Year in Review: 2006

In the world of film, the year 2006 was filled with sequels, reboots and a few refreshing originals sprinkled in there. The Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, Dead Man's Chest, dominated the box office and became the third film in history to gross more than $1 billion. The Da Vinci Code came in at No. 2 with $758 million. Ice Age: The Meltdown beat out Pixar's Cars and the James Bond reboot, Casino Royale, pulled in a respectable $599 million.

There were only two superhero movies in 2006 — X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns. Both made some money — $459 million and $391 million, respectively — but both were rather disappointing in their own way. The Last Stand almost ended the X-Men film franchise, and Superman Returns failed to launch a new Superman film franchise.

On a personal note, on July 6, 2006, I began my two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Czech Republic. Not only did this service take me out of the country, but as a full-time proselytizer, I also refrained from partaking in pop culture of any kind — no music, movies, TV or even comic books. By some vast, cosmic coincidence, Bart Allen's story began fall apart right when I left the country.

Bart began 2006 by helping the Flash close out his series with a rather weak Vandal Savage story, while wrapping up one more Teen Titans adventure against Brother Blood. And then Infinite Crisis hit. And it was awesome. Until it ended.

The aftermath of Infinite Crisis was not kind to Bart. He got his own title, which should have been a great thing, but everything about it was all wrong. Bart was suddenly 20 years old and extremely reluctant to use his powers or act like a hero. The obnoxiously titled series was given two writers whose only claim to fame was a failed TV show from 15 years ago. (Did anyone seriously think that was going to work?) The ensuing story these guys told was painfully frustrating, matched with weak and inconsistent art. In short, it was a bad year for Bart.

Best Issue: Infinite Crisis #4

This is one the defining moments in Bart's life. With the unstoppable Superboy-Prime rampaging out of control and beginning to kill heroes, Bart joins Wally and Jay in pushing the villain into the Speed Force. But Jay is too old and slow and falls away. Then Wally is dragged away with his family, leaving Bart all alone. He knows he can't do it alone, but before he gets a chance to truly panic, he gets help from the other side. Barry, Johnny Quick and the long-lost Max Mercury reach out from the Speed Force to take Superboy-Prime to the other side.

Bart's actions were the epitome of true heroism. And the corresponding Teen Titans #32 made that moment even more poignant by showing Bart taking the time to deliver a final message to the original members of Young Justice — Robin, Superboy and Wonder Girl. Although I don't like what happened to Bart afterward, this moment is one of my all-time favorites.

Best Writer: Geoff Johns

Johns wins this award for the third consecutive year, but this time, it isn't by default. He legitimately wrote a touching, moving scene for Bart in Infinite Crisis #4 and Teen Titans #32. And Johns even added a heroic epilogue for the adult Bart coming back and scaring Superboy-Prime into space. Sadly, this award should have gone to the writers of Bart's solo series — Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo — but they demonstrated a fundamental lack of knowledge about Bart, as well as comic book story-telling in general.

Best Artist: Todd Nauck

Once again, this award should have gone to the artist on Bart's solo series, but Ken Lashley always required a whole team of inkers to help him make deadline, and was simply incapable of drawing more than two consecutive issues. And that might be more forgivable if the art itself was stellar. But Lashley's art was anything but. And don't get me started on his hideous covers! So this award goes to Nauck, who wins it for the fourth time, breaking the tie with Humberto Ramos for the most Best Artist awards on this blog. Nauck became the fill-in penciller for a handful of key Teen Titans issues, including the touching #32. I did briefly consider giving this award to Phil Jimenez, who did an amazing job on Infinite Crisis. But on much of that series, the art was handled by committee, and even though the "backup" artists did a remarkable job of keeping things consistent, I'm not exactly sure which one of them is responsible for Bart's dramatic journey into the Speed Force.

Best Supporting Character: Jay Garrick

Jay wins this award for the second time, mainly for this role in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. Yeah, I do wish he was a bit sterner with Bart's apathy — especially when it came to confronting Griffin — but Jay was a consistent positive influence in Bart's life. And when he went missing, Bart showed he genuinely cared about the old man, displaying much more emotion and urgency than he did when his supposed girlfriend also went missing. And no, Val did not do enough in 2006 to even earn a consideration for this award.

Best Villain: Superboy-Prime

Superboy-Prime was basically the villain of the year for the entire DC Universe, but he was especially significant for Bart. There are only a few villains who have had as big an impact on Bart's life as Prime did (Inertia and Bedlam readily come to mind). And like all good Geoff Johns villains, Prime was a compelling character who didn't initially see himself as the villain. But he was delusional and far too emotional to responsibly wield the enormous power he possessed. And perhaps the thing I love best about his relationship with Bart is the pure terror Bart was able to strike in Prime's eyes. He's essentially invincible in every conceivable way, but when he saw Bart return from the Speed Force, he immediately ran away to outer space — the one place Bart couldn't follow.

Next time we'll enter the year 2007, where we'll see more Inertia, a return to Smallville and the conclusion of The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive.