Infinite Crisis #1

Geoff Johns Writer
Phil Jimenez Penciller
Andy Lanning Inker
Jeromy Cox & Guy Major Colorists
Nick J. Napolitano Letterer
Jeanine Schaefer Asst. Editor
Eddie Berganza Editor
Special thanks to Greg Rucka
And eternal gratitude to Marv Wolfman and George Pérez for building the foundation that all super-hero epics have come from.

Our main cover is by Jim Lee, and it was also the cover chosen for my trade paperback copy of Infinite Crisis. And honestly? I'm a little disappointed. Batman and Superman both look a little off. And the arrangement of villains in the sky just doesn't work for me. Why make Doctor Light front and center? This is DC's biggest event in a decade, involving every single character in their universe. And to me, this cover does not say that.

Our variant cover is by George Pérez, and this feels more like a massive company-wide event. I love how Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman each have their two current proteges in their shadows — Supergirl and Superboy, Donna Troy and Wonder Girl, Nightwing and Robin. Plus, there's so much detail that is clear and easy to see. At the top is the Rann-Thanagar War, at bottom left, the OMACs, and bottom right, all the united super villains. It's awesome. It's dynamic. It should have been the cover for the trade paperback.

Our story begins with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman meeting at the ruins of the JLA Watchtower on the moon, trying to figure out what destroyed it. They're all mad at each other for different reasons — Batman for the Brother Eye fiasco, Wonder Woman for murdering Maxwell Lord, and Superman for not being a strong enough leader during all these catastrophes.

We cut to Smallville, where Superboy is watching Beast Boy, Raven and Wonder Girl battle demons in Los Angeles (we'll get to that in Teen Titans #30) and Robin is elsewhere fighting OMACs (probably Blüdhaven). Ma Kent tells Conner to go help his friends, but he's still worried about Lex Luthor's programming. She tells him he gets to choose his own fate and the world needs a Superboy right now. So Conner stands up and starts to take off his shirt, revealing the black Superman T-shirt underneath. But he pauses when the TV reports that Luthor was spotted in Anchorage, Alaska, having apparently killed a pilot and stolen his plane. This spooks Conner enough to put his shirt back on and sit back down.

Four mysterious figures are watching all this from a different plane of reality. A young man is particularly disgusted by Conner's inaction, but an older woman is more sympathetic, taking into account all he's gone through and believes he will eventually step forward. An older man, however, believes Superboy will fail to make a difference, just like all the others, and he says it's time for them to intervene. The woman is worried they'd make things worse if they did get involved, but the man says if they don't, there'll be no Earth to worry about. While they're having this discussion, they're watching all the chaos going on around the world, including Flash fighting the Rogues and Aquaman fighting some OMACs. And this is our only glimpse of Kid Flash in the issue.

We head to Blüdhaven, where Donna Troy, Starfire and Supergirl are saying goodbye to Nightwing before leaving to recruit some more heroes to attempt Donna's secret plan to save the universe. But as soon as they leave, Blüdhaven is attacked by a massive swarm of OMACs. Nightwing frantically calls for Donna to return, but to no avail.

Out in space, the Rann-Thanagar War has become complicated by the appearance of a tear in reality that has swallowed up a neighboring galaxy. The Guardians of the Universe report that the very fabric of existence has shifted and for the first time in history, Oa is no longer the center of the universe.

The Rock of Eternity has appeared over Gotham City, which is under siege by tons of villains, including the Riddler, Scarface and Murmur. The Rock suddenly explodes, and Captain Marvel comes crashing down on the ground, weakly telling the nearby detectives that the Spectre has killed the Wizard. The Spectre then looms large over the city, while the embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins of Man run amok through the streets.

Twenty miles south of Metropolis, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters are hunting down the Secret Society of Super-Villains. His team includes two familiar names — Damage and the Ray, who complains that they've been awake for 48 hours straight on this mission. Damage wonders why the Justice League isn't doing this, and the Human Bomb says they're probably busy dealing with the destruction of the Watchtower. The good news is the Freedom Fighters find the Society's hideout. The bad news is Doctor Polaris, Doctor Light, Deathstroke, Black Adam, Psycho Pirate, Sinestro, Bizarro, Cheetah and Zoom are all inside the hideout, just waiting for a fight.

Back on the Watchtower, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are ambushed by Mongul. Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters are getting their butts kicked. Doctor Light steals Ray's powers, and Zoom overwhelms Damage, while telling him they'll become stronger heroes ... if they survive. Deathstroke impales the Phantom Lady, saying it's just business. The Human Bomb snaps at this and rips open his protective suit, exposing his explosive skin. This knocks away most the villains, but Bizarro is able to withstand the blasts, and he beats the Human Bomb to death.

The Psycho Pirate puts Ray in a happy mood and drags him away, saying Luthor needs him alive. The last hero standing is Uncle Sam, who is surrounded and brutally murdered by the villains. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman manage to chase Mongul away, but that doesn't stop their argument. They yell at each other for a while before bitterly taking off in separate ways.

We return to the four mysterious watchers, who now feel like Superman has given up. They continue their debate on whether they should, or even could, save this world. The debate, however, is settled when one of the young men whispers into the old man's ear: "We can even save her. I'm certain of it." At this prompting, Superman punches through the wall of reality, freeing himself, Lois Lane, Superboy and Alexander Luthor.




