Comics are Awesome III

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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Green Lanterns #17
Apparently Scarecrow somehow found the time to briefly study the Sinestro Corps Ring that chose him previously. He references having had a ring leave him twice, and while he admits it's technology is still well beyond him, it was enough to allow him to figure out how to build a generator. Meanwhile, Batman snaps Alfred out of it using a key phrase in the event he was ever under the influence of mind control. They track down the Scarecrow where Simon is overcome by the fear from his generator. He's about to shoot it with his gun, but decides to rely on his ring instead. Later, Simon says it's time he finally gave up the gun, admitting he wasn't afraid the ring wasn't enough, but that he wouldn't be. Batman pulls him aside saying he's a Green Lantern he can work with, and that when he calls, he'd better answer. Then Rami calls Jessica, telling them that he needs his Green Lantern's immediately.
--
This issue was an improvement over the last. I was expecting it to reinforce the reason Simon carries a gun, but I'm glad it did the opposite. I wasn't expecting him to give up the gun entirely. It really goes to show his growth as a Green Lantern, having finally found his confidence in the ring and what he's capable of with it. Not really sure how Scarecrow could have found the time to study the Sinestro Corps ring he's had though. The longest he's had a ring was during Blackest Night, and he was sorta busy fighting Black Lanterns with it. And the first time he got a ring, he was in jail.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Superman #17
This is a rare thing in modern comics, a told in one story that starts and finishes in a single issue, though the plot threads were seeded some time back. Jon and Cathy head into Deadman's Swamp looking for her grandpa and a lost cow. They encounter a shadowy man, giant animals and an old house before finally being rescued themselves by Cathy's grandfather. His explanation is that there are gasses in the swamp that can cause people to hallucinate, and that appears to explain everything... except that the shadowy figure is shown out in the cornfield in the last panel, so whoever it is, it's real. It looks like the Eradicator to me. Jon's back in bed before his parents get home, and they have no clue that he's been out of the house, which bothers me a bit as a parent. I hope we don't see too much of Jon sneaking around behind his parents' backs.

Aquaman #17
Aquaman is finally given some respect from the world and the public at large. He makes a speech at the UN as King of Atlantis, but the telepathic entity Warhead is still after him, and is able to lure him into a confrontation using various people that he mentally controls, in order to apparently send Aquaman to the middle of a war zone. I still like the fact that we have an enemy for Aquaman who isn't aquatic-based, but is still tailored to attack one of Aquaman's abilities, his telepathy.

Super Sons #1
I thought I'd give this book a try, though I'm not in the least a fan of Damien Wayne. Any Robin other than him would be preferable. But I like the concept of him and Jon Kent reluctantly working together, though as with the Superman issue, I hope we don't see a lot of Jon sneaking out of the house and getting in trouble. He's a bit of a latchkey kid now with Lois working at the Planet and Clark off being Superman. Damien is still keeping an eye on him, in disguise, and he comes to Jon with a chance to help him with an investigation in Metropolis. The home life of the two is contrasted. Damien lives in a disciplined environment under Batman and Alfred's supervision, while Jon has a mom and dad who clearly love him and demonstrate that. The two are opposites, without a doubt. And the book also gives Jon problems with bullies at school, so there are some problems appropriate to a kid his age as well as bigger challenges.

If nothing else, here are two characters who aren't likely to fall victim to the "dead parent" trope so common in super-hero origins, since one has Batman for a father, and the other has Superman and Lois Lane. DC is unlikely to kill either off!
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Star Trek/Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds #2-3
Sinestro and the Klingon's are able to best the Enterprise crew and take the Manhunter back with them for Sinestro to study. Meanwhile, Guy, John and Kilowog are summoned by Starfleet because one of their bases in an asteroid was attacked by Atrocitus. Turns out, this base is where Khan and his fellow augments are being stored. They've overpowered Atrocitus and Khan has his ring. The Lanterns tell him the ring is useless to him while Atrocitus is alive, so Khan kills him and becomes a Red Lantern then take over the ship the Lanterns arrived on. Back in space, the Enterprise is attacked by more Manhunters, but Hal and Carol are able to convince them they're on the same side. They get a distress call, and are confronted by Khan. Elsewhere, Sinestro has built a suit using the remains of the Manhunter and seemingly has found Oa...

