Front Lines - Mini-Reviews (Week of May 29) - DC Rebirth, Captain America, Super-League, Apocalypse Wars

Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz

Summary: Captain America is tracking down a Hydra cell that hijacked a train and are looking to use it to detonate an explosive device in Penn Station.  Rick Jones is assisting him looking to counter-hack the Hydra agent controlling the train. Cap and Rick (along with Jack Staff and Free Spirit) manage to save the day, though the Hydra agent on the train sets off a suicide vest to kill himself.  Cap feels some compassion for this kid who had a rough life and was manipulated by Hydra.

Later, SHIELD manages to track Baron Zemo.  Cap and company head off to stop him. Zemo has assembled a group of C-listers as his new Masters of Evil, pretty much all he can manage after Pleasant Hill.  Zemo has kidnapped Doctor Selvig and is trying to track down remnants of the cosmic cube.  Cap’s team takes out the Masters of Evil, while Cap goes after Zemo himself.  Zemo momentarily gets the upper hand on Cap, so Jack Staff rushes to save him.  After taking down Zemo, Cap apologizes to Jack, killing him and saying “Hail Hydra.”

Throughout the comic, we also get some alleged flashbacks explaining Cap’s history.  His father was abusive to his mother.  A local woman offered them some compassion and a way to get out, and that is how Steve was introduced to Hydra in the first place.   

Matt Graham: I’m going to abuse this platform for a self-indulgent rant. It’s related to Captain America, but if you just want to talk comics, skip my input here. I’m divulging this because it colors my indifference to this comic and the cliffhanger that kickstarts the arc’s conflict.

I’m exhausted by outrage culture. It’s not new, and that’s why I’m tired. The last half decade has been wave after wave of faux indignation and righteous fury that pounds against my senses thanks to the proliferation of social media and the inability of most users to understand how each platform should best be used. I get caught up in things. I get caught up being caught up. Most of this is because Facebook has become the default networking and keep in touch platform. I burned all the other platforms after brief presences. I have seen vile stances and hollow arguments. I have learned things about friends, family, and mentors that have made me appreciate them or lost all my respect. At times, I’ll even hurl my respect into the ocean in a white hot rage over the idea someone I was so in tune with could even think that way or swallow the Kool-Aid.

What I find tiresome about this is that many on the Internet like to apply the same importance to the societal discussions we have that are healthy for any community to explore to things like “The last page of this comic book is upsetting.” These are the vocal people that create content to get attention and ride the wagon, or the angry anonymous (scarier still when names are attached) masses who fuel Internet content since Twitter and Disqus comments qualify as journalistic sources these days.

Then (maybe it’s my personal Google and Facebook algorithms, since my wife always on the other end of what’s trending) things like this blow up. It could be Batman v. Superman, where everyone on my wall must have had a producer stake in the film’s success or failure. It could be what actor plays what role in a non-existent film that maybe could exist, one day, sort of. This week it’s about what happened in DC: Rebirth and the last page of Captain America.

As I scrolled my wall I saw nothing but friends and Friends making memes about Cap’s last page (I liked the one that recasts Cap as someone who hates the new Ghostbusters because of his nostalgia for the original, it’s twice as topical), and posting political essays about Marvel and Nick Spencer’s politics, and throwing their own quippy one liner about it into the white noise, and sharing articles from every possible site on the Internet that could stand to gain clicks and ad revenue by throwing in reworded headlines and reassembling what every other comic site has already said.

All this before I even read the issue. I read the issue.

I didn’t hate it as much as I was supposed to. It was standard Marvel fare these days. A status quo has been shaken or restored. A blitz through the new supporting cast and mission. An action scene. What does stand aside from most of the other #1s the past six months is the the final page, which is a cliffhanger that leaves any seasoned superhero comic reader bereft of any intended shock, if not leaving you numb entirely.

