Welcome to the second part of my review of the DC comics reboot. Today we'll be looking at the Batman family of comics and the Green Lanterns. You already read my introduction to the reboot, so let's skip the small talk and dive right in.
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Detective Comics
With Action Comics getting a reboot, it only makes sense that Detective Comics, from which DC gets its name, would be getting the same. In spite of having "Batman" all over the cover, this comic seems more about the Joker. Sure, it's from Batman's POV, and most of the action follows him, but behind everything there is one source of all the action, and that's everyone's favorite clown.
Now, the best heroes have the best villains. They are defined by the enemies they face, and the threats presented to them. It's by overcoming their worst enemies that we can cheer for the heroes as we watch them struggle. Few comics have the same hero/villain dynamic as Batman and the Joker do. For that reason, I'm not complaining. This comic shows us Batman at his best: he's a detective, a martial artist, a ninja, although not much of a social guy. Yet we also see the Joker for who he is: a madman with a strange sense of humor, yet a hidden brilliance in his insanity.
We see another day in the eternal struggle, the immovable rock versus the unstoppable force. But it ends with something unexpected, setting up for future developments and a change of face for the comic, as it may be.
This is a good, solid point for Batman. It shows the characters as they are at their core, but also has a nice setup for future events. Definitely worth a read for any Batman fan.
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Batman
That's right, there's not only Detective Comics, but Batman comics. But while the previous was more about Batman and the Joker, this one is more about Bruce Wayne and the bat-family. It's even more about Gotham City, but one could easily say that Batman is Gotham.
We see Batman and his rogues gallery, with a few redesigns to the characters. Some I think are pretty good, like Professor Pyg's mask looking less cheesy, although I don't approve of the Riddler having a shaved head and question mark tattoos, especially given his development over recent years. It starts off with some great action, accompanied with a narration that shows both how doomed Gotham City is and the hope within it.
What's best about this comic, though, is how it shows the relationships that Batman and Bruce Wayne have with everyone. Not only Batman and his enemies, but Bruce and his former sidekicks, his current sidekick and son, and even Alfred, his loyal butler. In fact, a personal favorite moment was the simple but telling moment where Alfred's security access was marked as "highest." That means not only higher than Dick, Tim, or Damian, but higher than even Bruce's.
We also see how Batman manages to balance his lives as the rich multi-millionaire playboy and as the dark knight, as well as his detective skills at work. As with Detective Comics, it ends by setting up a bigger mystery, one that may involve the entire Bat-family.
So if you prefer the Batman and Joker dynamic, Detective Comics is what you want. But if you prefer seeing Batman's more human side, and how his life is connected to those he's trained and touched, those he's fought, and the city he lives in, go with Batman #1.
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Batman and Robin
That's right, we're not even close to done with Batman. Next up we have Batman and Robin, where we look at Batman's relationship with his son, Damian Wayne. Before now, the Batman and Robin comics had Dick Grayson taking over the mantle of the bat with Damian as Robin, but now we're back to Bruce.
Previous comics have shown us that Bruce and his son do not work well together, but Dick managed to reach Damian, slowly but steadily, and the two became a great team together. With Dick back as Nightwing in his own run, we have the father-son team together again, and not working quite as well as the previous pair. They acknowledge that fact, however, and it seems the comics will involve Bruce learning to trust his son as much as they will Damian learning to work with his father.
Another key aspect of the comic is Bruce's memories of his parents, and how their death shaped his life. He's trying to put their death behind him, and focus more on how they lived their lives. Of course, that's interrupted by an action sequence resulting in some impressive property damage, and the dysfunction of the family team comes to light again. It also begins and ends with an assault on the worldwide Batman Inc., setting up the plot for the future comics.
This comic is also well-written, so if you like Damian, go with this one. You know my thoughts about the other two Batman comics, the decision is yours.
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Batman: The Dark Knight
Okay, another one? I'm beginning to get a little tired of the Batman comics now. The last three were great, but this one just seems unnecessary, and is the weakest of the four. There is nothing in this one we haven't seen already, save for someone from Gotham Internal Affairs looking into Bruce's connection to Batman.
As with the other, we have Batman juggling his crime fighting and life as Bruce Wayne, we have a bunch of inmates at Arkham Asylum rioting (because I guess that's all there is to do at Akham), and we have an ongoing narration about a superstitious cowardly lot. That's not necessarily bad, but the other comics did it so much better.
