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Comics

The Third Standalone Sequel to Watchmen

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Who at DC Comics signed off on creating 3 separate sequels to Watchmen? I’m all for different people adding to this world, but they all came it in a pretty short span of each other. Doomsday Clock took a few years to complete, the HBO show started running before Doomsday Clock got its last issue out, and I think this comic started publishing only a year after the show ended. There is a thing called oversaturation you know. Some people might assume that two or all three are connected and might end up disappointed to learn otherwise. But none of this is actually speaking to the quality of this comic, so let’s dive into that.

Rorschach is a 12 issue mini-series that is a standalone sequel to Watchmen published under the DC Black Label, an imprint of DC Comics for more mature stories. It starts off with two people who are about to assassinate a presidential candidate being killed by security. An investigator is hired by the candidate – Governor Turley, the conservative opponent to sitting President Redford – to find out who these people were and why they tried to kill him. Things are made stranger since one of the people is an elderly man wearing a Rorschach mask but the other is a twenty year old woman. And the journey through their lives complicates the investigation every step of the way.

We should talk a little bit of the writer of this comic, Tom King. He has made several well known stories in career. A few have been highly praised. But a few are highly despised among critics and and comic fans, so there was concern and backlash when it was announced he was the one writing the story. We don’t have time to go over his writing style, but I will identify one trait that shows up across his work. Tom King likes to write dialogue in a sort of poetic style. Even if sometimes that results in his characters not talking like real people or just has them keep going on and on about something completely unrelated to the situation at hand. Some of his books do it better than others. Luckily, that does seem pretty restrained in this book. Since most of the people in the story are government workers and even investigators, they talk like they should. It does feel like these people are more grounded and realistic.

Throughout the story there is focus on a couple of different conspiracy theories. One is that Doctor Manhattan, knowing that the squids – like the one that “attacked” New York – and devised a plan where the bodies of the heroes are destroyed but their souls will reappear in other bodies. That connects to the dead attackers, the young woman who was raised by her extremist father has convinced several people they were Rorschach reincarnated so to speak. And for a while, I thought this story would end up speaking on the topic of isolation and connection. Which would have been a relevant thing to discuss especially in the midst of a real world pandemic. How ideas can be powerful and bring people together, no matter how dangerous their influence might be. But that you should always identify the people behind the idea and see their true motivations. I thought that was where this story was going.

However, that went away when a different conspiracy turned out to be true. That the attack on Governor Turley’s life was orchestrated. But unlike it being manipulated by President Redford like he is trying to prove, it was of his own doing. Setting events up in a way where the only connections would go back to Redford and help him win the election. However, the investigator we have been following through the story has constantly been at odds about what he thinks & feels, trying to figure out what he should do once he discovers this information. This ultimately leads him to kill Turley himself, essentially identifying himself as a new Rorschach, but not in the way the the dead criminals would define him as. But rather a new vigilante that follows Rorschach’s ideals.

So this story ends up being one that talks about the cyclical nature of violence and politics in society. And the investigator’s story is sort of a living Rorschach test where his viewpoint is constantly changing until he sees what he wants to see. Depicting his rise – or fall, depending on how you look at it – into vigilantism. And this story is completely serviceable for the Watchmen mythos. But I’ll admit that I think it lacks a special quality, something that prevents it from having as full an impact as it should. You can say what you want about Doomsday Clock and the HBO show. But both of those stories had reveals or surprises that really touched on the overall message of their respective stories. Those revelations helped leave as large an impact as possible. I don’t think I’m going to remember this comic the same way I look back on the show or Doomsday Clock. But that doesn’t mean I think this is bad. If you are looking for something that is more of a detective story, this is that story. And you’ll like it for sure. This just didn’t engage me in the way that I hoped.

Comics

Why Doomsday Clock is Important

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NOTE: My thoughts on this comic were originally posted on the Community site within the DC Universe service. Some minor edits have been made, most notably a new introduction paragraph. Otherwise, my original thoughts on the comic remain unchanged.

DC Comics has made several mistakes over the years. One of their most infamous is the New 52. It was their attempt to restart their universe and continuity from scratch, as if it was brand new. I’m not the first to tell you it was a massive failure. The vast majority of issue can be connected to a lack of commitment to actually start over, seemingly referencing events and characters that shouldn’t have happened or exist yet, as well as the dark and sour tone of a lot of the title being published at the time. This started in 2011 but came to an end in 2016 with the soft reboot one shot, DC Rebirth. This would help change the tone of all title and characters and actually help improve the creative direction the company was leading towards. One thing to note in the one shot that the in universe reason for why the New 52 happened, while at the time still unknown, was caused by someone. And the ending pages made it clear that the being responsible is Doctor Manhattan. Thus setting the stage for the characters of the Watchmen universe to finally meet the heroes of the main DC Universe.