Steve Rogers being a HYDRA agent falls flat on several levels. I’m not sure what editorial was thinking. I’m not sure why it’s worth talking about even when everyone is. It’s not believable in terms of continuity, logistics, or character. The HYDRA/SHIELD dynamic we saw in Secret Warriors (Marvel loved it enough to stick it in the movies) doesn’t fit the timeline. Sam Wilson may be the other Captain America, but Steve Rogers drives most of the marketing machine, so he wouldn’t be changed to evil. Steve Rogers is the most loyal and squeaky clean characters at Marvel. Much like Superman, it isn’t about the superhuman feats, but how decent and empathic of a human being he is, willing to stand up for others and be the change he wishes to see in everyone.

Think this issue through. Red Skull has Professor Xavier’s brain and telepathic prowess. The Red Skull was lurking in Pleasant Hill during Standoff.  Kobik - a living Cosmic Cube shard who can alter reality - restored Steve Rogers to youth and powers. She appears in this issue as a reminder of her hand in Steve’s return, yet no one talks about that.

My theory is the Red Skull used his telepathy to rewrite the Captain’s memories and twist Steve into a HYDRA agent. That’s why all Steve’s memories are tinted red. Perhaps Kobik had an unwitting part.

All the Internet venom from fans and heckling from the jackals on the sidelines is fixated on that last page, missing all the clues throughout the issue.

Killing Steve Rogers isn’t a victory. Destroying him and his legacy is. The Captain America books and Standoff were about that legacy. It dovetails into a story where the Red Skull corrupts Steve’s morals and reputation. Sam Wilson and Sharon Carter will free Steve from himself and take out the Red Skull. That’s the only way I see this playing.

The thing about outrage culture is that most of those upset about this don’t care. They don’t buy the book. They were never going to. They might not even know Cap or Zemo aside from other media. Captain America is an icon and cultural touchstone, so everyone weighs in on it.

It’s a first issue. I’m not sure where the fans or jackals who feed on the fans or other comic creators making jokes are pulling all the malice from, but it the book doesn’t even earn that sort of shock and awe. It wasn’t an interesting read or visual tour de force until that last page. It just sort of lays there, like a gutted fish. The guts of the thing are out. Now what?

It’s typical these days for everyone to make kneejerk judgements and race to make a meme or quip and not give what we’re presented with any sort of critical thinking. That’s the most disappointing part of this cliffhanger to me.

Jesus Saiz has nice art, although I don’t find it a good fit for the title. He carries the penciling, inking, and colors himself, but the coloring doesn’t stand up to the linework. The art has a strange, clay feel to it. The action choreography also falls flat. It’s unfair, but Steve Rogers combat brings the Winter Soldier and Civil War fights to mind. Those films nailed the over the top pulp combat of the comics, and now the comic feels like a shell of itself. The quiet moments are framed well, and the character designs are clean and distinct. I would have thought Marvel would go for stronger talent with the push the title has had for months.

Mike Maillaro: I am glad Matt took lead on this one, because I am exhausted talking about Hydra Cap.  I sort of got obsessed with it the last few days to the point where I actually had to shut down my internet for several hours just so I could actually READ the rest of my comics.  For my thoughts on the controversy itself, check out my column...

As for the comic itself, I love Nick Spencer’s writing.  I was surprised by how funny this comic was.  From Jack Staff and Rick Jones talking about the absurdity of some of the things they did in the 80’s to Baron Zemo’s less than impressive Masters of Evil.  I actually can’t help but think Marvel wasn’t expecting as big as reaction as they got from the ending because that wasn’t the be all and end all of the comic for anyone who actually read it, but they were going to ride it for all it’s worth.

I definitely agree with Matt about the art.  Saiz does great figures, but the action scenes are not in a way that is all that exciting for me.  I grew up on Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. Those guys have their flaws, but they always drew dynamic action sequences.