And then we have the way it ends. I'm just going to spoil it now: Two-Face (Harvey Dent) is the cause of the riot, and he is hulked out. Maybe he took some of Bane's venom juice, I don't know, but his hand is literally bigger than his head. And he's demanding to be called "One-Face" now, in spite of the fact that his face is still horribly scarred on one side. Also, don't most people have one face anyways? There's really nothing special about that.
So there you have it. Batman: The Dark Knight is superfluous and unnecessary, failing to stand out compared to the other three (superior) Batman titles. Now that Batman is out of the way, let's check out the ladies of the Bat-family.
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Batgirl
Didn't Didio say that Barbara Gordon was never going to get the use of her legs back? I'm pretty sure he did, but I guess he forgot, since guess who's walking again.
Now, I liked Barbara as Batgirl. She was very good; an effective crimfighter, and an interesting character. But when she got crippled and became Oracle, that's where she became an inspiration. She could no longer kick criminals in the face, but she had computer skills, and put them to use. She founded the Birds of Prey, and was basically the go-to tech girl for the DC universe. She didn't let her handicap stop her from doing everything she could in the fight against crime. Hell, she even declined opportunities to regain the use of her legs from super-technology until it became readily available. What a trooper!
I'm not the first person to say that, and I doubt I'll be the last. Others have said it more eloquently than I as well, but I stand by my words. So here's where it gets frustrating.
"A miracle happened." That's the only explanation we get for her regaining her legs. We don't even see her regaining the use of her legs, we're just told, "A miracle happened, she can walk again." Yeah, that cop-out is all we get.
Now let's give the comic the benefit of the doubt. Okay, a miracle happened, and she can walk again. How long has she been in a wheelchair? Her legs haven't been used in years, it would take a lot of working out to get them back in shape, and then to become strong enough to run across rooftops and kick bad guys in the face would be virtually impossible.
It also gives her a new weakness: she's afraid of guns. Since the Joker shot her in the spine, pointing a gun at Batgirl will cause her to freeze up. While I can understand the reasoning behind that, I think a hero who fights criminals on a daily basis should probably not be afraid of the most common weapon of choice for criminals. That's like Superman going to a planet where everyone is armed with a kryptonite sword.
If they really wanted Barbara back, here's what I'd suggest: keep her as Oracle in the wheelchair, fighting crime that way, while flashing back to her days as Batgirl, showing us adventures that were previously unshown.
As for Stephanie Brown, the previous Batgirl, she's nowhere to be seen. There were some leaked images of future Batman comics with her having a cameo, though, so at least she's not gone for good. The Batgirl before her, Cassandra Cain, is currently working in Hong Kong as Black Bat, a member of Batman Inc. No offense, Babs, but I'd rather be reading about either of them than see you mess up after getting back in the game too soon.
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Batwoman
Batwoman: she's a Jewish, lesbian, ex-military crimefighter, and that is awesome. Batwoman was introduced in 52 (which you should definitely read, if you haven't already), and as anyone who's read it can tell you, she kicks all sorts of ass.
The story is a darker, more mysterious kind of comic, with less action and more investigation, but still a fair deal of that. She's even working with a former Teen Titan on the case, connecting her to the larger DC universe (although given the current shape of the Teen Titans, I have no idea how that works). The artwork is whispy and fluid, like a watercolor painting, and giving the entire comic a more dream-like, ethereal appearance. I need to go back and read Batwoman's previous runs to really have more to say about it, but if you're a fan, then you'll most likely enjoy this.
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Green Lantern
I'm not sure it's even necessary for me to review the Green Lantern comics, since they pick up right where they left off after War of the Green Lanterns (which was epic, by the way, and a must-read for any GL fan). We have Hal back on Earth, without his ring, trying to adapt back to the civilian life he left behind and the identity he nearly abandoned. Meanwhile, Sinestro is stuck with a Green Lantern Ring he doesn't want, unable to remove it from his finger and return to his own Sinestro Corps. The rest of the GLC isn't too glad to have him back either, given the amount of blood on his hands, most of which came from their comrades.
It's a little sad to see Hal in such bad shape after all that he's been through, especially the way he continues to screw things up with Carol Ferris. Still, it's a rough patch we know he'll overcome eventually, and half the fun is seeing how he'll do that. I'm a fan of Hal Jordan (I even plan to cosplay as him), so I'm eager to see what happens from here.