First things first – if you are an Alan Moore purist or if you have an unbreakable love for the original Watchmen story, chances are you are not going to be interested in this story. You might even be someone who just really prefers grounded and realistic stories like Watchmen, preferring to read stories that deconstruct the genre much like how Alan Moore did. If any of this sounds like you, chances are you aren’t going to be interested in this. But maybe there is a small chance what I have to say might make you curious enough to check it out. With that said, let’s dive in.

When it comes to Watchmen, I will be one of many people to say it as an epic story. It is a graphic novel I still very much love today,. However, I will admit, especially looking back on it recently, there are a few flaws. Because it does explore complex philosophies and mature themes, Watchmen is a cold story, one that presents a dark deconstruction of the superhero genre. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It could come off as a touch pretentious at times, but it is still an important and relevant story even to this day. But this has inspired the Dark Age of comics, a lot of new anti-heroes and dark stories that have really turned the genre itself into a depressing landscape. Characters and titles that are dark, violent, and “edgy” just because they can be or the people behind them thought they would be cool and popular. But those stories and characters that came afterword, despite how popular they became or how laughably bad they ended up becoming, did serve as a reminder about Watchmen’s legacy. One that is dark, cold, and pessimistic to its core.

In hindsight, it should come as no surprise that one of the characters that story created ended up being the one responsible for the New 52. That era of DC did seem like something that would come out of the 1990s.

But let’s get back to the present. When we return to the world of Watchmen in the first issue of Doomsday Clock, it is living in a state of anger and conflict that feels eerily similar to our real world. New characters Mime and Marionette bring a dark glee to the world, similar to Joker and Harley Quinn, but the new Rorschach (Reggie Long) is a reminder of how grim their world is. Whether it is how Ozymandias talks to Saturn Girl or how Doctor Manhattan explains what he has been up to all these years, the pessimistic tone and cold logic from the original story is still alive.

I wanted to start this off by talking about the grim tone of Watchmen because it plays a hugely significant role in Doomsday Clock. Look, I am never going to say that we should never have realistic and grounded stories like Watchmen. They are needed, important even in this day when it feels like everything related to the superhero genre has over-flooded pop culture. Not only do these stories bring variety, but they do help some people get a better understanding of why people like superheroes to begin with.

But we also need the fantastical. The bright and optimistic stories. The stories that embrace everything that comes with the genre. Because those stories show even more why people continue to love and look up to superheroes well past childhood.

Doomsday Clock is both a tribute to Watchmen but also a critique. It respects Alan Moore’s story, reminds us that it is something that should still be talked about. But this sequel also shows the danger of what a dark philosophy and viewpoint of the world can bring, how it affects people. Doctor Manhattan is passive because for years he has been under the belief that he can’t change what is to come. He believes that there is no difference between a dead body and a live one. He has drifted away from what makes him human. Ozymandias sees himself as a hero, but is more like the madman Lex Luthor that he seeks help from in the beginning. The new Rorschach gives up for a period of time in the story because he believes that we should let the world burn in hopes of bringing all the pain and suffering to an end. But the heroes of the main DC Universe, and the writers of Doomsday Clock, have the perfect counter-argument:

You need hope. People can’t live, can’t truly live, without having hope that they can make the world better. That they can change things.

Doomsday Clock takes a look at both Watchmen and the Dark Age it had inspired and reminds us that heroes like Alan Scott and Clark Kent are what truly make the superhero genre timeless. They are the light that brings people to them like moths. A dark deconstruction every once in a while is fine, even eagerly welcomed. But to have that dark thinking become the dominant force will simply bring more despair to the world. When Alan Moore wrote his story, his world wasn’t a bright place. Just do a little research about his political beliefs and the things he’s said about former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This is not a critique, I still love many of his stories and characters today. His beliefs helped create great stories like V for Vendetta. Now, you can make an argument that political/social climate of 2016 isn’t too different from how it was back when Alan Moore released Watchmen and you would most likely be right. But we don’t need another Watchmen. We need stories like Doomsday Clock to inspire and bring meaning to the genre we love, so that way we can be inspired to bring the same hope to the real world.

Watchmen is cold, dark, and ultimately pessimistic. Doomsday Clock pays tribute to everything that made its predecessor great. But this is a story of warmth, light, and optimism. And that is why this story is more than worthy to be known as a sequel to Watchmen. It respects it by keeping true to what that world was about, but it also brings something new by helping the characters naturally progress towards something brighter so that they can help shape their world for the better.

Due to how iconic Watchmen has become, I don’t think even the strongest supporters of Doomsday Clock will say it is as good as Alan Moore’s story. Partly because it suffered multiple delays, causing some interest to wane and for it to temporarily be disconnected from the main universe it is supposed to impact. But maybe in time, popularity for Doomsday Clock will grow and people can make the argument.