DC Rebirth #1 by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Phil Jimenez

Summary: The comic starts with the revelation that Wally West (Pre-Flashpoint) is alive and stuck in the speed force.  When Barry and Thomas Wayne “fixed” Flashpoint, someone manipulated events to take ten years out of the DC Universe, which also took a lot of the hope and joy from the universe.  New-52 is a broken world because of this.  Wally is trying to get back to Earth to fix things, but since no one remembers him (not even Linda Park), he is afraid that he will be lost in the speed force for good.  He decides that even if he can’t escape the speed force, he needs to try and warn everyone.  In the end, he appears to Barry, basically just intending to say goodbye.  At the last second, Barry remembers everything, grabbing Wally and pulling him from the speed force.  Once he’s back in reality, Wally is starting to losing his memories of everything he knew, but he fills Barry in as best he can that someone has been watching them.

Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Batman finds a Watchmen pin, and it’s heavily implied that the “New 52” was caused by manipulations from Dr. Manhattan.

Mike: I will say upfront, my summary does not do this comic justice.  It was just impossible to cover everything in the summary without writing a book. I absolutely loved this comic.  Pretty much every few pages there was something new that made me cheer.  Many things that were lost in the DC Universe (the JSA, the Legion, Wally West) all started to pop back up.  

Even little stuff like the return of Kaldur'ahm (a character I felt was massively underused).   And the ending put a wild new twist on everything we thought we knew about the DC Universe.  

If nothing else, it’s clear that DC has some big plans here.  And some of these plans seem to have been laid out for a while now.  The mysterious Dr Oz who visits Superman is likely Ozymandias, and I have seen a few articles pointing out a similar cloaked character who was stalking Superman back during Geoff Johns run.  

Can’t wait to read more Rebirth.  This issue makes me real optimistic about everything that is to come.

Extraordinary X-Men #10 (Apocalypse Wars) by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos

Summary: The X-Men have gone to the year 3167 to find their lost students and the Ark containing 600 “new” mutant genomes.  The Ark is taken by Colossus and the Horsemen.   The X-Men and the students pursue them through Omega World.  Storm is starting to lose hope for the future, but Iceman manages to rally the team.  They fight their way through an army of Mole Men and finally make it to Apocalypse’s domain.  The Horsemen ambush them, and Old Man Logan is consumed by a symbiote.  

Meanwhile, on Limbo, Magik continues to train Sapna.  Sapna seems to be progressing in her powers quickly, which concerns Magik.  Forge loses contact with Cerebra, so Magik tries to jump into the future to find her lost friends.

Mike: Apocalypse Wars was kind of the kick in the ass Extraordinary X-Men needed, and I think Omega World has created some real inspired moments. The team crawling through Galactus’s body dodging Mole Men was just a great scene.  All that said, after a kick ass first issue, this story has slowed down to a crawl.  It felt like very little happened here.  I enjoyed what we got, but I can’t help but feel we are getting two or three issues of content spread over four comics.  But, this is still some of the best X-Men comics I’ve read in a very long time.

Justice League #50 (Darkseid War) by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok

Summary: Grail has given the Anti-Life Equation to Steve Trevor, believing she is fulfilling a prophecy that the Equation would be used by the first man to step foot on Themyscira.  Trevor attacks the Justice League, though he is begging Wonder Woman to free him.  The Green Lantern Corps arrive to assist in this fight against Grail, though they aren’t particularly effective.

Superwoman’s child is revealed to be the son of her world’s Alexander Luthor.  This baby is able to absorb the power of the gods. Grail kills Superwoman, and ends up charging the baby up with the Anti-Life Equation and the various god-like powers absorbed by the Justice League through this arc to turn him into a reincarnation of Darkseid, completely under her control.

Flash is separated from the Black Racer.  Black Racer still needs to kill someone, so Jessica sacrifices herself to save Flash.   

Hal gives Batman his power ring to give him the will to escape the Mobius Chair. Owlman and Grid steal the Mobius Chair and head off to “Plan B.”

Big Barda and the Furies arrive, pretty pissed that Grail has this new Darkseid under her control.  Wonder Woman and Grail’s mom (Myrina) stand against Grail.  They need to separate the Anti-Life Equation from Darkseid.  In the end, Myrina sacrifices herself so that Grail will blast Darkseid too, reverting him back to a baby.  Grail heads off to raise this baby.