--
Find it a bit strange that Sinestro would ally himself with Larfleeze. Although he seems to only be keeping him around for his ring, which he borrows in order to find Oa, in the event his own ring fails. Which is even more strange, considering Larfleeze never lets anyone take his stuff. Larfleeze being shown with his Power Battery in the previous mini-series seems to be retconned here as well, given he appears to only be allied with Sinestro so that he can recharge his ring... and eat all the Klingon food that he can. Found it a bit interesting, there is a passing reference to Khan's appearance having been altered when Joachim talks to him.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #15
John and Natu begin organizing their new combined Corps into teams of one Green and one Yellow, only John finds Guy has gone AWOL. He's angry that his fellow human Corps members don't respect him as the Corps leader. Meanwhile, Hal and Kyle try to help Saint Walker fight off an 'elemental' who is trying to destroy the planet they are on. The two overcome it, and Saint Walker assures that it'll never return to the planet as long as Hope is there. Meanwhile, Guy finds who he's looking for, Arkillo...

--
Hal is surprised to see Saint Walker, explaining that when Ganthet and Sayd sent them on this mission to find the Light of Hope they didn't mention anything about him. I know Hal can be short sighted, but common. Hal knows full well Saint Walker is the last and only Blue Lantern. What did he think they'd find if not Saint Walker? And I really don't understand Guy's motivation for taking on Arkillo himself. Guy says Arkillo is not the Sinestro Corps version of Kilowog, he's more like Guy and Guy wants to prove there's only room for one of him. And once again, this ignores events from the Sinestro title. What happened to Arkillo and Saint Walker being sector partners of 2814? Arkillo I can imagine returned to Sinestro's side when he retook command, but Saint Walker just went to this random world?
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Vendetti (and Johns for that matter) often write Hal as a little slow on the uptake since the New 52 started, though I think you and I have disagreed on that point from time to time. But yeah, even so, he should have suspected Saint Walker was involved. And as for Guy and Arkillo, and Saint Walker, there's some definite playing fast and loose with recent continuity here, if not outright ignoring some of it. And once again, we still have no mention of the Templar Guardians or where they are, or who sent the Corps into the older universe. I'd like to see a lot of this explained before we venture into newer stories, but the previews aren't showing any sign of that being the case.

Action Comics #974
Mild-Mannered part 2 - the twin plotlines of Superman struggling to save Lana Lang's life and Lois investigating the human Clark Kent continue, and it looks like things are finally paying off as Lois agrees to a date with Clark in order to learn more about him. Things turn somewhat awkward and creepy as he shows up early, rents a limo, takes Lois to a fancy restaurant and then proposes. She turns him down of course, already being married to the genuine article, and he doesn't take it well. He figures out that there's someone else in her life and follows her home, where he observes Lois, the real Clark and Jon having dinner and breaks down, declaring "I remember it all. You ruined my life!"

Lana is stabilized the same way Superman was after his death, in the Kryptonian Battle Armor. Meanwhile, the US military has located Superman's other fortress, the one we saw during the Lois and Clark series, and the one in which Blanque is imprisoned. Everything goes to pieces as one of the military get inside, allowing Blanque to telepathically control him and escape, destroying the fortress in the process. With the military investigation team is one Hank Henshaw, also last seen in Lois and Clark, so far as I know. Superman expected his security to alert him to any problems, but for reasons not yet explained, it didn't work, so he has no idea that any of this has happened. He heads home, where the above dinner scene occurs.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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andersonh1 wrote:Vendetti (and Johns for that matter) often write Hal as a little slow on the uptake since the New 52 started, though I think you and I have disagreed on that point from time to time. But yeah, even so, he should have suspected Saint Walker was involved.
Yeah, we have disagreed on this point. I'd say it's within his character the be somewhat dense at times, with his 'flying by the seat of his pants' mentality... But this is Hal being straight up dumb if Saint Walker didn't even cross his mind.
And once again, we still have no mention of the Templar Guardians or where they are, or who sent the Corps into the older universe. I'd like to see a lot of this explained before we venture into newer stories, but the previews aren't showing any sign of that being the case.
I agree. Any force capable of teleporting the entire Corps to the previous universe like that, you'd think would be the top priority for them to figure out who and how. That, and locating the Templar Guardians. Tracking down some rouge Sinestro Corps members doesn't seem like the first thing they'd be doing. I'm actually kind of annoyed they haven't touched on any of this.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Part 2 of the crossover between the Flash and Batman ends like this. Oh yeah!