This is a big, bombastic, awesome story. It has weight and scope. It honors the past and looks toward the future. Geoff Johns was one of the very few writers who could have pulled this off, and Phil Jimenez was one of the very few artists who could have drawn this many characters so well. Perhaps the best element of this story is the point of reference — heroes from a forgotten time, who remember how things used to be, how things should be. They, like many readers, grow frustrated to see Earth's most powerful heroes squabbling over minor details while the planet below them is being torn apart. Like many readers, these older heroes long for a return to the simpler, more optimistic time of the DC Universe.

It's not particularly easy to just jump right into this story, though. DC spent three years building up to it, so you'd need at least a basic understanding of what happened during that time, including Identity Crisis and the four separate mini series leading into Infinite Crisis. You'd also need a basic understanding of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which came out 20 years before this story, and explains where this other Superman and Superboy came from. On one hand, a story that depends so much on other stories can turn away new readers. On the other hand, it is nice to occasionally reward longtime readers for the time they've put into the universe. Plus, if this story is good enough, it'll inspire new readers to check out those other stories that were mentioned.

Kid Flash isn't too involved in the first half of Infinite Crisis, but he'll get some things to do as the story progresses. But before we get there, we'll have our Year in Review for 2005.

Supergirl #3

Power Chapter Three: Outsiders

Jeph Loeb Writes
Ian Churchill Pencils
Norm Rapmund Inks
Letterer Richard Starkings
Colorist David Morán
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Eddie Berganza
Special thanks to Judd Winick, the Outsider

Our main cover by Ian Churchill shows Supergirl standing in the shadow of ... well, herself. It's a pretty neat way to hint at the ending of this issue without giving anything away. I would have changed the background, though. Those photo-realistic clouds don't seem to fit.

Our variant cover by Michael Turner takes the more direct approach in showing the main conflict of this issue: Supergirl vs. Lex Luthor. It's a decent enough cover, but it's poses like this that make me really uncomfortable with Supergirl's skimpy outfit. I mean, she's a minor, right? And Lex is a grown man lifting her above his head, getting a peak at what's underneath that miniskirt.

Our story begins three days after last issue, with Supergirl training with the Outsiders. For some strange reason (a mystery even to Supergirl), the Outsiders have Kryptonite shackles that can be regulated for more or less exposure. Supergirl dialed the shackles down to 5% to break the chain dramatically during the sparring session, which ends with Arsenal firing an exploding bullet with liquid Green K at her. Nightwing walks in at this point, and isn't too pleased. He takes the shackles off Supergirl, telling her that Starfire has a lead on who has been tracking her. But while he talks, Supergirl's thoughts go back to the conclusion of her little adventure with the Teen Titans.

When Starfire showed up last time, she told Supergirl that she learned from Batman someone was spying on her. Supergirl and Superboy both see Batman's actions as a lack of trust, but Cyborg says trust is something you have to earn. Wonder Girl darkly adds that it helps if you're not trying to kill your teammates. As Starfire and Supergirl hover in air above the Titans, Kid Flash and Beast Boy both admire the view of the girls' butts.

Starfire tells Supergirl that Lex Luthor is spying on her, and Superboy immediately vows to help out. Robin wraps a rope around Superboy's ankle and tells him he should not go anywhere near Luthor. Conner wants to argue this point, but Supergirl stops him, saying this is her thing and she agrees to go with Starfire to the Outsiders. Bart suggests having Supergirl fill in for Superboy on the Teen Titans, and Tim agrees, saying they could use the raw power. Conner says they could have at least waited until they were over Oklahoma to talk about replacing him.

Back in the present, Starfire reports that Luthor has been spotted in Monument Valley, Utah. Supergirl immediately takes off in that direction, frying the Outsiders' jet so they can't follow her. Starfire flies after Supergirl, but doesn't catch up until they're over Utah, and she is promptly shot down by Luthor. Supergirl flies down and is hit with a blast of Green Kryptonite. Luthor accuses Superman of killing Darkseid, which enrages Supergirl, but she's no match for Luthor. After he beats her up for a bit, he then exposes her to the Black Kryptonite rock on his pinky. This causes a dark version of Supergirl to appear, and she threatens to kill Luthor.



I have to say, I kind of like how Jeph Loeb writes the Titans more than Geoff Johns. Robin is more of the leader he was in Young Justice than the angsty teen Johns turned him into. And I liked seeing how everyone is still worried about Superboy's brainwashing incident. But all this was just a minor part of the story, presented in an odd flashback scene. It really didn't make sense for Supergirl to have this long flashback while gazing lovingly into Nightwing's eyes. Other than that, this was a decent issue.

Next time, we begin the event of the decade with Infinite Crisis #1.

The Flash #227

The Last Days

Joey Cavalieri – Writer
Val Semeiks – Penciller
Livesay – Inker
Pat Brosseau – Letterer
James Sinclair – Colorist
Harvey Richards – Asst. Editor
Stephen Wacker – Editor

Our cover by Art Thibert is a pretty cool closeup on the Flash costume coming out of the ring. The simple white background gives it a clean, artistic presentation of an iconic, recognizable piece of Flash lore.

In my trade paperback of Infinite Crisis, Dan DiDio says DC spent three years planning that event. That gave Geoff Johns enough time to set things up in Teen Titans and The Flash, but he ended his run with the Scarlet Speedster a bit early. As such, DC had to awkwardly fill four or five months of Flash stories before being able to launch the new story set up by Infinite Crisis. So in comes former Flash and Impulse editor Joey Cavalieri to the rescue, giving us a rare DC comic that isn't directly connected to the Crisis.

