Year in Review: 2009

In 2009, I was attending college full-time, living on my own just off campus. I wanted to get into comics, but I didn't have enough money, so I mostly just started collecting the major trade paperbacks. Or just reading them in the library. In fact, in a couple of years, I would read Legion of 3 Worlds for the first time in my university's library. I didn't understand it, but I was enthralled by it.

Although 2008 was a huge year for superhero films, 2009 was incredibly quiet. Almost like the calm before the storm. Marvel's only offering was X-Men Origins: Wolverine and DC's sole venture was Watchmen. I think the kindest thing to say about both those movies was that they each had mixed reviews. Elsewhere, the box office was absolutely dominated by Avatar, which pulled in $2.7 billion. And 10 years later, we're still waiting on that promised sequel. But just to show how far ahead Avatar was over everything else, the second-highest grossing film of the year, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, earned only $934 million. Despite Avatar's financial dominance, it was The Hurt Locker that came away with the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

And how did our little boy Bart do in 2009? Quite well, actually, considering he was literally brought back to life! Of course, it was kind of strange how he died as a 20-year-old but came back as a 16-year-old, but hey, nobody really liked Bart as the Flash anyway, right? And the important thing is Bart is back! (Even if he has to be Kid Flash again.) Bart was brought back during Legion of 3 Worlds, and before that miniseries ended, he was thrown into Flash: Rebirth. But before that ended, Bart was thrown into another, even larger event, Blackest Night. So it was a pretty wild, busy year for Bart, that unfortunately was hampered by some continuity issues. I guess it's also worth mentioning that in 2009, Impulse also made his smallest, least-memorable cameo on the Smallville TV show.

Best Issue: Final Crisis: Legions of 3 Worlds #4

Bart technically came back to life in the third issue of this miniseries, but that was only on the last page. In issue #4, he was fully back, immediately cracking jokes, reuniting with his cousin, XS, and, most importantly, terrorizing Superboy-Prime. Bart never could actually defeat Prime by himself, but he can get under Prime's skin like no one else. It was a pure delight watching Bart help turn the tide of the battle against one of the most powerful villains of all time. And, to make this issue even more special, Bart was able to witness the resurrection of one of his best friends, Superboy.

Best Writer: Geoff Johns

This is the fifth award for Johns on this blog, passing Mark Waid for most all time. And, as is often the case with Johns, he basically won this award by default. He wrote almost every comic Bart appeared in, from Legion of 3 Worlds to Flash: Rebirth to Blackest Night. That was all Johns, and no one else came close to matching that significance for this character. Of course, I'll always be frustrated with Johns demanding that Bart is only a valid character as Kid Flash. And Johns' artificial boosting of Barry Allen to make him by far the most important Flash ever. But ... I do need to give Johns credit for bringing Bart back in the first place. If it weren't for him, it's likely Bart could have stayed dead for a long time.

Best Artist: George Pérez

How can I not give this award to the man who drew Bart's glorious return? Pérez is a living legend, and it was honor for him to be the artist for this incredibly significant moment in Bart's history. Yes, Pérez did take his time on Legion of 3 Worlds, but the end result was well worth the wait. He crafted a beautiful, amazing story involving hundreds of characters. Each page was a loving tribute to the history of the Legion and comics as a whole. And that's probably the biggest thing that sets him apart from Ethan Van Sciver. I felt so much joy from Pérez's art, but from Van Sciver, I only felt anger.

Best Supporting Character: Brainiac 5

Brainy nabs this award for the second straight year, solely because he was the one who brought Bart back to life. And that's a feat that cannot be topped. Yes, Bart did have some fun with Superboy and XS this year, but nobody can match the contribution of Brainiac 5. But it wasn't just that he brought Bart back, it was the how and the why that testified to his true genius. Upon learning of the vision of Superboy-Prime defeating the Legion, Brainy immediately began working to combat this threat from every possible angle, including psychological. And that's where Bart came in. Brainy had to do quite a bit of planning and behind-the-scenes work to pull it off, and it all came together perfectly. A wonderful hero was brought back to life and a horrible villain was defeated.

Best Villain: Superboy-Prime

And that horrible villain, Prime, earns this award for the second time. Eobard Thawne is causing trouble in Flash: Rebirth, and Black Hand is making a mess of things in Blackest Night, but neither of those had the emotional connection to Bart like Prime does. I mean, just think about it: Bart was literally brought back to life just to battle Superboy-Prime. You can't get any more significant than that. And I've always been a fan of the special place Bart has in Prime's heart. He is legitimately terrified of Bart. When Prime heard Bart's coming back, he completely freaked out and immediately dropped everything he was doing to try to prevent this. Luckily, Superboy-Prime was too late.

Next time, we'll begin the year 2010, which will feature lots of Blackest Night, Bart's official return to the Teen Titans and a couple more appearances on Smallville. But everything starts with our return to The Flash: Rebirth #5.