As for Sinestro, the question of why the ring chose him and refuses to let go remains lingering on everyone's minds, his most of all. The other Lanterns hope to kill him, his home planet of Korugar is being terrorized by his own Sinestro Corps, and he can't even return to them as he is. Sinestro was always an interesting villain, a man who believes he can bring order to the universe by fear, and was always the greatest Lantern. He's equally intriguing, and I plan to continue reading these comics for a while to come.
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Green Lantern Corps
As with the rest of the Green Lantern comics, this one isn't affected content-wise by the reboot. However, we do see some new Lanterns leap into action with the team, and a threat to the Corps that's wiped out several Green Lanterns. It's also interesting to see Guy and John trying to find work back on Earth, yet their lack of a secret identity makes them a risk to hire. While Hal, who protected his secret identity, lost touch with his civilian life, the two who never wore masks are trying to avoid that same problem. Of course, they're called back into action soon enough.
That's all I can really say for that, so I apologize for the shortness of this review, but if you liked the GLC up until now, you'll enjoy this one as well.
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Green Lantern: New Guardians
What can be said about Kyle Rayner? He was brought in to defeat Hal when he went mad as Parallax, he was granted the power of Ion, had it taken away, had several girlfriends die (one of which came back), and temporarily died during Blackest Night. Yet in spite of all he's done, there's always been those fans who just think he doesn't stand out, or those who didn't accept him as a replacement for Hal. Of course, Kyle has proved his mettle, and earned quite a few fans in the process. His artistic ability makes him one of the more creative Lanterns when it comes to his constructs, and his character has been well-developed.
In this comic, we see Kyle back on Earth, saving people as a hero should, but always being "that other Green Lantern." He's not Hal, the first GL (not counting Alan Scott, who wasn't a member of the Corps), he's not John, the only African-American Lantern, and he's not Guy Gardner, 'nuff said there. He's just "that other Green Lantern." Clearly it's beginning to bug him.
Yet across the cosmos, plot is happening, with rings from other Lanterns across the universe are decommissioning and flying off, leaving their owners to die. Where do these rings all go? To Kyle Rayner, of course, each one claiming he has the proper emotion to wield them. The members from the other Corps, however, want the rings back, and show up to fight for them at the very end.
Personally, I think Kyle's the perfect choice for the other rings to seek out, for whatever reason may be compelling them. He's the most human of all the Green Lantern earthlings. Hal is fearless, John is disciplined, Guy is hotheaded, but Kyle was just a struggling artist when he was chosen. He knows fear, and hope, and love, and greed, and anger, and compassion, and willpower so much more than the others, who specialize in one emotion. It is his humanity and grasp of all the emotions that make him the right choice for the rings to fly to.
But why are they doing that in the first place? What will the members of these various corps do to get them back, if they can at all? Those are the questions this comic leaves us with. And I'd like to find out, so I plan to keep reading.
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Red Lanterns
Who among us can honestly say they don't know rage and hatred? It's an easy trap to fall into, but it's a sensation that we can relate to. That's why the Red Lantern Corp is so appealing. It's easy to be consumed by rage, but to the point where it becomes your entire being? To burn those who cause that rage, it might be worth it, or at least it was to these Lanterns.
Despite being on the end of the emotional spectrum, located with all the other negative emotions, the Red Lanterns aren't necessarily "evil." They're just really, really mad. Somebody hurt them, and now that pain defines them. If they let go of the rage, they let go of life. So while I was interested in a Red Lantern comic, I was worried that it would consist almost entirely of "I ARE ANGRY! BURN BURN BURN! RAAAR!!!" Fortunately, it did not.
Here we see Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lanterns, as his anger begins to fade. He's had the revenge he longed for, so what is there in life for him now? Of course, he does have a hair-trigger temper, so being angry isn't a problem for him. We also see the other Red Lanterns, such as Bleez (you might remember her from Emerald Warrior), and the angry little kitty, Dex-Starr, the Red Lantern of Earth. But the comic also jumps to Earth now and then, where we see the mugging and murder of an old man, and the effect it has on his family.
Revenge, naturally, is a big part of this comic. What happens after the revenging is done? When is it justified? What sort of anger will the need for revenge drive one to? Yet it also shows us the Red Lantern Corps as a whole, their thirst for conflict, and the growing divide between Atrocitus and his team.
If you've enjoyed what you've seen of the Red Lanterns so far, then give this comic a look and see if it's your thing. It's not for everyone, but there will be those who enjoy it.
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Alright, I'm almost done. Just a handful of various comics left to review, so stay tuned for part 3.
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