There are a few small flaws that I just want to briefly mention. I would have liked it explicitly stated that Mime actually had invisible weapons. That’s what I ended up assuming, but it would be nice to have it stated in story. Manhattan’s predictions for what he sees in the future of the DC Universe, predictions meant to set up potential stories, can very likely end up not passing, which is mildly distracting in the back of my mind. Perhaps if those stories end up not passing, we can say that they ended up playing out in a different universe that is separate, but created by, the metaverse. Like mentioned earlier, the multiple delays have complicated just how connected Doomsday Clock was to the rest of the regular DCU as it was being published. That has seemingly been rectified and the company can now be more organized moving forward.

In conclusion, Doomsday Clock is still a very important story. It is a welcomed sequel to Watchmen that pays tribute to its predecessor yet very much has its own story and opinions to share that make it different. I am very happy that I got to read it and I can only see my opinion for this story strengthen over time.

Comics

Justice League vs Suicide Squad

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Thank you DC Rebirth! For half a decade, DC Comics tried their New 52 initiative where they restart their entire universe over in an effort to get new readers. It ultimately failed and was recently reversed in full. I don’t want to get into the details of why New 52 sucked because that would take too much time. While there were good stories and titles, it’s for the best they ditched it and published the DC Rebirth One-Shot comic as a soft reboot. But one thing the New 52 did do that some people are probably grateful for is to shine a light on the Suicide Squad. And with that newfound attention, they charged into a challenge that surprisingly hasn’t been written about before. The group fight the Justice League!

One of the first major stories to come out of the Rebirth era. It begins with Batman informing the rest of the League about the existence of Amanda Waller’s task force, thanks to some snooping in his own book at the time. They raise up some valid points about the flaws of such a team, especially in regards to actually rehabilitating criminals. But they then detect the team currently active on mission and go confront them. That’s where their first battle occurs. But later on, it appears this has been orchestrated and that a secret villain is making moves behind the scenes. Forced to team-up, heroes and villains alike take down a power that threatens the entire world.

Obviously some characters in a story like this aren’t going to get as much attention as others. But the ones that do get the most solo attention work well for the story. There are the obvious choices – Waller, Batman, Maxwell Lord. But one focus that surprisingly works well is Killer Frost. She is the newest member of the Squad and her ice powers are fueled by draining the life force of other people. Not sure if they always worked liked that or if that’s something the New 52 introduced. In the first issue she seems to have the same willingness to just kill and do the kind of things she probably did before being recruited. But when given the chance to kill Superman an issue later, she hesitates. And that starts an arc where at the final issue where Eclipso fails to gain control of her and she fights back – yet refusing to kill Maxwell Lord for Amanda Waller. Batman himself is willing to start a new JL team and Frost is his first choice.

But her arc does tie into the major theme of the story. What kind of role or purpose does a program like Task Force X serve? The heroes point out this isn’t the right way to rehabilitate criminals. And since they are rewarded with shorter sentences after each successful mission, they could just end up being freed again thanks to the government the heroes are trusting to contain them. But perhaps the repetition can do some good for these villains. Frost was willing to let herself die instead of taking Maxwell Lord’s life force, despite him being the reason the world almost ended. And if we look at this from a longterm perspective, Harley’s time with the Squad definitely had some influence of pushing her to be more heroic. And taking on missions that the League might not even know about is another strong reason for their existence.

Now let’s look at the larger story. We get to see a look at Waller’s first Suicide Squad as they are being manipulated by Maxwell Lord. And there are some cool picks, but a couple of ones that I can’t help but question. How did she manage to control Johnny Sorrow and Lobo – the alien who has a healing factor that pretty much makes him invincible? Once that bomb goes off in his head, just give him a few minutes and then he’s alive and free. But it does lead to some neat action and fights. The League & Squad do fight a couple of times. Once at the beginning and later on when most of the League is controlled by Eclipso. Oh and by the way, while Maxwell Lord is the villain for most of the story, this was a cool way of reintroducing Eclipso to the DCU. Or maybe he already was? The New 52 is confusing. But thanks to him we get an extra JL vs SS fight. ANd if we had just that one in the beginning, I would probably argue the story didn’t live up to the title.

The entire story is well paced. And everyone seems to be portrayed accurately. I do like how Superman and Frost do have this talk that gets her to talk about how seeing him just fly once inspired her to try and do good. Before being turned into an ice-based villain, but that’s not important. There actually is this sort of arc between Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. Harley saves Wonder Woman from one of the bad guys and that seems to get her on Diana’s good side and Harley seems really happy and giddy about it. I thought that was cute and nice. Now give me a Brave & Bold series starring the two! And I like how even thought Eclipso was the main threat and Maxwell Lord worked to set him free and try to control him, the story does show that Waller still somehow comes out as the worst one. This story is a good reminder at how manipulative she can be and why she is well known among the super community. She is that big of a threat if she decides to go after you and this story is a solid reminder of that fact.

