrapped around her throat. In a “this isn’t what it looks like” moment Kara lands a mean right hook on Connor’s jaw and knocks him halfway across the city. Kara attempts to explain that Connor and the Legion aren’t terrorists and they are here to help. But before she really can succeed they are swarmed by an even stronger group on probes blasting red sun. Kara and her mother are backed into a corner trying to take comfort in the fact that they will at least die together fighting. But a little tactile telekinesis from Connor saves the day. Thanks to the timely save Kara convinces her mother to extend a pardon to Connor and the Legion at the chagrin of General Zod.
Green Arrow – Issue #31
Posted by Ryan Brewer in Green Arrow on March 21st, 2010
Green Arrow Issue #31
In our review of Justice League: Rise and Fall Special we asked if that issue was just a feeble attempt to get another $3.99 out of our wallets under the guisse of setting up a pivotal arch in the Green Arrow universe. Well after reading this issue of Green Arrow I’m a bit undecided on how it actually went. This issue really could have included almost everything that Rise and Fall did in just a few panels. In fact it almost did another iteration of the confrontation of Hal, Barry and Dinah. Instead of slipping away into Prometheus hideout world Ollie actually just kicks their asses and disappears. So again, not sure what Rise and Fall Special was really needed for but here is what happened in Green Arrow #31.
We begin with Ollie chatting about his past. Before he was stranded on an island and forced to fend for his life he was a spoiled rich kid, the classic cautionary tale of excess. But that experience finally did lead back to civilization, not a new civilization but a new Ollie. An Ollie with a focus as the Green Arrow. He fought through a different jungle now saving the lives of individuals in Star City one at a time. Even becoming their elected leader under a different mask of service as their mayor. He feels as though he’s been fighting for Star City his whole life and what he has to show for it is nothing but wasteland and desolation.
His city is imploding, the people are not pulling together in this time of crisis and destruction. They are instead afraid and desperate, attacking one another instead of banding together in their greatest time of need. Ollie states that Star City will never suffer at the hands of Prometheus again, he made sure of that by putting an arrow between his eyes. But Prometheus wasn’t working alone, his trigger man was the Electrocutioner and he’s still out there somewhere but one thing is true… he can’t hide from Ollie forever. His mission is to make the Elctrocutioner pay in the same way that Prometheus did.
Ollie is then confronted by Black Canary, Green Lantern and The Flash. Hal tries to reason with Ollie and explains that he knows exactly what he’s feeling. When Coast City was destroyed Hal literally had to die to come to grips with what happened. Green Arrow tosses one of his flash bang arrows at Green Lantern who is temporarily blinded by the flash of light. Barry reacts by moving for Ollie telling each time he sees him he is reminded he doesn’t like him and he can never understand why Hal was always friends with him. As Barry grabs Ollie’s quiver he is hit with a large electric shock which renders him paralysed on the ground. Green Arrow sprints away from the scene of his two downed comrades with Black Canary in tow.
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton Issue #1 of 3
Posted by Ryan Brewer in Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton on March 14th, 2010
Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton Issue 1
This Brainiac guy just doesn’t quit! The 12 issue Superman: World of New Krypton has just ended with the appearance of the Brainiac skull based ship hovering over New Krypton and Rao help us all! This issue picks up immediately where SWNK left off. We begin of course with a quick historical narration from General Zod.
Explaining how Kandor was taken from Old Krypton and placed into the bottle on Brainiacs ship. That defeat planted a seed in the people of Kandor, one of defeat and fear. But the yellow sun that New Krypton orbits has changed things. This time the people of Kandor are ready and able to fight back.
The first few pages are panels of utter mayhem. A lot of heat vision flying around, robots being ripped in half and general carnage is the gist of it. Zod is in his command center with Ursa whipping up some scheme to take down Brainiac once and for all. What I really like about fighting Brainiac robots is that Kal-El doesn’t have to pull his punches. He has no compunction about ripping robots in half with his hands or putting a fist through a metallic skull (quite a difference from his standard method of operation.)
