The Monkey Part 3

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LWIC: Rino Hacky Sac = Awesome!

Last Week In Comics:
A fresh take on 5-day-old comics.
 

 Batman #685

There is nothing scarier than the unknown. People are afraid of the dark because of the unknown just as many are afraid of the basement because it is not as familiar as the rest of the house. Villains are no different. The less we know about them, and especially the less we see of them, the more scary they are. When Hush first arrived in the Batman continuity, he was credible and posed a legitimate threat – he knew not just the identity, but also the person under the cowl. As readers, we didn’t know who Hush was, nor did we know what his motive was and that was scary. Since his first appearance, Hush as been featured in many Batman stories that he has lost whatever scary aspects the character originally had.  This issue features a Hush and he is not the scary one.

This issue features Catwoman as the villain not Hush, hence the Faces of Evil cover with her picture. Hush plays the role of the victim to Catwoman, even though her “evil” motives are not as diabolical as one would associate with a “Faces of Evil” title. Can you really blame Catwoman for getting revenge on a person who cut out her heart and kept her alive via life support just so he could play mind games with Batman? Yeah, I totally understand and wouldn’t classify her as a face of evil for that, not to mention the only reason she ran into Hush was because she was in the area stopping animal poachers. Truly the face of evil.

I guess it could be interpreted as evil when she put Hush into a potato sack and used him as a toy for a playful rhinoceros, but I interpret that as awesome!
 

 Final Crisis #7

You either loved or hated this comic – it was a good vs. evil story.

You also have probably already expressed your opinion verbally or online – Superman finally proves that he is the big granddaddy of all super-heroes.

You probably are reading too much or too little into the open-endedness of the whole issue – there are no more monitors and the multiverse is back and Batman is back in time.

And no matter what I say, it won’t change your opinion of this comic – I like the multiverse as long as heroes do not cross over, or universe hop, too often.
 

 Superman #684

Faces of Evil Parasite, umm yeah he just walks around whining about how he wants to siphon more power from Mon-El while wandering around Metropolis – pretty evil huh.

So the real evil, Superman’s aunt Alura, has released Zod and his followers from the Phantom Zone to lead her army of kryptonians. On Earth the Guardian is rallying the Science Police to prepare for a possible kryptonian invasion. Two opposing leaders with qualified, a hero and villain, preparing armies… hmm, do I sense tension and foreshadowing?

I am slightly disappointed in this issue following the New Krypton arc, and I expected something more from the Parasite since he was featured on the cover with the title “Faces of Evil.”

and

THE BEST COMIC OF LAST WEEK
BLUE BEETLE #35

As a proud owner of the full run of Ted Kord’s solo Blue Beetle comic, I loved the return of his corny cookie-cutter villains to annoy Jaime Reyes. This comic truly establishes Jaime as part of the Blue Beetle legacy, the legacy created in my favorite run of the series End Game. Before this connection or legacy was created, the only tie from the original Blue Beetle to Ted Kord was the name and a seemingly useless scarab. Jaime completes the legacy by connecting the “powers” that the scarab gave the two previous owners – the strength of Dan Garrett and the technology of Ted Kord.

The connection, or creation, of a Blue Beetle legacy and the respect that Jaime has for it is what makes this comic great… along with the strong characterization of the hero and all of his supporting cast. Superman, the comic, is defined not by the Man of Tomorrow alone,  his supporting cast of Lois, Jimmy, Ma & Pa, and even Krypto plays a large role in the icon’s status and comic longevity. Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle has the same type of supporting cast: Paco, Brenda, Hector & Nadia, Mom & Dad, Traci 13, and the Teen Titans.

In this issue, we see the legacy of the Blue Beetle continue, and maybe end, while the supporting cast shines. During End Game Jaime infiltrated the Reach, the crazy aliens who created his super powered scarab, and thwarted their plans to take over the Earth. The bond created by Jaime and the scarab caused the alien creation/being to rebel against it’s creators with Jaime. It seems as if the news of Kaji-Da’s rebellion against the reach and wish to free all people who are being oppressed by the state. This group of scarab wielding freedom fighters wants Jaime to lead them and if he refuses they will consider him an enemy. Yeah, Jaime does the hero thing and it looks as if the series will end with a bang… and I can’t wait for it, well the next issue that is, not the end of the series, that I can wait for.

Posted by Fred on February 2, 2009 @ 10:24 PM Under: Last Week In Comics
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