Welcome, friends to another installment of “The 3cap,” our weekly recap of DC’s three weekly titles: “Batman Eternal,” “Earth 2: World’s End,” and “New 52: Futures End.” Each week, we will take a look at the each issue released, while recapping the action and asking the burning questions. If you spot something we missed, make sure to leave a note in the comments!
Batman Eternal #44
Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Ray Fawkes
Illustrated by Aco
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
News, notes, and debuts:
This is a weird one, folks. While the Spoiler/Bluebird story picked up, essentially, moments after last issue, but the rest of the issue seems to take place a few issues later than what we’ve read so far, even though I know that isn’t the case.
For instance, we get our first look at Batwing is some time (since #37), and his armor is still haunted. I would forgive you if you forgot that his armor is haunted, because it has been a plot point that was, more or less, completely ignored since it happened. He now has some Nth metal to play with (?), and is trying his best to unlock the secrets of the armor and its ghost.
We also get a Professor Milo appearance; now, I’m not keeping super copious notes on these issues, but that name hasn’t popped up in a DC3kly column since discussing issue #16. So, to suddenly make him important again, with zero build up or dropped clues to that effect, is really odd.
Internally, the DC3 has been raving about the consistency of this book, saying how it is almost too good to be true – well, here is the first issue in a long time that felt like it didn’t belong to this title. This sort of jarring and sloppy storytelling just hasn’t been what “Batman Eternal” has been all about.
Aco does fine work here, but it feels slight and somewhat stiff after the last few weeks of truly inspired work. To be fair to Aco, I don’t know if Michelangelo could’ve put together an artistic representation of this script that didn’t, in some way, feel disjointed.
Three Eternal Questions:
1. Who does Stephanie think Bruce Wayne is?
There are three options here: either Stephanie saw Bruce Wayne put all of this into motion, or she saw Hush, whose face is nearly identical to Bruce’s, or she saw Lincoln March, the man who claims to be Thomas Wayne, Jr (not to mention being a key member of the Court of Owls), who bears a striking resemblance to Bruce. I would handicap the odds as such: Hush is a 50% chance, March a 40% chance, and Bruce himself a 10% chance. The only reason Bruce even gets a 10% chance is because of the title of the book: “Batman Eternal,” not “Bruce Wayne Eternal.” Maybe this story is about how Batman is something beyond Bruce himself, and that by ‘destroying’ Bruce, he can make Batman something unstoppable? I doubt it, but that’s my crackpot theory of the day.
2. Is the ghost in Batwing’s suit Deacon Blackfire?
So, when we last see Batwing in action, he is with Jim Corrigan while Arkham falls around him. This is the last we see of Deacon Blackfire as well, and the return of the Deacon was publicized as a major development in the Bat-world. But his actual appearances in the comic haven’t really amounted to much – so, perhaps we’re not done with him just yet. Perhaps this is the spirit that has infected Batwing’s suit, and is looking for a new host. Maybe, just maybe, he really can be the big bad still? Again, I doubt it, but that’s my second crackpot theory of the week.
3. Who does Professor Milo have a history with?
I did a little research, and Milo has a bit of a history with the Joker, who is definitely not the hidden villain here. The only other character he has any real ties to is General Immortus – a Doom Patrol and Batman villain who is centuries old and a criminal mastermind. Both of those qualities seem like they might be part of the makeup for who the true villain is here, but such a minor character seems unlikely to me to be the featured big bad of the series. Could he be? Sure, but I doubt it – still, that’s my third crackpot theory of the week.
Earth 2: World’s End #18
Written by Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, Mike Johnson, and Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, R.B. Silva, Walden Wong, Euardo Pansica, Marc Deering, Jorge Jimenez, and Tyler Kirkham
Reviewed by Zach Wilkerson
News, Notes, and Debuts:
The biggest debut in this issue of “World’s End” is the addition of Cullen Bunn to the writers team. This late game addition could signify any number of things. The team could just need an extra hand, or it’s possible that Bunn maybe handling these characters post-“Convergence” and is just getting an early start.
Whether due to Bunn’s contributions or not, this is one of the stronger issues of “World’s End” I’ve seen in a while. Of course, it still remains fairly straight-forward. Here are a few highlights:
-Helena receives a sort of will (or maybe it’s a map) from her late father, telling her that she needs to find Ollie Queen. This issue features some great character moments for Helena and Thomas.
-After a series of events that suggests the World Army might turn the tide of the war, Darkseid activates “The Terraformer,” seemingly re-igniting all of earth’s firepits at an alarming magnitude.
-The spawn of Death, or “Deathspawn,” if you will, makes it into the Parliament and begins his attack. This in turn cripples the Avartars. Green Lantern is transported to the Parliament Enclave to find the Green Elemental in Deathspawn’s clutches.
-“Earth 2” #31 also released this week, which seems to run somewhat concurrently with “Worlds End.” The issue focuses on Doctor Fate and Aquawoman, two characters that have taken a bit of a backseat in recent months. It’s mostly a bit of filler, but we do gets some hints at the Helmet of Fate’s more nefarious side as seen in “Constantine: Futures End.”
1. What did Bruce leave Ollie to give to Helena?
We’ve seen a bit of the Earth-2 Oliver Queen, under the Red Arrow moniker, over in “Futures End,” but I believe this is the first time we’ve gotten mention of him in his native universe. It definitely seems like his heroic life begins later on, and that his relationship with Bruce was likely more business than vigilante. With that in mind, what item of importance might Bruce have left for her. Is it something as simple as a personal family memento, or as big as weapon for the war?