Let’s see what else I can talk about…The art is good. Some of the fights had specific Squad & League members go up against each other and I thought the pairings were mostly clever. A few that didn’t have much connection, but that just happens in big fights. Not all of them have to have some clever connection to each other. There are a couple of teases at the end of the story where they would end up developing or being resolved in later stories or books. Lobo & Frost joining a version of the Justice League of America with Batman gets a series for a while. There are a couple of teases of the back then still missing OG JSA, which didn’t get resolved until very recently. But that kind of stuff just comes with reading comics.

Overall, this was a fun read that still had some thought and a touch of dramatic weight.

Comics

The Strange Story of Blossoms 666

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Archie was my first exposure to reading comic books. Sure, as a young kid I was into superheroes. But that was through other media & adaptations. Such as the Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man movies, or the various animated kids shows based on characters like the Justice League or the Teen Titans. My family used to have this cabin and there were some old collections of Archie comics I found back during the summer right before ninth grade.. There were a few of those large collections collecting various different issues. The most intense it got was Archie trying to figure out how to the movie theater while on two separate dates at the same time while Moose was trapped in roller blades and constantly running into other people. Fast forward to college when I saw the CW was making a Riverdale show and I was at first surprised by it’s really dark tone. But also kind of digging it for the first couple of seasons. This ultimately lead me to discover the existence of Archie Horror and the story in question.

The basic plot is that Cheryl & Jason Blossom are the children of Satan worshippers and one of them is destined to become the Anti-Christ. But it’s sort of like a contest/competition where the two of them are trying to out-evil the other by manipulating people in town. But wait! There is a third sibling that neither of them knew about – Julian Blossom. He arrives in town and now Cheryl & Jason are scheming together to get rid of their competition.

Right off the bat, I think the art work for this mini series is pretty solid. It takes a semi-realistic approach to how it depicts the characters and their world. And it has a variety of different of colors on display. All though it does lean towards the darker shades and of course red definitely has it’s fair share of page time. But I think some of more eye catching art you will find are the designs from the individual comic issues which are included in the trade. It embraces the supernatural aspect in a more flashy display.

As for the story itself, it is pretty solid. It does have a sense of fun and a touch of dark humor. Characterization for the main players are vaguely similar to how they are in the CW show with a few exceptions. Jason is more similar to Cheryl and their parents are surprisingly decent people, devil worshipping aside. But Betty and Jughead are still similar enough to their TV actors which would help bring in fans of that show. But even if you aren’t a fan of the show, they still work well in the context of the mini series. But there are a few problems that do kind of bug me.

Julian makes his surprise appearance at the end of an issue, which in itself isn’t bad. But it’s in issue two and this is a five issue mini series. It doesn’t give the story a lot of time to build tension between the three siblings. I think the thinking is that they waited on that reveal because they wanted to give us an idea of how Jason & Cheryl normally act in Riverdale and how Julian’s appearance changes life for them and the town. And the timing would make more sense of this was a six issue story. But it probably should have happened at the end of issue one. There are also a couple of cutaways to an unidentified dead body as well as an unseen person throughout the story. At the end, it’s revealed this is Julian after his siblings killed them. The implication is supposed to be that he came back from the dead and is now returning for revenge. But at first, I thought the story was implying a time loop where the events of the story play out over and over again. That could have just been my stupid brain interpreting it that way, but those cutaways do seem a little out of place at first.

Speaking of the story implying Julian comes back from the dead, the series also has another cliffhanger. Betty does investigating and digs into Riverdale’s dark past and Jughead gets s little too involved in Cheryl & Jason’s games. The two of them end up getting together at Pop’s diner and they try to come up with a plan of what to do with their information. But as far as I know, this story doesn’t have a sequel nor are there any current plans to continue the mini series. That combined with Julian resurrecting does feel anti-climatic when you come across that realization. And personally, I think it would be really cool to have the Blossom siblings use more obvious supernatural abilities. A little something to really show off that these are potential dark rulers of Hell with a wide arsenal of tricks and magical powers.

Having said that, it isn’t a bad story. I still find myself enjoying it. Though that could be me just being a big fan of Horror in general. It’s a more tame example of what the Archie Horror imprint has to offer. I mean, with other titles like Afterlife with Archie & Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, this does feel the most grounded. Think of it like a gateway to discovering a bunch of other cool Horror stories, whether it’s from Archie or elsewhere.

Comics

Let Grief Run Its Course: A Look at The Crow

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Losing someone before your ready to say good-bye is a tragic event. And its one that happened to James O’Barr, whose fiancée passed away. His mind picked apart how it happened and blamed himself for who knows how long. That pain & anger demanded an outlet of some kind. And so, the story known as “The Crow” was first published in 1989.

In the story, Eric and Shelly were engaged when a group of criminals attacked them when their car was stalled. He was forced to watch as they physically & sexually assaulted Shelly until they were done and they put a bullet in his head. One year later and Eric has come back with one purpose – to seek vengeance against the ones responsible. Some readers might view Eric as a hero not unlike someone such as The Punisher. The fact this comic was printed in black & white does vaguely give it the impression that the world in this story operates in the same way in regards to moral judgement. The bad will ultimately be punished while the good are rewarded for their hardship and good deeds.