Our story begins a bit in the future. Wally's twins are now adolescents and have been thrown into special cages in Iron Heights on murder charges. Wally is meanwhile fighting a couple of large tentacle monsters, which eventually do ensnare him, putting him at the mercy of Doctor Alchemy. As the villain turns Wally's flesh to steam, the Flash begs him to stop on behalf of his children. With Wally out of the way, Weather Wizard, Heat Wave and Gorilla Grodd break into the West household and kidnap Linda. Luckily, an older Bart Allen is here to save the day.

Weather Wizard mocks Bart for still going by Kid Flash and hits him directly with a bolt of lightning powerful enough to instantly vaporize the young adult.

Wally then wakes up from his nightmare, one of the many that have plagued him since Linda gave birth to the twins. The babies are healthy and happy, despite their dad's worries, and his well-connected friends have given them some great (and unusual) gifts. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson have opened college accounts for the twins, Wonder Woman gave them bracelets and a sword (which Linda is not happy about) and Superman apparently chose "all-terrain mecha high chairs and virtual playpen."

Linda's parents are worried about the babies' spiritual well-being, and they convince Wally and Linda to check out a church with them. While at this church, Wally discovers a group of super-powered people living in secret. After he convinces them he's a good guy, the people reveal they're from a different dimension — a utopian world where everyone has powers and can live in peace and harmony. This sounds very appealing to Wally, who is certain his children will manifest super powers before too long.

The people tell Wally the one flaw of their society is the lack of medical advancements, which is why they've come to this world. They tell Wally they need a device from the Flash Museum called the Summoner to save a dying woman. So Wally immediately takes off to find this object without thinking twice. Bust as soon as he is gone, the people begin laughing at how the Flash fell for their deception.




This was an OK issue. It is a little jarring to go to something like this after having spent so much time building up and preparing for Infinite Crisis in every other title. This story just feels so ... inconsequential. It's not bad, just not on the same level of excitement and importance. The art was fine, but nothing to get too excited about. And I feel the same way about the story, too. I wasn't too interested in this community of metahumans, and the opening dream sequence felt lacking. It either needed to be wackier or more believable. Or perhaps more gruesome. I guess everything just needed more "oomph."

Next time, we'll wrap up the Titans' quick encounter with Supergirl.

The OMAC Project #6

Loss of Signal

Greg Ruck – Writer
Jesus Saiz – Artist pg 1-3, 7-9, 13-15, 16-18, 21
Cliff Richards & Bob Wiacek – Artists pg 4-6, 10-12, 19-20, 22
HiFi Design – Colorist
Phil Balsman – Letterer
Rachel Gluckstern – Asst. Editor
Joan Hilty – Editor
OMAC created by Jack Kirby

Our cover by Ladronn shows Batman fighting the OMACs, which are normal people, who have essentially been transformed into mindless, powerful robots due to a nanobot injection. This is a pretty cover with unique coloring. This fight could be taking place at sunset or up in a sandy sky above a desert.

The OMAC Project was one of four miniseries created to lead into Infinite Crisis. It tells the story of how Batman became even more paranoid after the events of Identity Crisis and created an all-powerful computer satellite called Brother Eye. But the villain Maxwell Lord hacked into Brother Eye's programming and set it on a mission to kill every metahuman on Earth — villain and hero, alike. And Brother Eye is setting out to accomplish this task by activating all 1.3 million OMACs around the world.

So Batman and the last remaining members of the Checkmate organization send out a call for help to frantically find a solution to this problem. They contact Amanda Waller of S.T.A.R. Labs, Director Bones of the D.E.O., and many more, including our old friend Ray, who is now with Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters.

Eventually Batman finds a massive EMP generator invented by the late Blue Beetle, which he believes can deactivate all the OMACs. So he asks the Green Lanterns to round up all the heroes they can to create one large, irresistible target for the OMACs in the Sahara Desert. So in a couple of hours, we have the bait set of a large group of heroes — most of the JLA, JSA, former Titans and Freedom Fighters. Even Wally West and Jay Garrick are there. But for some reason the current Teen Titans are not there, and they're being attacked by their own group of OMACs in San Francisco.

Beast Boy turns into a literal dragon to help fight the OMACs in the sky, but before too long, the EMP is activated, the OMACs are deactivated, and the innocent people inside the robotic shells begin falling to the Earth. At Cyborg's order, Kid Flash manages to catch most of these people. The mission is largely a success, but before all the OMACs can be deactivated, Brother Eye manages to counteract the EMP and maintain control over 200,000 OMACs. The sentient satellite also counteracts by playing a video of Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord on every television screen in the world.



I don't have much to say about this issue. It's one component of the many lead-in stories to the biggest  event in the DC Universe in a decade. Kid Flash is just one of the hundreds of little pieces that will be brought together before everything is blown up.

Next time, we'll begin a quick Flash story that takes place before this big crisis.

Supergirl #2

Power Chapter 2: Teen Titans

Jeph Loeb Writer
Ian Churchill Pencils
Norm Rapmund Inks
Letterer Richard Starkings
Colorist David Morán with Beth Sotelo
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Eddie Berganza
Special thanks to Geoff Johns, all things Titans

Our main cover is by Ian Churchill. His work is not the most amazing art I've seen, but it is very solid. Most impressive is his ability to stage an exciting action scene. Everybody is flying around in dramatic, yet realistic, poses. Not to mention the fun attention to detail. Robin is shooting a grappling hook around Supergirl's arm. Cyborg is pulling up wires from the building to power up his weapon. It's pretty great stuff. Although the fight inside doesn't quite turn out this way, this cover does accomplish the mission of showing us these characters will be fighting in this issue.