Zod tries his standard approach of firing first and planning later. To the detriment of many of his soliders and to no effect on the Brainiac ship. Kal-El can’t take it any longer and quits his post within the military guild. This is where we get to hear my favorite Superman quote (which I haven’t heard in well over a year of issues.) “This is a job for Superman” he states as he takes to the sky and rips off his Red Shard uniform to reveal the classic red and blue!
Supergirl finds her mother and they battle their way past the new Brainiac bots which are now firing red suns burst and are able to actually put some hurt on the Kryptonians. With an assist from Mon-El, Conner and The Legion of Superheros it looks like they might be able to turn the tide if Zod was willing to accept their help that is! He can’t handle it and decides to arrest the Legion instead of accepting their help.
Superman breaks into the Brainiac ship in orbit and is seeking out the main man when he is hit with a blast of kryptonite. But the blast didn’t come from Brainiac. It came from his apparent new partner in crime. The evil team up Superman probably never saw coming… Brainiac and Lex Luthor are partners in crime!
In total this is a great setup to what looks like will be a very fun arch in the Superman series. It was a great way to see Superman get back into the swing of things and pickup the mantle of Superman. Brainiac stories are always fun, and who doesn’t love a Luthor arch? So how could the two together go bad? One thing I was wondering about though in the last full page image. Why is Lex STILL wearing the orange prison jump suit? He’s a pretty egotistical guy and even though he’s running around on Brainiac’s ship I gotta believe he’d wanna stop off and make a quick wardrobe change.
Where is this going? Is Brainiac calling the shots? Is Luthor? Or is General Lane pulling the strings on this? Is someone we don’t know about yet doing? Where do you think this story is going?
- Issue: 1 (of 3)
- Story Arch: Invaded
- Writer: James Robinson & Sterling Gates
- Pencils: Pete Woods
- Color: Blond
- Letters: Steve Wands
Justice League: Rise and Fall Special (One Shot)
Posted by Ryan Brewer in Green Arrow on March 14th, 2010
Let’s recap… Oliver Queen the Green Arrow is upset. Strike that, he’s freaking pissed. And he wants justice, the ultimate kind of justice. He took real issue with Prometheus. The guy who maimed Red Arrow, destroyed Star City and killed Lian (Oliver’s grand daughter and Roy’s child.) And the cover of this issue shows us exactly how Oliver solved his issues with Prometheus, he put an arrow right in the center of his forehead. Pinning him to the wall of his secret little hidden world being left to rot.
I love how Ollie explains how he was able to get the drop on Prometheus. The dude is well informed, knew all of Green Arrows skills. His proficiency with the bow, his hand to hand combat training. But the thing he forgot about Ollie, at this core he’s not a hero. He’s a hunter!
This issue is full of some really good panels of the destruction of Star City. Green Arrow and Canary are on patrol, trying to stop the looting and rioting that are staples of a city that is virtually leveled. Canary is really worried about Ollie and knows that something is up. She finds it incredibly strange that he isn’t on the hunt for Prometheus with Hal and Barry. His need for isolation is truly disturbing her.
We then get a really forced dialouge between Wally and Dick about how they feel about Roy and his situation. They remenice about how all three of them started as young heros and how their lives have all turned out so differently. Are they just that lucky Dick wonders? Can they continue to be or are they fated to end up just like Roy someday?
Hal and Barry travel to Opal City to confront Shade on his involvement and whether he has any clues to where Prometheus is located. He explains that everywhere has shadows and takes them to the hideout. We are presented with a great image of a dead Prometheus (helmet missing) and an arrow protruding from his bloody skull.
All in all this one shot issues does a great job setting up a new chapter in the Green Arrow world. Lays the foundation for some dark roads and sets up the four issue limited series: The Rise of Arsenal. It also ends with a great multipage “newspaper” article from The Star Gazette. A rather heart felt article about what happened to their city and how the Green Arrow is both a savior and a menace to their great city.
Definitely worth checking out if you are a Green Arrow fan or if you are interested in getting a little back story on the new Arsenal story arch. But what do you think? Was this issue meant to truly setup a compelling and fulfilling story arch going forward? Or was this a shameless opportunity to release yet another one shot to snag a few bucks outta your wallet? Let us know what you think!