But this isn’t a story about a hero. Despite Eric’s resurrection having the makings of a magic-based superhero, that is not what the story is about. In between hunting criminals, we see Eric do a few other things. He talks to a young girl who is going through her own kind of suffering and connects with her. By the end of the story, he makes an attempt to make sure she has a chance at finding something better. But mostly, he loses himself in his memories. Remembering the woman he lost and wallowing in the grief he still feels. It is only after he finally kills all those he deems responsible that he is forced to confront that pain and find some sense of closure. Enough for him to finally find some rest and peace.

Some of you are probably most familiar with the 1994 movie adaptation. It is a great movie, no doubt about it. But there is one difference between the two version that does make the meaning of the story slightly less impactful. The movie gives him a limitation that he is forced to work through during the climax. A way for him to die before his mission is complete. But the comic places no limits on Eric. That is because Eric should be seen as the personification of Grief itself. All the pain, sadness, and anger that comes with it. It is a force of nature that can’t be stopped. A force that attacks everyone and everything in its path. The silver lining is that the people getting hurt are irredeemable criminals. But the bloodshed alone isn’t enough to bring peace to him. It’s only when he feels like he is ready to move on that he doesn’t feel as bad anymore.

Many people deal with grief in their own way. But it’s important that you don’t bottle it up. Later on, that can erupt and become more destructive than the story printed on these black and white pages. A color palette that doesn’t distract too much from the reader having to look at what is happening and reflecting on the events. It all clearly touched a lot of readers as many still read it or watch the movie version and find a connection to the emotion being depicted. There are a lot of quotes that are memorable from “The Crow” but there is one that feels most appropriately right here:

Life is lousy with hurt but it also shimmers with beauty. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of that beauty. You may not get another.

Comics

The Time Travel Issues of Flashpoint

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Hard to believe it has been over a decade since this event comic and the beginning of the New 52. While that era of DC wasn’t devoid of good stories, titles & characters, they tended to be the exception as opposed to the norm. But most people tend to be all right with the story that started DC on this path, “Flashpoint”. I wanted to take the time to air some of my frustrations with this story in regards to the time travel logic it uses.

Before I get into it, something we should discuss. The rules of how time travel can work varies a lot in fiction. Lots of different approaches to how to travel & how changes to the timeline work. One theory you might have heard about that was popularized by fiction is The Butterfly Effect. The general idea is that if you step on a butterfly in one part of the world while time traveling, an earthquake happens on the other side of the planet. I believe this…to an extent. I understand we are dealing with a type of fiction that plays with stuff like this on a daily basis. But I believe there should still be a sense of logic for how these timeline changes occur. And a number of them don’t really add up. So, the big change that happens in this story is that The Flash – Barry Allen – goes back in time and saves his mom from dying. This results in a lot of timeline changes that we see through the story.

With that being said – how does that cause Bruce Wayne to die instead of his parents? Barry is in Central City and Bruce is in Gotham. Hard to tell how far apart the two cities are supposed to be, but let’s assume it’s a fair amount. How does saving Barry’s man cause a mugger to shoot Bruce instead of his parents? Actually, now that I think about it…how old are Bruce and Barry supposed to be canonically? If Bruce is supposed to be older, chances are this origin already happened for him. Even if they are the same age, we again still have the issue of geography. As far as I can tell, Bruce’s origin shouldn’t have been affected at all.

And why does Barry’s time traveling act affect how Billy Batson’s powers work? In case your unfamiliar, Billy Batson is Shazam. He says the name and he is magically transformed into a superhero. But in this timeline, multiple kids have to say the name and then they all collectively become the superhero in one body. While an admittedly interesting idea, I doubt Barry’s mom has any influence on how Shazam’s power is supposed to work. This concept doesn’t even appear in the New 52 afterwards! Yes, Billy does share the power of Shazam with some people, but it’s still just one person turning into one person and not six into one. I know this is a smaller issue in comparison, but still something to bring up.

Back on track – how does saving Barry’s mom cause a war between Atlantis and Themyscira? I understand that in this timeline Barry doesn’t become The Flash. But would his existence as a hero really prevent this? But more importantly, I don’t think this would happen in the way this story chooses to go with. Arthur & Diana have an affair which leads to Mera getting killed by Diana and that leads to war. I think I remember coming across something how in the main DC Universe Arthur admitted to having feelings for Diana. Probably while under the influence of the Lasso of Truth. But I don’t think that means Diana would have the same feelings and go through in exploring them in that way. Even IF she did, she wouldn’t kill Mera! I’m not an expert on Wonder Woman, but I have read up on the majority of her comics post Crisis on Infinite Earths up to the modern day. And she is not written to be like that. She is in touch with her feelings, including empathy, and has too much respect for everyone she considers a friend to ever do anything like this. Would Barry’s time travel affect her very personality?

