I'm back with the first Final Crisis review again.(I think)
Wow. That was not a bad issue at all. Still not great but not bad at all. I think after reading this and the past issues I realize this doesn't feel like an event. It's very unprofessional from every standpoint. It doesn't look like care was put into it.
The whole behind the scenes mess and scandal or bullshit scandal. And editorial mismangement. Mean this has lost all the impact it should have had. This is a clusterfuck. Infinite Crisis turned into drivel, but from Issues 1-4, they grabbed you by the balls, it felt important, it felt grand, it felt EPIC. This doesn't.
Maybe it isn't meant to but I can't help but feel it should have been. Parts of it feel like hope is lost but then it doesn't.
What everyone always talks about with Morrison is concepts and it's everywhere here. concepts about anything and everything, going against the natural order of everything a normal human believes. all types of ideals and ideas turned on itself. the notion of an ultra god and the universe collapsing under his weight. Morrison should have written the bible.
As for the story, the preview pages showed how heavily the Green Lanterns are involved in this. With the massive boost in popularity and acclaim that Geoff Johns' reinvisioned GL Mythos has had in the past few years, The Green Lanterns and the mythos itself has become a stronger and larger part of the DCU. So it makes sense for them to have a big role to play. The coolest thing about Final Crisis and the past few issues is how Morrison has made the Mythic superheroes of the DCU, the big guns, the Gods themselves; Superman, Batman, Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman (poor Aquaman) far larger and greater within the universe itself. They are Gods. They are the ultimate heroes. Hal Jordan is shown why he is one of the big guns, he's a normal human in most cases, but within the confines of this universe and it's ideals, he is a mythical God, something that just can't be broken or held back, something that goes beyond life and death.
The Idea I liked most is that Darkseid invades and whilst this invasion happens the big guns are taken out or M.I.A. The idea that if these big guns were around they just couldn't invade. Superman sent into the multiverse, Batman captured, Hal Jordan framed, Barry Allen dead and in the middle of a resurrection, Wonder Woman infected, Martian Manhunter killed, Aquaman M.I.A(i get the feeling he'll make a re-entrance). Darkseid knows these guys are not to be fucked with.
So in this issue it starts with Hal Jordan bein tried by the court of Oa. According to the book of Oa, an Alpha Lantern is infallible which is why the word of Kraken who obviously has something wrong with her is taken so strongly. However, the cool thing is that the Guardians recognize what a hero Jordan is so they want to examine it carefully, just in time for Guy and Kyle to come and save the day. Kraken is revealed to be harboring Granny Goodness who wants to steal the power of the central battery. She fails and the Green Lanterns are sent to save the planet, led by Hal Jordan. Yes, badass. And it looks like ALL the Green Lanterns are being sent in as an army to fight Darkseid's forces. Darkseid doesn't see this coming, but we'll see how that turns out.
Back on Earth, Checkmate reveals that they have created seven day lifespan super soldiers which are a last move in case the 'superheroes failed to save us'. The Soldiers themselves are Kirby's Omac's.
In Bludhaven, Darkseid's minions each try to get on top of the other by pleasing him so he won't kill them. Already the evilness of Darkseid has become far more absolute compared to the Fourth World Version. Darkseid sends his army to confront the Superhero squad that is making it's way to fight his forces. His forces include his new Furies(Wonder Woman's animal face thing is a mask, not her actual face, but like a war mask) and
Kalibak's new squad of Killer humanoid tigers(comic books yay) known as the Tiger-Clan.The actual Superhero squad is small which we learn because some are dead, some are missing and others have become Justifiers. The Squad is varied with Frankenstein leading the way, Supergirl, Freddy Freeman, Black Adam, John Stewart, Half the JSA, Red Arrow, Vixen, Blue Deul and other charging through the beautiful ruins of Bludhaven.
At Checkmate headquarters, a battle continues. Tempest and Hawkgirl try their best to fight the forces, Alan Scott gets overwhelmed by more Justifiers including a Justifier Donna Troy, when Hawkman shows up with a bunch of flying heroes fucking people up.
Inside Checkmate, A member of the Super Young Team who is like The Wasp with super breath attacks the checkmate soldiers till mr Terrific calms everybody down. Motherboxxx found them and took the super young team there, Mister MIracle can't be killed so he gets up on his flying discs. The coolest Morrisonian aspect, the Motherboxxx analogy "Motherboxx is more than a machine. If Gods made I-pods that were alive? Way beyond that". Mr Terrific says that Checkmate has drawn enemy fire there to let the squad in bludhaven end it at the source. It's there they find out that time and space is breaking, that Darkseid is about to ascend which could be the equivalent of being Self-Aware. In this case the Swiss border moved. Mister Terrific says that a Devil God is dragging them down into nothingness, a place with no light, no time, no hope and no escape. it's there he tells everyone to paint the symbol on their faces, the one that Anthro painted on himself. The symbol of Metron.