http://www.denofgeek.com/us/books-comic ... dc-rebirth

They've updated the sleeves and boots a bit, but it's still the classic costume. And that's Flash Comics #1 in the background. Nice.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Aquaman #18
I'm not enjoying this story as much as the previous one, but the ending with Aquaman reaching out rather than trying to destroy the threat is appreciated. It wraps up with Aquaman doing his best to get through to Warhead and finally succeeding. Warhead turns out to be a Android with an AI manufactured by the Chinese, who went rogue, and then escaped when they tried to shut him down. He's been hunting for a safe place to power down and repair, and finally settled on Atlantis as his best option. Being programmed to fight, he's attempted to force Aquaman to accept him rather than simply ask for asylum, but Aquaman is able to make him see his error, and agrees to help. The final page has one of the Aquamarines coming to Aquaman to ask for help dealing with a threat called "Dead Water".

Superman #18
Superman Reborn part 1
I could be wrong, but it looks very much as if we're going to get some answers about just what's been happening to Superman, Lois and Jon, and it goes a bit beyond them just being refugees from another reality via Convergence. The issue opens in the prison run by Mr. Oz, with Tim Drake taunting him that "someone got out". Oz is not happy. Cut to the Kent farm where Clark and Lois are celebrating their anniversary with Jon, when the other Clark Kent (who followed them there in the last issue of Action Comics) leaves something on the porch, and also seems to recognize Krypto. Whatever he's done begins to erase the house in what looks like blue flames, and what's worse, it erases Jon as well, despite Superman's best efforts to save him. The other Kent also left a photo album with pictures from Clark and Lois's lives and family history, and the pictures vanish. At first devastated, Clark and Lois quickly turn their attention to the other Clark Kent, who took all of this from them somehow, and they're going to make sure he gives it back. To be continued....
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Green Lanterns #18
Lots of exposition in this issue to explain the background of Volthoom. Which I have to say I'm glad to finally see given I felt that was sorely missed when we were first introduced to the First Lantern. Originally, he's from Earth-15 and escaped the destruction of his world thanks to their invention of the "Traveling Lantern" that can travel through time, space and dimensions. He began teaching other universes about the Emotional Spectrum hoping one would develop the technology to save his world. This is where Power Ring of Earth 3 came from. Apparently Mordru took a piece of Volthoom's soul to create the Power Ring, but they had a disagreement, so he quickly left that dimension. Eventually he found the Maltusians, the future Guardians of the Universe and he helped them create the Great Heart to store their emotions in. This had the unintended side effect of creating the First Ring. Volthoom went insane from it's power, so the Guardians created the first 7 Green Lanterns to stop him, and then locked away all of their research on the Emotional Spectrum. After his death, Nekron explains Volthoom's connection to the Emotional Spectrum has taken him out of his reach, and as long as there is light in the Universe, Volthoom cannot stay dead. I still think Humphries is playing things loose with the continuity here, but I do like how things play out in this issue. And once again he takes the focus of the story away from the title characters, as they don't appear at all in this story.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Sparky Prime wrote:Green Lanterns #18
Lots of exposition in this issue to explain the background of Volthoom. Which I have to say I'm glad to finally see given I felt that was sorely missed when we were first introduced to the First Lantern. Originally, he's from Earth-15 and escaped the destruction of his world thanks to their invention of the "Traveling Lantern" that can travel through time, space and dimensions. He began teaching other universes about the Emotional Spectrum hoping one would develop the technology to save his world. This is where Power Ring of Earth 3 came from. Apparently Mordru took a piece of Volthoom's soul to create the Power Ring, but they had a disagreement, so he quickly left that dimension.
You've made me interested enough to pick up this issue at some point. I have the first Justice League of America silver age omnibus, and among the many stories in the book is the first appearance of the Crime Syndicate, and the Earth-3 Power Ring. If I remember right, his ring is said to be magical, and he got it from some monk, and either the monk's name was Volthoom, or Volthoom was the "spirit" that powered his ring and battery. In that story, "Volthoom" is the trigger word the Crime Syndicate use to transfer themselves back to Earth 3 at Power Ring's suggestion. Anyway, it sounds like the continuity of this issue draws some inspiration from that Silver Age storyline, as well as more recent appearances by the Crime Syndicate, and I'm curious to see how well it fits.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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andersonh1 wrote:If I remember right, his ring is said to be magical, and he got it from some monk, and either the monk's name was Volthoom, or Volthoom was the "spirit" that powered his ring and battery.
Yeah, I know Volthoom has been both, the monk that gave Power Ring the ring as well as the spirit inside of it. Not sure if he was in the ring in the Silver Age, but he certainly was Post-Crisis.
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