And how the HELL does Barry saving his mom affect where Superman’s ship lands?! I’m sorry, but this is a BIG one for me. Clark’s ship came from an alien planet many light years away and comes to Earth and – unless this is an Elseworlds story where the whole purpose is to fundamentally change a character – lands in Kansas. But in this timeline, it lands in a city and causes some damage and is secretly experimented on. But Barry’s time travel shouldn’t affect the speed of the Earth’s rotation! Seriously, that would be the only way how this new timeline could explain how Clark’s ship lands in a different spot. And that’s just nonsensical and illogical.

Last thing, this story is supposed to start the New 52, where all heroes are starting off and they don’t know each other yet. Except the ending of “Flashpoint” doesn’t establish that. The ending of the story has Barry talking to Bruce and they know each other to the point where they don’t need to wear masks around each other. There is no way this is supposed to start the New 52 if they aren’t supposed to even know each other yet. Oh my god, this story has so much that doesn’t make sense! But I guess that’s not uncommon for anything in the New 52, so I guess in that way it connects. Look, this isn’t an awful story. But I’m glad that we have recovered from the long lasting damage this story has brought to the DC Universe.

Comics

The Three Jokers: Was It Worth The Wait?

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Back when the DC Universe was still under the New 52 banner, there was a big Justice League Storyline called “Darkseid War”. At one point, Batman sat in the Mobius Chair. It’s basically a super advanced computer that can answer any question you have. He tests it by asking it who killed his parents. And then he asks a bigger question – who is the Joker? We don’t hear the Chair’s answer, but we see Batman’s shocked reaction. Later on in 2016, not too long after the end of that storyline, there was a special one shot that revealed the answer. There are THREE Jokers. The story going into this answer had been teased for years but kept getting pushed back. Until finally it came out in 2020, even though it was under an imprint that takes place outside the main continuity and the main Batman title never addresses this revelation again. But is it still worth reading?

The 3 issue story is written by famous comic book writer Geoff Johns. If your unfamiliar with comics and who he is, there is one important thing to know about him. He has written both good and bad stories, like anyone has – but one thing that is common in most of his stories is that he tends to introduce retcons. The reason he does this is to help support the story that HE wants to tell. Even if the retcons he uses might go against what has been established or well known characterization of favorite characters. One the one hand, this can lead to “Green Lantern: Rebirth”. After Hal Jordan turned into the villain Parallax back in the 90s and then died for several years, Geoff brought him back to life and retconned the reason why he turned bad. This lead to a huge expansion of the Green Lantern mythology that will help provide truly great stories. And it didn’t necessarily take away the importance of the other characters that have took on the role of Green Lantern. But on the other hand, Geoff’s style can also lead to “The Flash: Rebirth”. Barry Allen had a heroic death back in the 1980s that allowed his sidekick, Wally West, to take over as The Flash and develop his large fanbase. While Geoff might not have resurrected him in 2008, this story from 2009 pushed Barry Allen into the spotlight and pushed Wally West to the side. Wally would either become ignored by the DCU all-together or be completely mishandled in the following years. Point is, Geoff tends to use retcons to help tell his stories and the consequences can easily go either way in terms of affecting the quality of his stories or later stories.

Anyway, back to the story at hand. It is discovered in this story that while one Joker came into his own by himself, he ended up creating two other Jokers. Each one has their own nickname and it usually how they are addressed in the story. The Criminal is a representation of the Golden Age Joker who thinks and acts like a crime boss. The Clown is a representation of the Silver Age Joker who does some of the more over the top schemes. While also being the one who killed the second Robin, Jason Todd. Don’t worry, he came back as the Red Hood. And then there is The Comedian, the representation of the Bronze & Modern Age Joker. And the one who crippled & sexually violated Barbara Gordon AKA Batgirl. She also got better. As they gather once again, the plan seems to be for them to create a new Joker. And the choice they end up settling on is Joe Chill, the man who killed Bruce’s parents. It is up to Batman, Red Hood, & Batgirl to find and stop all the Jokers.

It was a smart idea to have Batman’s only allies in this story be the two that have suffered the most from one of the Jokers plans. It ties into the theme of trauma and how someone tries to move on from that experience. But there is more focus on Batman & Red Hood than there is on Batgirl. Jason goes through a variety of emotions and even ends up killing The Clown – the one who had originally killed him. But there isn’t a lot of exploration of what Batgirl is going through emotionally. You can make the argument that she has come to some sense of closure in her own title back in the main DCU and that since this only has 3 issues they need to cut something to keep it going. But considering Jason already aired out all of his baggage about his trauma back in mid 2000s and his feelings are plain and simple, it would be more interesting to see the complex thoughts Barbara has. Especially since in “The Killing Joke” – the story where the Joker crippled and violated her – her trauma was really just used to advance the story of all the male characters in the story, mainly the Joker’s. So to see her get less focus again is annoying.