We also have a variant cover by Michael Turner. There's not a whole lot to this, just Supergirl happily flying in the clouds. Turner seems to have improved on drawing Kara's face from when we last saw him, so that's a plus. This cover does emphasize Supergirl's costume, which I still think is ridiculous. Wouldn't those extra-long sleeves get in the way of fighting bad guys? And really, does she need to be showing off so much skin?

Our story begins with Supergirl deciding to pay a visit to Superboy to discuss a troubling incident she recently had with Power Girl. Unfortunately, Supergirl is not well received, as Superboy believes he still could go "evil Luthor mode" whenever he comes in contact with other heroes, so he's decided to try to scare Supergirl away. But Kara is not one to be so easily pushed away, and in her anger, frustration and confusion, she actually dislocates Conner's jaw. After looking him over with her x-ray vision, popping the jaw back in place, and apologizing profusely, the two finally calm down and begin to talk like normal people.

But before they can discuss what's troubling Supergirl, the T-jet arrives overhead, with Cyborg, Beast Boy, Wonder Girl and Raven jumping out of it. Conner accuses Kara of summoning the Titans, but as Supergirl denies this, Wonder Girl greets her with a big punch to the face. Cyborg immediately immobilizes Superboy with a new hypersonic device he installed in his robotic hand. He apologizes for subjecting him to this pain, but says it's necessary since the last time they met, Superboy tore through his armor like it was a paper bag. Beast Boy turns into an elephant and sits on Conner, while Cyborg asks him why he's hanging out with Supergirl after placing himself under house arrest and breaking off all contact with the team.

Supergirl, meanwhile, quickly gains the upper hand on Wonder Girl. She mimics a maneuver of the Flash to vibrate and become invisible, then reveals she's read up on Wonder Girl's lasso and harnesses its powers to electrocute Cassie. Raven then wraps up Supergirl in her cloak, but immediately releases her after seeing Kara's thoughts.

Conner explains to Cyborg that Kara never even had the chance to explain why she came to visit him before the Teen Titans showed up. As he talks, he realizes that if the Titans didn't send Supergirl, then that means they've been spying on him. Cyborg admits that they saw a high-speed projectile headed for the Kent house, and since he still considers Superboy to be a Teen Titan, he still feels responsible for his safety. Conner doesn't accept this answer, and he angrily lifts Beast Boy off him, who urges Cyborg to hit Superboy with another hypersonic blast. Supergirl comes between Superboy and Cyborg, telling them to stop fighting, and vows to leave since that's what everybody seems to want her to do. Suddenly, Starfire arrives, accompanies by Robin and Kid Flash.

Robin chastises his teammates for jumping to conclusions so quickly, and Kid Flash jokes that they're "The Angsty-Teens-Who-Need-to-Hang-Out-with-Our-Friends" Titans. But more importantly, Starfire says she's been looking for Supergirl, believing she has answers to some of her questions.

We then end with a shot of Lex Luthor, who is alive and well after his mysterious disappearance during the big Brainiac fight. He's still wearing his power suit and has chosen to repay his old collaborator, the Calculator, by explaining the abilities of each of the different colored pieces of kryptonite in his glove. Green is deadly to Khryptonians. Red causes erratic and unpredictable behavior. Blue only works on Bizarro. And black ... well, Luthor takes a moment to laugh to himself before revealing that secret.




This was a pretty good comic. We got to see that despite the introspective pep talk Raven gave him a while back, Superboy is still terrified of potentially being Luthor's pawn. And so are Cyborg and Beast Boy. Not that I blame them, considering Superboy's power and previous instances of similar betrayals in Teen Titans history. Wonder Girl was more worried about Supergirl, but Robin and Kid Flash, the two who know Superboy best, were the only ones who managed to keep a level head and find an actual nonviolent solution.

Next time, we'll really hit the Infinite Crisis prep hard with The OMAC Project #6.

Teen Titans #28

Legacy Part Two: Impure Thoughts

Guest Writer Gail Simone
Guest Artist Rob Liefeld
Guest Colorist Matt Yackey
Letters Comicraft
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Joan Hilty

Our cover is another ugly example of Rob Liefeld's work. Kid Flash and Wonder Girl have the exact same expression on their face, and Robin, Hawk, Dove and Cyborg all share another expression. Everyone's gloves are ridiculously big, nobody really has a neck to speak of, and all feet are carefully hidden. And what's going on with Hawk's butt? It's like her body has been completely snapped in half. Not to mention Kestrel's elbow somehow sliding right through her nonexistent neck. The more I look at it, the worse it gets.

Our story picks up with Kestrel somehow stealing Raven's soul self, followed by a hasty retreat to his inter-dimension hideout with his two female followers, Aja and Christina. Raven is in bad shape, and nobody quite knows how to help her. Kid Flash scours the area and finds a few fragments of Raven's soul self, but that doesn't seem to help. Beast Boy blames himself for cracking jokes instead of going after Kestrel, and I'm still wondering why Kid Flash didn't reach him last issue.

Robin melodramatically announces he'll go after Kestrel alone, but Cyborg says all the Titans will go after him. He tells Hawk and Dove they got Kestrel's target wrong, and he offers to let them fly back to Georgetown with the T-jet. But Hawk and Dove insist on staying and helping save Raven. So Cyborg has Wonder Girl put Raven in the T-jet's sick bay and tells her to call Starfire to look after her, while they journey to Kestrel's base through one of the portals he inadvertently left open at the tower.

We see Kestrel sitting on a throne, holding Raven's soul self with a special leash. Aja and Christina are at his side, little more than mindless slaves at this point. Kestrel is excited to use Raven's soul self to become a Lord of Chaos ... somehow ... but first he dispatches his girls to battle the Teen Titans.

