Infinite Crisis thoughts Article by aviewaskewed, 04:00 AM 18th Oct Disclaimer: The following column is entirely the opinions of the author (even at that we aren‘t sure), any similarity to the opinions of any other staff or affiliate of theendlesscrew.com is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all creator comments have been gleaned from other sources and no creators have actually endorsed any aspect of this column. The author would also like it known that he doesn’t endorse this column either. So, let’s start off this week with a little confession. Confession you say? I thought this was about Infinite Crisis! Hold up, before you hit that back button thinking I’ve finally gone all “blogger” on you, relax, that’s the confession. See, I wasn’t going to do the Infinite Crisis column after Thursday, I felt like it would be information overload, I felt that the best things had been said, and I felt that the best things to be said of it had probably already been said. So I had the formation of an idea for a column tentatively titled “Why we bitch” and that was going to be about why we should be out there voting with our wallets, and complaining for better comics. It’s a familiar topic for those of you who’ve read this column for a long while, but then I decided maybe there were some things left to be said about Infinite Crisis #1, and perhaps it could tie into the “why we bitch column as well” so sit back, read on, and forgive your humble columnist for nearly lying to you this week, dear reader, hopefully he’ll get your trust back near the end of this little jaunt. So, Infinite Crisis #1, I really liked it first off. It hits some of the familiar beats of the major event, it kills some old characters off, sends some major characters off on a quest, and establishes where relationships are at, and some hint of where they will go in the following issues. It’s the standard stuff you’ve come to expect from this type of story, in this type of genre, and it’s pretty well done I feel. But I think the best thing that it accomplishes is that I have that “can’t wait” feeling for issue #2. I want that new issue badly, and only the very best comics can do that for you. Too many comics these days are built for an arc, they write for the trade, for the collection, and they don’t apologize, they use and jade the monthly reader and care not a tinkers damn for the aggravation that it causes. When Earth-2 Superman appeared with that cadre of the rest of the supposedly gone multiple earth heroes, it to me was classic “periodical comic cliffhanger” that’s what ANY issue of ANY book should be giving us. I’m not trying to scoff at trades, I have a book case full of them here, I enjoy the collection, and I support the format, but I think you can still do great cliffhangers in a monthly, that are going to read as great cliffhanger chapter breaks in the trade as well, and if you can’t do that as a writer, then pick the format you’re stronger with, and stick to it, or simply get out of the business. Harsh? Sure, but hey, when I put my money down, I think I deserve the very best of your ability, and I think Geoff Johns gave us his best here with that ending. But don’t go thinking the meat and potatoes weren’t enjoyable to me as well. I really enjoyed the opening of the book, the meeting of the Big Three, and how their argument plays throughout the whole book, it’s the perfect device to set up how bad things are. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, love them, or hate them, are the three biggest super hero archetypes, not just in DC, but in comics period. They are the ones that everybody else takes their lead from, so if you’re going to call yourself as having a Crisis, and saying it’s the worst ever, then you need to break them down, and you need to make it believable. I think Johns played pretty even handed with this, at first, but it really seems to turn into a bit of Superman bashing near the end. Still, he was very good about pointing out what specifically is wrong with the characters right now (giving Batman the great line about Superman that was in my summary, which perfectly captures everything wrong with the “leader who want lead” aspect of him). I really hope that Johns is simply playing this as a slow build to examining everything that’s broken about these characters, because in this issue, he certainly pointed out Superman’s problems very well, and while Bats and Wonder Woman got attention, they certainly didn’t walk away from the argument as seemingly crushed as Supes was (and frankly, the sheer arrogance of Batman is something that needs to be addressed, and dialed back upcoming I feel). As for the deaths aspect of it, I think they started off fairly well by giving us someone who is frankly a total no name character, and then when it was time to take The Freedom Fighters down, they did so with class. I personally liked the team in the appearances I had seen them in, and DC has always placed them pretty well, to prominently, in most Crisis situations, so I was glad that when Johns sat down to take them down, he managed to get across how dominating the Society is, but still gave their deaths meaning and poignancy (even, it seems, letting Human Bomb take out Dr. Polaris before Bizarro pummels him to death), I’m not saying I’m dancing a jig that they’re gone, I more then likely would not have read a book for them, but when they appeared? I liked them. So I think this is one of those times where other writers who come to a point where they’re going to kill second tier characters should look at this setup and say “oh, that’s how you do it!” Johns made the villains look good, but also gave the heroes a noble death, something that’s sorely lacked in these sorts of events the last few years. The ending was also strong. To see the Earth-2 Superman, who really, is the ORIGINAL Superman in the storylines, the one that Siegel and Shuster created back in ‘38, leading the charge into the next issue, crystallizes what the intent of this story is. Beyond anything else, the idea here IS to re-establish what a hero is in the DCU, and it also appears they’ll try to clean up some of the continuity “fixes” that haven’t quite worked post-Crisis (the original I mean). Johns has made a powerful statement in the early going of what he wants to accomplish with the series. The end result is still up in the air, and it remains to be seen whether the momentum can be kept and the end result can satisfy everyone. Right now DC seems to be headed towards pleasing the long-time fan (myself included in that group) and hopefully they aren’t going to be going back to the past at the expense of the younger generation and THEY’RE ideas of who these characters are (such as Wally West as Flash, or Kyle Rayner as a GL, of course, they’ve already downgraded Kyle’s influence if you ask me), it’s going to be an interesting 6 months to see where this one goes. But I’m on board for the rest of it. Odds and ends on the week: JLA #120: Some people really think the Justice League could become a casualty of Infinite Crisis considering that in the storylines now none of the big gun founders are supposed to be able to get along. I’m not sure I see DC canceling the series, I see them trying to bring some new blood in, I can certainly understand trepedation on the part of the fans, and perhaps the editorial departments on this. JLA revamps tend to either hit or miss, and by that I mean big hit, or giant miss. I thought the last issue was good, it’s a funeral for this chapter of the League, with the idea of moving forward. This won’t much effect me, since I’ve never been a big Justice League fan, but considering the love I have for the Justice Society, and the tumultuous times they usually have in these sorts of events (though thank god, they look like they’ll come through this pretty strong and hopefully mostly intact since I really enjoy the team as is, and there’s no one I’m really saying “please God use this as an excuse to kill them off!”) I feel for League fans at this point in time. Reducing the mutants: Haven’t been following House of M, but will definitely get the trades, and I must applaud Marvel’s decision to cut back on the mutant populace now, there were too many running around, and while they were coming up with some interesting ways to deal with that, the fact is that it really just needed a cap, and to go back to being a minority, that’s when the books are making working the best I think. Hellsing: More of a plug as I got the anime a few weeks back and really liked it, and now have bought the manga and am really enjoying that as well, it’s a great mix of sadistic action, humor, and just something that’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus, it’s got vampires and cool stuff like that! Just a reminder that Batman Begins comes out today, I’ll be picking up a copy, and that’s really about all for this week, sorry for the delay, it was just one of those weeks where it seemed next to impossible for me to just sit down and get enough focus to get this written out in one or two sittings. Next week: Dosen’t look like we got very far towards the “why we bitch” column, so I guess you can look forward to that one next week. Back to Rants