2. Is Jimmy glimpsing into other universes, or is that a very unfortunate artistic error?
In a scene in which Jimmy is seated in front of several computer monitors, we see an image of New 52 Flash and Hawkman. Now, we know Jimmy is incorporating multiversal travel into his plan to save humanity, and that the denizens of Earth-2 ultimately end up on Earth-0. However, “World’s End” also has Flash and Hawkgirl running around together. Is this scene a tease to the series’ future outcome, or a rather large of artistic/editorial oversight?
3. Mr. Terrific, Brother Eye, and Brainiac, three peas in a pod?
There are huge ties between these three characters. Terrific created Brother Eye and Eye seems to be connected to Brainiac, at least in some way. Now Terrific is delving into this “lensing” technology, which carves out sections of reality to create pocket universes. That sure sounds like what Brainiac has been doing for, I don’t know…forever. Big conspiracy theory: Brainiac is Mr. Terrific, from the future!!!
Just kidding guys. But seriously, there has to be a connection between “lensing” and Brainiac’s bottled cities, one I’m eager to see explored.
The New 52: Futures End #40
Written by Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, and Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Patrick Zircher
Reviewed by Vince Ostrowski
News, notes, and debuts:
– I’ve remarked in past editions of this column that DC Comics has more often than not lined up the “big, eventful” issues of “Futures End” to coincide with Patrick Zircher’s schedule. That is to say, if Zircher is drawing an issue of “Futures End”, it’s probably going to be more eventful than most. That proves to be the case with this particular issue as well – a few times over, actually. Before discussing the big events, I have to say – I think Zircher’s art has never looked better to me. It’s become a little looser, in recent issues. Whether that’s due to the time demands of the work, or to continued hard work and improvement, I can’t be sure. Whatever the case, some of his best work is in this issue – and the big moments look tremendous.
Continued below– Superman’s long awaited return happens in this issue. Big Jeans Superman(tm) was a sight for sore eyes, let me tell you. His return is treated with appropriate fanfare and gravitas, as well. I can imagine that some Constantine fans might scoff at Constantine’s speech about Superman inspiring everyone, but with a character that is now decidedly a very important cog in a shared universe, I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, coming from Constantine, it means all that much more.
– Giant Kaiju Brainiac has also emerged, and what a terrific concept this has been. Brainiac has always been behind Zod and Luthor when it comes to Superman villains in the public eye. Brainiac seems to always be 3rd in line, but even then, he’s rarely given the play that he deserves. He’s never been in a major “Superman” motion picture, despite there having been over a half-dozen of them made to this point. The Brainiac we see here in “Futures End”, and in truth the one that will be the catalyst for “Convergence”, is as formidable a foe as the New 52 has seen yet.
– The walls of the “Convergence” dome are coming up. We’re 8 issues of “Futures End” away from springboarding into “Convergence.” While I’ve been relatively happy with both “Futures End” and the concept behind “Convergence”, I can’t help but see the seams between the two stories being stitched together rather tenuously. More than that later.
Three Future Questions:
1. Why is Brainiac building the “battleworld”?
More than The Joker, Lex Luthor, or even arguably Darkseid (we’ll see what “Darkseid War” brings) – Brainiac has been the major focal point villain of the New 52. He was present in Grant Morrison’s “Action Comics”, he had a major role in the ‘Superman: Doomed’ crossover, plays a major role in “Futures End”, and appears to be the major villain of “Convergence.” But while his resurgence has actually been one of the New 52’s greatest clear successes, I’m hoping for a really good reason as to why he’s pitting world’s against one another. “Convergence” has the potential to be extremely compelling even aside from the pure gimmick of having fan-favorite eras and elseworlds of the DCU battling one another. Could you imagine a fan-service-filled event like “Convergence” that actually has a great story-based reason for happening?
2. When will Tim Drake step up?
It has been abundantly clear for some time now, that Tim Drake’s story in “Futures End” is supposed to end with him becoming the hero that we know he is inside. Batman (dick that he is) ribs him about it midway through this issue. But when and how will it happen? We saw a teaser several months ago that showed Tim holds the empty cowl in his arms. Does that come to fruition? Or has it been editorialized away?
3. Where did the original story of “Future’s End” go?
This is pure conjecture on my part, but I get the distinct feeling that “Futures End” was never supposed to turn out like this. I’m not sure what the end game was, but I’d put money on it not being something called “Convergence.” They teased the inclusion of Brainiac very early on in the weekly ongoing through the appearance on his symbology, but I can’t get over how different the “Futures End” #0 issue has felt versus the series that we’ve ended up with. It once seemed like Brother Eye was going to play a role in how this would all shake out, but the focus has definitely shifted toward springboarding the story towards “Convergence.”
I know for a fact that editorial goings-on at DC Comics have changed the trajectory of things pre-and-post “Convergence.” I have no doubt in my mind that that included shifting the focus of “Futures End.”
Not that I think that it hasn’t worked out well, but you can definitely see the seams. Was something so seemingly important as “Convergence” intended to be a part of an alternate and ultimately inconsequential future as the one seen in “Futures End”? I wouldn’t think so. So what is the point of this question? Only to illustrate my fascination with the process, and how the balancing act of world-building and establishing continuity on a weekly basis is so constantly shifting. I don’t know if DC Comics does a particularly great job of it, but they’ve been getting better, and hopefully “Convergence” is a “turning point” of sorts.