Our heroes enter the portal and Kid Flash offers to scout ahead, but Cyborg tells him to stay with the group, saying this isn't Metropolis (which is an odd thing to say, since Cyborg should know that Bart doesn't and hasn't ever lived in Metropolis). Cyborg blasts down a door, which leads into a decaying whale's carcass. Beast Boy finds a mirror that shows him as a big fat guy, which is apparently his greatest fear, but it actually just makes him laugh. Dove is more worried about the disgusting black liquid they're standing in, and Christina calls it misery juice — distilled from the tears of innocents.

Everybody starts fighting Kestrel's girls. Aja has weird glowing globe-things that Kid Flash takes away from her, and that seems to negate her powers. In the chaos of the fight, Robin slips away to confront Kestrel personally. Kestrel wonders aloud how Robin's mentor will feel after burying another sidekick, and he conjures an image of Tim's father, Jack Drake. Jack says the last thing he remembers is being killed by a boomerang, and he urges Tim to go home, take off his costume and never wear it again. Robin can't tell if that's his real dad or not, but he decides to ignore him and attack Kestrel directly.

Wonder Girl starts beating Christina to a pulp, but Christina begs her to stop and offers to make a deal. Our heroes soon join Robin in the fight against Kestrel. Beast Boy turns into a Tyrannosaurus rex and makes a Jurassic joke. Hawk gets in a good hit, but Kestrel manages to slice off Cyborg's leg, knock down Wonder Girl and grab Bart's neck, threatening to blind him. Robin and Dove hit Kestrel with a combined attack, and Robin manages to strike a nerve cluster on Kestrel's neck that will prevent him from moving his arms for a day or two.

With Kestrel essentially paralyzed, Christina uses his own claws against him, slicing open his chest. Wonder Girl and Dove restrain the psychotic Christina, who laughs hysterically as Kestrel dies. Cyborg frees Raven's soul self and everybody goes home. Starfire tells them Raven's fine, but wants to be left alone. Bart makes her swear that Raven's going to be OK, and Starfire gives him her word. Cyborg invites Robin to another round of bowling, but Tim says he'll spend the rest of Father's Day with Bruce and Alfred. And our issue ends with Cassie checking on Raven. Even though she initially wanted to be alone, Raven does accept her company.




I'm so glad this is over. Besides the terrible art, this was a lackluster story that really didn't go anywhere. What was the point of bringing in Hawk and Dove if you're not going to have them do anything? They didn't even get to tell us anything about Kestrel. Cyborg and Robin inexplicably knew more about him than those two. And to make matters worse, this was a story dealing with the vague abstractness of Raven's soul self, other dimensions and Lords of Chaos. I don't like any of those things, and I didn't like anything about this two-part filler arc.

Next time, we'll start preparing for Infinite Crisis with Supergirl #2.

Teen Titans #27

Legacy Part One

Guest Writer Gail Simone
Guest Artist Rob Liefeld
Guest Colorist Matt Yackey
Letters Comicraft
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Joan Hilty

Our cover is by Rob Liefeld and I do not like it at all. Liefeld is one of my least favorite artists, and this cover is a good example why. Everything seems scrunched and strained and the proportions feel wonky. All the characters look like they're in pain, and I almost feel like I'm in pain by looking at them drawn this way. Normally I'd be upset that Kid Flash didn't make the cover, but in this case, I'm grateful to have Liefeld draw Bart as little as possible.

Our story begins with the Teen Titans heading out for a relaxing day of bowling. But first, they must deal with a group of amateur super villains, who have taken a few hostages on the top of a skyscraper. Midway through the fight, we cut to a strange scene in another dimension, where a man in a purple cloak is given a glowing cube by three large entities he addresses as the Lords of Chaos.

As the fight winds down, Wonder Girl tosses the bad guys' heavy-hitter, a big fat guy named Grouse, off the roof. Cyborg worries that Grouse won't survive such a fall, so Wonder Girl calls in Kid Flash, who catches the villain with a whirlwind, saying he's got it "old-school" and asks if they have any other huge guys for him to juggle. Cassie tells "Speedy-Pants" to stop showing off.

The Teen Titans hand off the wannabe crooks to a Commissioner Farrel, who apparently has a police force armed with inhibitor technology to negate the villains' superpowers. Even so, Cyborg offers to escort the criminals to prison, but the commissioner feels it's best the police take it from here, considering recent alleged metahuman events. As the bad guys are led past the TV cameras, they shout out a Happy Father's Day message. They were all rich, spoiled kids, who only staged this stunt to get their dads' attention. This is particularly painful to Robin, as this is his first Father's Day since his dad was killed, which is why the team is now going bowling.

Our heroes head to the subbasement rec room of Titans Tower, which includes a bowling alley, to try to have a relaxing afternoon while still wearing their full superhero uniforms (except for Beast Boy, who is wearing an obnoxious bowling shirt). Bart is having so much success with an overhand technique that Robin asks if he could miss for once. Bart concedes he could, but he won't. Robin thanks Cyborg for making the holiday enjoyable, and Vic responds with a speech about how they're all basically orphans, running down everybody's parental situation, noting that Kid Flash's mom is stuck in the future.

We then find out what happened to our purple friend with the Lords of Chaos. He's now a large mass of muscle, dressed in a purple version of the Hawk and Dove uniforms, and calls himself Kestrel. He attacks the armored truck transporting the lame villains from earlier, and kills the armed guards. But before he frees the four the villains, he tells them only two will survive. So the two girls kill the two boys and join Kestrel.

In Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Hawk and Dove see the news report of Kestrel's attack on the news, so they call up Cyborg, who's watching the same report. Cyborg says he'll fly out from San Francisco all the way across the country to pick up Hawk and Dove to take them to San Francisco to battle Kestrel. As they fly back to California in the T-jet, Robin and Cyborg reveal they somehow know a whole lot more about Kestrel than Hawk and Dove do, even though he's their villain. He draws his powers from the same source as Hawk and Dove, plus he can switch bodies and use his claws to slice through anything, including dimensions. And Kestrel can also smell Hawk and Dove's powers, which is mainly why Cyborg wanted to pick up Hawk and Dove. But he's worried Titans Tower won't be strong enough to protect them, so he asks Wonder Girl to call the JLA and Outsiders to act as a second line of defense just in case.

But when our heroes return to the tower, they see a big chunk of the building has been blown apart. And waiting for our heroes are Kestrel and his two female teammates. Cyborg vows that Kestrel will never get Hawk and Dove as long as the Titans are alive, and he orders his team to attack. Kid Flash calls dibs on the "Bird Guy."

But even though Kid Flash can run at the speed of light, he never makes it over to Kestrel, who gives a long-winded speech about how he wants to ascend to become a Lord of Chaos himself, and to do that, he needs Raven, not Hawk and Dove. So our issue ends with everybody standing by helplessly as Kestrel grabs and somehow ... absorbs? ... Raven.



I hated this comic. Geoff Johns was likely busy with Infinite Crisis, and Tony S. Daniel drew the Secret Files & Origins issue instead, so that left us with a guest creative team. No offense to Gail Simone, but it didn't seem like she had a full handle on these characters. For example, where's Speedy? Isn't she a full member of the team now? And how come Robin knew everything, literally everything about Kestrel? If he's had previous encounters with being of chaos, then it would have been nice for him to say so. As such, it felt unnatural and awkward. I also can't help but draw comparisons to the Teen Titans/Legion crossover that also involved a villain that can cut through anything, including dimensions, and attacked the tower.

Of course, my biggest complaint with this issue is the art. Liefeld's drawings rarely look good. He struggles with necks and feet. He only has so many facial expressions he keeps recycling. All women are hyper-sexualized. His backgrounds range from bland to nonexistent. And the fight scenes are dull and unremarkable. So many times he just doesn't draw all the people in the fight, so I was often left wondering where Beast Boy or Kid Flash was. That was especially bad at the end, when Kid Flash said he'd go after Kestrel, but then was nowhere to be seen on the last three pages of the comic. When Bart says he'll go after someone, we should see him at least attempting to hit that person in the very next panel. He can run pretty fast, after all.

Next: Impure thoughts.

The Flash #225

Rogue War Conclusion

Geoff Johns – Writer
Howard Porter – Penciller
Livesay – Inker
Rob Leigh – Letterer
James Sinclair – Colorist
Michael Wright – Assoc. Editor
Joey Cavalieri – Editor

Our cover by Howard Porter shows the Flash running straight at us, in front of his symbol, in front of almost every Rogue imaginable. This story is still called Rogue War, but it became primarily a Reverse-Flash conflict about three issues ago. As such, most of these Rogues have nothing to do with this issue. But it is a good representation of Geoff Johns' run on the title, which concludes this issue. Mark Waid built up the Flash family, but Johns built up Wally's rogues gallery. This is a pretty decent cover. I'm glad Porter drew each Rogue's neck and shoulders. It's not uncommon for a comic book to display a similar image, but only draw the characters' heads, which I think always looks horribly unnatural. The only thing I don't like about this cover is Wally's face. He looks like a 5-year-old pouting at a birthday party.

Our story picks up with Hunter Zolomon forcing Wally to repeatedly re-watch his wife, Linda, have a miscarriage. Eobard Thawne is at the controls of the Cosmic Treadmill, making all this possible, when Barry Allen suddenly shows up alongside them on his own treadmill. Barry saves Wally, then grabs Thawne and takes him back to the time from whence he came.

Wally is left to battle Hunter, who decides to kill Linda before his past-self can give her a miscarriage by snapping his fingers at super-speed. But as Hunter and Wally race toward this traumatic scene, Wally pushes the present Hunter in-between the past Hunter and Linda, causing him to absorb the brunt of the blow from the super-speed snap. The present Hunter tries to escape on the Cosmic Treadmill, but since he's not connected to the Speed Force, he's unable to control the machine and disappears in a flash of pink light, with Wally hanging on to a piece of the treadmill.

Back in the present, Bart and Jay wonder where Wally went, as they can only sit around and watch dumbfounded as Mirror Master takes away all the Rogues involved in the recent war. Wally suddenly arrives with the piece of the treadmill he was holding onto, and he tells Bart and Jay he has a headache, but is otherwise fine. Pied Piper shows up and tells Wally that Linda has been taken to the hospital.

Everybody rushes over to Keystone General Hospital in their civilian clothes, and Ashley Zolomon tells Wally the doctors believe the wounds Linda sustained from Zoom's attack have reopened. Wally holds Linda's hand, and for a moment, it seems like she's going to die. But then there's a big rumbling, Linda sits up and starts screaming. To the doctors' horror, they witness Linda live through a full nine-month pregnancy in just a few seconds. Jay and Bart watch from the window as Linda gives birth to healthy twins — a boy and a girl.