The Justice League are mourning Jessica’s death, when a Green Lantern ring arrives, reviving her.  Barda has to return with the Furies, that was the agreement she made to get their help against Darkseid.  On Apokolips, Luthor is worshipped as a hero, wearing a Superman symbol on his chest.  

Batman tells Hal Jordan that the chair told him that Joker was really three different people.  Wonder Woman reveals that before Myrina died she revealed that Diana had a twin brother named Jason, who would have been the true “first male to step foot on Themyscira.”

Metron, Grid, and Owlman are on the moon plotting.  Suddenly something attacks them, and the issue ends with the Mobius Chair empty and abandoned on the moon.

Mike: It seems like a lot happened in this comic, but so much of it feels like smoke and mirrors.  The CSA really added nothing to this story, and basically just vanished in the end without any satisfying resolution.  Steve Trevor being taken over by the Anti-Life Equation and Big Barda leading the Furies into battle were two other seemingly big moments in this issue that just had no real pay off.

All that said, I still did enjoy this issue, especially the end.  The reveal that Diana has a twin brother was a nice unexpected surprise (another big moment that got lost in the shuffle this week).  And I am real curious about Batman’s realization that there have been three Jokers over the years.  It puts a lot of things from New-52 into some perspective.  Overall, Darkseid Wars was a real good story, though it did feel a bit padded at times.  Too many specials and this went on for a little too long, but still a real strong story to cap off Johns’ run on Justice League.

Superman #52 (Super-League) by Peter J. Tomasi and Mikel Janin

Summary: Superman is fighting the insane “Fire Superman.”  Fire Superman is determined to prove that he is the real Superman.  Supergirl, Batman, and Wonder Woman all try to help Superman, but Superman knows that he’s the only one who can win this fight. Superman grabs Fire Superman and pulls him into space, as it seems very likely Fire Superman is about to explode.  Pre-Flashpoint Superman arrives to help.  

Superman ends up knocking out Pre-Flashpoint Superman, telling him that the world is going to need him.  Superman uses his “solar flare” to absorb Fire Superman’s explosion.  Superman falls to Earth, but Pre-Flashpoint Superman catches him.  Superman gets a chance to say goodbye to his friends before his body finally burns itself out.  The Justice League have a lot of questions for Pre-Flashpoint Superman, and he promises to answer them, but later.  The issue ends with Lois typing up a story called “Superman: A Hero’s Life.”

Mike: It’s a pretty big day of comics when Superman gets killed and everyone is so busy arguing about Captain America and praising DC Rebirth, that this story is barely even a blip on the radar.  What is particularly interesting is that DC Rebirth made the parallels between this story and Superman’s death at the hands of Doomsday.  It’s clear that there is more to this story than just Superman’s gimmicky death, and I actually am real excited to see how it all plays out in the various Superman stories spinning out of Rebirth.

Superman’s death here did feel a little cheap, but I liked that he actually got a chance to say goodbye this time as opposed to his earlier “deaths.”  And since this is “New 52” Superman, and Pre-Flashpoint Superman is back, it is actually kind of likely this will be a permanent death for this version of the character. His sacrifices towards the end of his run proved that he was a worthy successor to the Superman name, so NOW, I am kind of sad to see him go. 

Matt: I think it was a good death, if meaningless. The cheap aspect for me is how convenient and wrapped up it is. You can feel the editorial Rebirth mandate all over it. That’s not the writer’s fault. DC and Marvel spoil too much of the long game before any of these things can even hit you.

Mike: Yeah, that was what I was trying to get at in my comments about Captain America.  I actually thought the HYDRA cliffhanger was cool because it really didn’t get spoiled months in advance.  Basically up until two or three days before the comic came out, people were still speculating that the big twist was that Captain America was going to be revealed to be gay.  

And I agree with you, I can’t even fault Tomasi for how little I felt about Superman’s death.  This was a very well written story, it was just kind of lost in everything else going on, and since we already have several Supermen waiting in the wings, I am not even sure they should bother bringing New-52 Superman back...