Another issue this story shines on is the relationship between Batman and Jason Todd. As mentioned earlier, Jason came back as the Red Hood in the 2000s and he was a villain when first brought back. He used guns, he killed, he tried to get Batman to kill the Joker himself. Jason was angry, furious at Batman for not seeking vengeance against the Joker for what he did. But in the years since Jason Todd has come back, he has been transitioned into more of an anti-hero role that will sometimes be an ally to Batman. He still uses guns and keeps going back and forth on whether or not he kills. And yet when he kills one of the Jokers in this story and Barbara informs Bruce, he seems to want to forget it. Which is against how one of the most well known things about Batman is that his one rule it that he doesn’t kill. And makes sure any other vigilante operating in Gotham and allied with him also follows that rule. I think this is supposed to shed some light on why Batman has tried to bring Jason Todd back into the Bat Family since his resurrection. It’s supposed to be his way of trying to make up for what he sees as his failure for not saving him and him trying to not react & punish Jason for this murder ties into that. If so, it isn’t really explained that well. And it still goes against his one rule and how he is usually portrayed in the main continuity.

But on the other hand, this does also tie into one of the positives of the story. How Bruce is shown with some more humanity and emotion than he might normally be portrayed as. Which makes sense considering the inclusion of Joe Chill and how Batman ultimately has to choose to save him from becoming another Joker. We do get some insight into the history between the two and how he seems to have some closure about that trauma towards the end of the story. And we do get a good final scene between Batman & The Comedian – the last Joker left alive by the end. It isn’t groundbreaking but it does shine some light on how he views himself in their relationship.

One last issue to shed light on is the revelation that Batman has known the identity of this version of the Joker for a long time. And that his wife from before he transformed didn’t actually die but has been living in the Witness Protection Program with her son she was pregnant with back when she was with Joker. First of all, this goes against the established fact that he doesn’t actually know as show in the main DCU. Secondly, this does complicate how “The Killing Joke” is viewed. It kind of indicates Joker wasn’t the best husband prior to the transformation. Which might sound logical, but it goes against how he was characterized before he actually became the Joker. But I think this might actually balance out. That story wasn’t exactly the best in regards to handling it’s female characters. I already mentioned what that story did to Barbara. So actually having her survive and kept hidden so that they don’t get harassed by the press, Joker, or someone seeking revenge against Joker does give her a happy ending. Complicated as that revelation might be.

With all of that being said, where does the story stand quality-wise and is it worth the read? If you go into this story hoping to find something new and earth shattering, you might be disappointed. But it does play around with a cool concept that touches on the Joker’s entire comic history. There are some cool scenes and there is an emotional element to it that I think is well done. And the theme of finding a way to move past from past trauma is relevant. Yes, a couple of characters should have gotten more focus and some stuff that happens in the story goes against what has been established in the main continuity. But I think the advantage of it being published under a different imprint means it can be decided later if it is canon or not. Even though that means the main DCU just dropped one of it’s most interesting story teases in recent years. What I’m trying to say is that I was still able to enjoy this story. Maybe not as much as I wanted, but I think I was able to focus more on the good than the bad.

Comics, Film Editorials, Movies

Film Editorial – The Best Villain for The Batman 2

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The latest film version on the Caped Crusader has opened to positive reviews from both critics and audiences. With early talks for a sequel already underway, many people are trying to guess who the next villain will be. Most Batman fans and actors from the film have their money on The Court of Owls. A recent addition to Batman lore, they are a secret society of Gotham’s most powerful controlling everything from the shadows. They are also a group of villains that have been growing in popularity thanks to their appearances in other media. As exciting as they would be, it runs the risk of repeating the same story of corruption that the previous installment covered. Which is why, if you ask me, the best villain is a guy who used to wear a potato sack on his head.

Dr. Johnathan Crane is a psychologist at Arkham Asylum and a professor of Psychology. His experiments relating to fear and the effect they have on the human mind lead him to becoming the villain known as The Scarecrow. He has appeared in video games and various animated Batman shows over the years. But his most well known appearance was in the Christopher Nolan film “Batman Begins”. There was potential in him in that film, certainly not a bad performance. But it’s safe to say he was underutilized, especially when it came to showing what people see while under Crane’s fear toxin. But it is because of this lack of focus and development that Scarecrow can receive the same treatment as The Riddler. But what kind of story would work with this kind of character?

There was a recent storyline in Batman comics that focused on Scarecrow as the main bad guy. Known as “Fear State”, Dr. Crane took advantage of a city trying to recover from two back-to-back city wide traumatic events by using the media to intensify the sense of fear throughout Gotham. He even manipulated city officials into turning against Batman by framing him for terrorist attacks, forcing him to team up with a group of people – The Unsanity Collective – who try to move past their traumatic past by wiping their memories clean and losing all sense of fear. The entire purpose behind this plan is to push Gotham into what Dr. Crane calls the Fear State. His theory is that once they confront and push beyond the limits that fear puts on the human mind, people can grow and become better versions of themselves.