The next evening, Ashley stays late at the Keystone City precinct to update some files. On the Flash's file, she writes "Unknown" for his real name. On the file for Captain Boomerang II, aka Owen Harkness, she lists his mother as Meloni Thawne. (Don't ask me how she knows this.) The Rogues all decide to go check out the mysterious society that ties in to Infinite Crisis, and Wally and Linda happily take home their healthy infants. We then end with a splash page to celebrate the conclusion of Geoff Johns' work, complete with a note to Howard, Scott, Angel, Alberto and Joey "for the ride of a lifetime."

Toward the end of Mark Waid's run, he teased us with a Wally wedding, then yanked it away, only to actually give it to us in the end. Johns did the same thing with Wally and Linda having twins. Except it kind of feels like he cheated to actually give us these twins. I mean, if Wally changed the past to prevent the miscarriage, then he'd come back to a new reality where Linda had carried and delivered the twins like normal, right? I don't see the point of having her go through nine months of pregnancy in a few seconds. That would destroy her body, possibly killing her and the babies. Maybe I'm thinking too much about this.

Personally, I'm glad to see the Johns run come to an end. While he did do some fun stuff with Wally's rogues gallery, the police department and Iron Heights Prison, all that stuff came at the expense of the Flash family Waid had built up so much. Particularly Bart. Johns had little to no respect for Impulse, and even only used Kid Flash when it was absolutely necessary. After Bart's own title got canceled, you'd think Johns would have wanted to provide the occasional update on the character for all his fans. You know, show us a little bit of Bart's life with the Garricks or remind us that the super villain Rival has stolen Max Mercury's body and a time machine. Was it too much of me to ask for that?

Sadly, I know the future, and it isn't too pretty for The Flash. Instead of following the Waid and Johns runs with another legendary run, we're going to watch Infinite Crisis take this series through a long, winding path of confusion, complications and disappointment. But hey, we will get to see more Bart along the way, so ... yay?

Next time, we'll wrap up October 2005 with Teen Titans #27.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins 2005

I Am Donna Troy

Adam Beechen Story
Darryl Banks Pencils
Sean Parsons Inks
Sno Cone Colors
Nick J Napolitano Letterer

Cover art by Tony S. Daniel and Marlo Alquiza, color by Chris Blythe. Now that Donna Troy is back (mostly) it's time for another Secret Files & Origins issue to update everybody on the new status quo. This is the second Secret Files issue for the Teen Titans and Outsiders, but instead of calling it issue #2, DC chose to just use the year 2005 to distinguish it. The cover features Donna, front and center, with everybody else standing around somberly behind her. I'm not sure why everyone is so serious. These Secret Files covers also usually included a few text blurbs teasing the various contents inside, but this time, DC merely listed almost every single person who worked on this issue. And in this case, it is true that the creators themselves are more interesting than the actual content here.

Our opening story picks up where we left Donna Troy — the sole inhabitant of the tiny world New Cronus and possessor of the Harbinger Orb, which can basically show her anything and everything. The orb has given Donna a startling vision of the upcoming crisis, so she is slowly steering New Cronus back to Earth to warn the others. This is a very slow and long trip, even thought the Teen Titans, Outsiders and Wonder Woman were all able to travel there very quickly. Anyway, as distressed as Donna is, she chooses to spend her time reviewing the key moments from her oh-so-confusing life. (I'd imagine she needs to do this on a regular basis to keep everything straight.)

After briefly looking at her time spent with the original Teen Titans, Donna spends some time on her death at the hands of a Superman robot, and the subsequent formation of the new Outsiders and Teen Titans.

Donna feels guilty about dragging her friends back into another crisis, but she presses forward anyway. Slowly, but surely. (Seriously, though! Is there no faster way for Donna to warn everyone about Infinite Crisis!)


The main story is a sprawling adventure that apparently happened two months ago involving half the Teen Titans and half the Outsiders. But Kid Flash was not included, nor did he receive a profile page in this issue. But he did make a very brief appearance in one of the other side stories.

Secrets

Nunzio Defilippis & Christina Weir – Writers
Todd Nauck – Penciller
Ray Snyder – Inker
SnoCone – Colorist
Nick J. Napolitano – Letterer

This story takes place in San Francisco two weeks ago. Cassie has invited her old friend Cissie over to discuss the recent revelation that her father is Zeus. Cassie says she told Conner about this, and to her dismay, Conner believes Cassie's mom and Wonder Woman made the right call in concealing the truth from her. Now Cassie worries that if she tells the rest of the Titans, they'll treat her differently. Cissie sagely points out that Cassie is crazy to think this, saying that this new doesn't change anything.

As they argue in a park across the bay from Titans Tower, the girls stumble upon the super villains Multiplex and Hyena, plotting an ill-conceived attack on the tower to prove to the Society that they're more than C-listers. Cissie offers to help Cassie take down the ambitious villains, but Wonder Girl reminds her that Arrowette is retired, so she vows to handle this alone.

Wonder Girl quickly knocks out Hyena with a single punch, but Multiplex, and his ability to create duplicates of himself, is a different story. Cissie rushes in to help, but Wonder Girl flies her away. Cassie then manages to wrap her lasso around all the Multiplex clones and electrocutes them until only the original is left unconscious.

As the police head over to pick up the villains, Cassie asks Cissie if she wants to come with her to tell the Titans about her dad, but Cissie declines. She says the Titans are Cassie's family. Cissie says she's already provided all the emotional support Cassie needed, and she offers to get something to eat with her after her big talk. So Cassie flies over to the tower and tells them all they need to talk. But Robin says Conner has something he needs to tell them first. And coming down the stairs behind all our heroes is the bald, brainwashed Superboy.