The Squad in Bludhaven are attempting to break the force field that covers Darkseid's headquarters. Kalibak and his aquad are about to strike but "wait for the lightning" which happens to be a psychotic Mary Marvel who is flying straight at Supergirl, but mid way is intercepted by Black Adam who then flies her through a building(badass) and starts beating the shit out of her, but she enjoys it. Freddy naively(but of course typically) tries to stop Black Adam who is trying to kill her because it's the only choice, of course it backfires and Adam was right as Mary throws a car at Adam knowing him out. Freddy tries to plead with her but to no avail, she has a new word, a blasphemous word. Mary is acting all bad sexy girl to Freddy, and taunting him until Tawny Tiger shows up with a piece of weaponry developed by Dr Sivanna's son, he tells Mary to step aside and say her word. Freddy tells him to get away that it's not her and she'll kill him, but Kalibak knocks him out. A Tiger vs Tiger battle was going to happen. One in a war outfit, the other in a suit. Maybe next issue.
Elsewhere in Bludhaven, that exiled monitor is thrown into a room for later use by Mokkari to experiment on, see he and some others, who are wired differently(or what looks like to be from another part of the multiverse) aren't affected by Anti Life. It's there that some strange figure in a robe on the corner tells the monitor that there is a special number, a God number, one related to the amount of moves made to solve a Rubik's cube(that Morrison), he also says it was the monitor who summoned 'him'(i'm assuming Darkseid). The monitor is broken, he thinks it's all hopeless. The figure tells him that if the superheroes can't save them then he should think of something and make it real. It's there he remembers the name of a Monitor; Weeja Dell. Right when that happens, Mokkarri and some justifiers walk in. When a man also in the room in a wheelchair who is out of his mind, solves the Rubik's cube in 17 moves, the number of the Gods. And his eyes light up and there is a bright white heat of light.
In Bludhaven, some eerie visual imagery of the dark red skies and public, medievil executions. Libra sends the Calculator to be executed, for allegations that he helped the heroes coordinate the attack. From what you can see, you get the feeling it was Luthor who is helping the heroes. Libra tells Luthor that he'll be leading the rearguard at the bridge in Bludhaven. I've given J.G Jones alot of shit but I give him props for this page. You can just comepletely see that Luthor regrets what he's gotten himself into, that he feels powerless and almost ready to cry.
Darkseid begins to wake, as he does, his minions start dying. Simyan, Mokkari, Godfrey, all die. Darkseid is pure death. He says that no living thing can resist him now and that people have only ever faced the idea of a God before, but now he is a God incarnate. "All is one in Darkseid!".
At the bridge, it's there Supergirl sees a massive energy within the bunker(Darkseid) connecting to a gigantic nervous system. Basically Darkseid is becoming everything(this is trippy stuff, much cooler than Christianity). John Stewart screaming that everything is falling into Darkseid. Time is distorting and that he needs backup. The problem with this is visually, it's hard to interpret time distorting, if anything it was clearer in Infinite crisis. The guardians note that help is on the way, with the Green Lanterns lead by Hal Jordan almost there until they reach Earth or Earths. As the multiverse seems to have broken into singularities. I really think Phil Jimenez captured the visual scope of broken multiverses better.
Back on Earth everything starts to fall. The president realizes that they have lost. John Stewart doesn't know what is going on and his ring is failing. Libra calls out that the Fifth world is here as the sky breaks open. Darkseid awakens "I.Am.The.New.God"
He speaks to the world. He controls the world. The fifth world is here and he has taken over it. He has taken over every single mind. And he speaks some of the most EVIL most mythic dialogue a God could ever speak. Poetic.
This is brilliant stuff, just so approproate "When I stare into your eyes and shatter your dreams. and break your heart. it is with six billion eyes". He says to the large group of humans in front of him who now bow to his every word.
The great thing about this and how grand and epic Darkseid is, that Superman will fight him or even attempt to fight him. Speaks to the mythical heroic ideal aspect of Superman, it isn't just about the American Dream and the immigrant story, that's all fine and dandy. But to others, Superman is the mythical good, the one that fights evil at it's grandest. He is an ideal. He is greater than just the American Dream.
In the bunker. The remants of the Rubik's Cube debacle reveal itself. As something new has been born. The Judge of all evil. The monitor has become something else. basically a dude going to an S&M underground club. But I'm sure it's something bigger than that. It's Nix Uaton, but seems more like that Mandrakk the Dark monitor that the solicitations have been talking about.
A pretty solid issue. The art is still pretty lackluster, and this feels more like a miniseries than an event. The art, the wider editorial aspect. But the concepts, the ideas, are pretty great. Mindfucks but this is a mindfuck I like. However, how are they going to wrap this up in two more issues. We'll see. But this does go by too fast and I do get the feeling, a rush job like the atrocity of the last issues of Infinite Crisis is on hand.
The art isn't that good, not for something this big and grand. Leinel Yu definately won this year and now with the different artists coming next. Ha.
Ohh Dan Didio, you funny cunt. Can't wait to see how you ruin The Blackest Night, ohh you already have, by making it a DC event rather than just the Green Lantern event it was going to be.