This is a storyline that can be used effectively in the next Matt Reeves film. After The Riddler kills several high profile officials – including the mayor – and then uses bombs to flood Gotham where his followers attempted to attack Gotham’s citizens, there would be fear that more people like The Riddler will start appearing. Dr. Crane could be inspired by what the serial killer was trying to accomplish and tries to help the city in his own way. Through a series of attacks and the spread of his fear toxin, he would push Gotham’s citizens into a state of panic in an effort to have them let go of their fear and become new people. The movie could even do justice when it comes to what people see when under the toxin’s influence. While the first movie had a psychological element and a Horror atmosphere, the movie could create truly disturbing visions and hallucinations that – if presented the right way – can make you question what is real in the scene you are watching. In this way, it can take inspiration from “Joker” by using subtle choices and framing to keep you guessing what’s really going on until the very last second. There can even be a way to adapt the Unsanity Collective where they are formed by Dr. Crane to help him in his mission.

This is admittedly my suggestion for where The Batman 2 could go. But it’s a direction I believe would help further the themes and story of Matt Reeves’s universe.

Comics

The Eternal Nature of Spawn

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The mid to late 1980s saw the release of a couple of graphic novels that would forever change the comic industry. Both “Watchmen” & “The Dark Knight Returns” had dark storylines that integrated mature themes not usually associated with comics, as well as explored complex philosophies/ideologies. After receiving widespread acclaim from within and outside the comic book community, comic book editors and creators took the wrong lessons from those books. Working under the assumption that comics need to be more dark and include intense violence, we got a lot of stories and characters that would define the industry for the early to mid 1990s.

If you read comics during this time period or you sought out books from this era, you are probably familiar with the most common traits across various titles. You have characters carrying these huge overdrawn guns. Ones that make you ask how the Hell can that guy hold that with just one hand. Characters that are constantly growling or expressing anger and never showing any other emotion to help you truly connect with them. The rise of the anti-hero, characters willing to kill or do ethically questionable things to achieve their mission. While the concept of the anti-hero isn’t inherently bad, it was over-exploited during this time and not always well executed. And while the industry always had an issue drawing female characters sexy and not fleshing them out, it was probably at an all time high during this time. Basically, these years weren’t the highlight of comic book history. While some good did come out of it, there is a lot of underwhelming. A lot of titles and characters created during this time have mostly fallen into obscurity.

But why has Spawn prevailed? After 30 years and now attempting to create it’s own universe like DC did in the 1940s and Marvel in the 1960s, he is still around with a strong fan base. To answer that question, you have to look at his origin story. For most people who don’t read comics this is the probably the only part of Spawn they would be familiar with. But it also touches on the best stuff of the character. Al Simmons was a solider and special agent serving his country. But he was betrayed by the people he worked for and killed by his own during a mission. He gets sent to Hell where he is offered the chance to see his wife again. But it came at the cost of serving as one of that realm’s soldiers, a Hellspawn. And when he does return to Earth, five years have passed and his wife has remarried his best friend and they have a kid. He also has to regain his memories as he fights against foes – human and supernatural – who try to manipulate him for their own ends.

The story of Spawn is one that touches on a few universal themes. Mainly the idea of second chances and redemption. Al isn’t a perfect person, as many different issues over the years will showcase. But he is someone who tries to do what he thinks is right. Which is what all of us aspire to. And even though his life has been destroyed and he has lost everything, he finds a way to move forward and make the best of his situation. Making better choices and break free from the influence others have had on him, before his death and now as a Hellspawn. This universe also establishes that Heaven isn’t all what it appears to be either. The relationship between Heaven and Hell reveals that it doesn’t truly matter if your an ethically good or bad person. Where you go to once you die is random…for most people. But it is revealed that Al and his ancestors have been manipulated so that he follows a destiny of becoming the Hellspawn to start Armageddon. And while that war does come, Al takes on both Heaven & Hell and wins Armageddon in defense of mankind, who are used only as soldiers by both forces. Years after Al beats them, he ends up closing the doors to both realms. No more angels or demons can come or leave Earth. Their influence on a cosmic/supernatural level has been taken away. And now Spawn is there to take on who remains and make sure that humans have the freedom to make their own choices and be free of manipulated destiny.

Spawn is the story of realizing you don’t have to be perfect to be good. You could make questionable choices but as long as you do what you feel is the right thing to do, you will be all right. As long as you get to decide what you make for yourself and not let someone else decide for you. These ideas, accompanied with some truly great artwork and imagery and the writers realizing what works for Spawn while getting rid of the weaker elements, connects with everyone and has made sure Spawn has endured for so long. And hopefully he keeps being a strong presence for many years to come.