Todd Nauck is back! Well, sort of. But I'll gladly take what I can get from him. Unfortunately, this story does not fit in at all with what happened in Teen Titans. Geoff Johns clearly didn't know Zeus was Wonder Girl's father. Otherwise things would have played out very differently. And as great as it was to see Cissie again, I don't like how she kept trying to break her solemn vow of no longer being a superhero, or how she refused to see the other Titans. Cissie doesn't want to say hi to Bart, Tim and Conner?

Between Nauck and Daniel, this Secret Files issue had better art than usual. Unfortunately, the stories were more forgettable than usual. Of course, I'm mainly saying that because Bart Allen only stood around silently in the background of two panels. But I really didn't like Donna's complete lack of urgency with the impending crisis, and the revisionist history with Cassie and Cissie. Well, guess I should stop whining and check out some advertisements, since I do happen to have the physical copy of this comic.

Gotta have longer lasting. Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

One Piece: Grand Battle for PlayStation 2, Game Cube and Game Boy Advance.

The girl of steel is back. Supergirl.

Instant messaging. Bic pens.

DICE: DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises for PlayStation 2.

GameRiot video game expo and competition.

Has the stupidity of life got you down! It's time to get MAD magazine.

Back at full power! Green Lantern Corps Recharge. Written by Wizard Top Ten Creator Geoff Johns & Comics Legend Dave Gibbons.

Dew Action Sports Tour.

Superman/Shazam! First Thunder.

Even in your most embarrassing moments, never be afraid to show your face. OXY.

For the hero in all of us. Milk's 9 essential nutrients give me the strength and energy I need to fight the forces of evil. Not drinking milk? Now that would be a crime. got milk? With Christian Bale as Batman in Batman Begins.

Next time, we'll wrap up the Geoff Johns era on The Flash.

Gotham Central #34

Dead Robin Part Two of Four

Ed Brusker & Greg Rucka Writers
Kano Penciller
Stefano Gaudiano Inker
Clem Robins Letterer
Lee Loughridge Colorist
Nachie Castro Assoc. Editor
Matt Idelson Editor

Our cover by Sean Phillips shows Kid Flash, Cyborg and Wonder Girl standing in a police lineup. This is slightly misleading, as none of them (or any of the other Teen Titans, for that matter) are actual suspects in any crime. But as we'll soon see, they will be interviewed by the Gotham City police. Gotham Central is a more realistic comic, focusing on the ordinary police officers who happen to live in a world of superheroes and villains. As such, anytime a hero or villain shows up, they stand out like a sore thumb. They're bright, colorful, larger-than-life, and most of all, odd. This cover does a good job of showing that. (I do think 6 feet is a little short for Cyborg, but 5'6" feels right for Bart at this age.)

Our story picks up on the heels of the murder of a young man dressed as Robin. The picture of the deceased teen was plastered all over the newspapers, and the parents of the victim even held a press conference, saying they believe their son actually was Robin and was lying about his after-school activities of gymnastics and acting. To try to get to the bottom of this, Captain Maggie Sawyer has called in the Teen Titans, who have graciously complied.

Vic says that both he and Gar have guardian status for the minors on the team and is even willing to provide the paperwork for it. (I guess that explains why Cyborg never bothered telling Jay Garrick about Bart's injuries. He technically is also Bart's guardian.) Raven says this isn't necessary, insisting that Robin is alive and well. But since the Teen Titans won't reveal Robin's secret identity, Sawyer proceeds with the interviews, splitting the heroes up into groups of two.

Kid Flash is with Beast Boy, Wonder Girl with Cyborg and Speedy with Raven. They all tell essentially the same story. The last time they saw Robin was when he left Titans Tower on Sunday night. They suspect he went to Blüdhaven, but they're not exactly sure where he's living now, simply saying Robin has had a rough year. Raven quickly grows impatient, saying they could solve this crime for the police in 10 minutes if they'd let them. But the police refuse. Even the late-arriving, head-turning Starfire is unable to persuade them.

Word spreads that the Teen Titans were at police headquarters, and a swarm of reporters soon surrounds the building. No one is sure why Superboy is missing, while others are on the lookout for the Outsiders, noting Starfire's presence. Eventually, our heroes depart from the roof, and things begin to settle down. Later that night, the real Robin visits a secretary in the department and asks her to tell the others that he wasn't killed. She points out that the cops would much rather hear that from Robin himself, but he won't budge on Batman's strict secrecy rules. After he leaves, another dead teen dressed as Robin is discovered.



Gotham Central is one of my favorite comic book series of all time. The stories were intelligent, well-written and cast the world of superheroes in a different light. Likewise, the art was different from your standard DC book, but it was always well-done and beautiful in its own way. And it really makes you appreciate the incredible abilities of these heroes that we often take for granted. Like Robin jumping off a roof. You wouldn't think twice about that in Teen Titans, but in Gotham Central, that is a breath-taking moment.

This issue highlights the fundamental difference between police officers and superheroes. Both sides have the same goals at the end of the day, but they approach them from almost opposite sides. Superheroes live in the world of masks, secret identities and largely working outside the law. The police are unable and unwilling to do what superheroes do, holding themselves to the high standards of law, order and due process. Maggie Sawyer only had the best of intentions by bringing the Teen Titans in, but it was ultimately pointless. Sawyer had no way to verify the Titans' story, and the GCPD was incapable of bending the rules to have the Titans solve the murder for them. There's a reason why we never see the Titans work with the police in San Francisco.

Next time, we'll take a quick look at the second Secret Files & Origins issue for the Teen Titans and Outsiders.