Evil Wonders: Wonder Woman #33

The following is my review of Wonder Woman #33, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

No matter how dysfunctional a family is, there's usually some kind of sentiment binding it together. That sentiment isn't always healthy. Many sitcoms, good and bad alike, are built on that kind of dysfunction. Add gods, demigods, and superheroes to the mix and that dysfunction takes on a level that even the trashiest prime-time sitcom can't match. Wonder Woman's family may not have that kind of dysfunction, but whenever gods and demigods enter the mix, it usually means she'll eventually start punching something.

Wonder Woman's family already has its share of complications, thanks largely to an origins story that is still muddled between clay figurines and Zeus not being able to keep it in his pants again. The events of Darkseid Wars adds another complication in the form of Grail, who is basically the anti-Wonder Woman. As the daughter of Darkseid and a self-professed daddy's girl, she exists to spit on everything Wonder Woman stands for while looking more menacing than any illegitimate offspring that Zeus could ever sire.

Grail is one of those characters who has the potential to be a true nemesis to Wonder Woman. Superman has Lex Luthor. Batman has the Joker. Wonder Woman really doesn't have anyone on that level who isn't a renegade god or demigod. Grail, after taking down the entire Justice League in Darkseid Wars, can challenge Wonder Woman on every conceivable level. Wonder Woman #33 finally puts Grail in that position and James Robinson makes the most of it.

Darkseid War introduced Grail, but offers little insight into who she is and what motivates her. She never comes off as an overly complex character. There's no effort to craft some elaborate story about how she ends up on the path of evil. Her father is Darkseid. Evil is literally in her blood and she doesn't even try to avoid that. She embraces it. Like Lex Luthor and the Joker, she is not in conflict with who she is. She's evil and she's fine with that. That kind of self-awareness may be basic, but it's oddly refreshing in an era where too many villains try to come off as tragic figures.

That simple, streamlined persona helps move the story along. Wonder Woman #33 isn't just about establishing Grail as someone who can battle Wonder Woman without relying entirely on played out themes from Greco-Roman mythology. It's about tying her story into Wonder Woman's world, specifically the ongoing conflict with her long lost brother. Again, Wonder Woman's divine brands of family dysfunction are complicated, but that makes Grail's simplicity all the more appropriate.

Like Wonder Woman, much of Grail's story revolves around her family. She isn't just driven by her dark heritage. She actively works to protect and preserve it. The recent events surrounding Dark Knights: Metal puts Darkseid in a strange, but vulnerable position. After his defeat, he reverts to the form of an infant and it's up to Grail to play the role of mother to her father. It sounds weird, but when Greco-Roman traditions involve multiple instances of incest, infidelity, and unholy unions, it barely raises an eyebrow.

Grail still embraces this role. She never shows any hesitation or reservations about helping Darkseid return to form. She's just like him, wanting nothing more than to spread death and destruction to everything she touches. Even when aiding her father means murdering various demigods, mostly the many illegitimate children of Zeus, she does so without a second thought. She never sees it as evil or inconvenient, for that matter. She's just an evil daughter helping her evil father.

This makes for plenty of brief, but brutal moments that reinforce the extent of Grail's persona. She is evil to the core and that doesn't bother her in the slightest. While this goes a long way towards establishing her as a menacing villain for Wonder Woman, it doesn't make for too compelling a plot. Wonder Woman #33 offers a great many insights into Grail, at least with respect to her role in the ongoing story surrounding Wonder Woman's brother. Beyond that, though, there aren't many complexities or revelations.

The simplicity of Grail's character may help move the story along, but it offers little else, in terms of intrigue. She has a problem, namely her father's nascent state. She has to solve that problem by killing the many demigods that Zeus sired when he kept thinking with the wrong head. She goes about solving that problem with the kind of gratuitous violence that would make any evil father proud. There's not much more to the story beyond that.

There are some characters whose evil nature needs to be belabored every now and then. Grail established during Darkseid Wars that she is not one of them. Anyone who has Darkseid for a father doesn't need that kind of effort. While giving her a defined role in Wonder Woman's ongoing narrative is important, Grail doesn't get much depth beyond that. For her to truly become the Lex Luthor or Joker for Wonder Woman, she needs more than just a desire to help her father.

Wonder Woman #33 still succeeds in exploring Grail, demonstrating just how menacing a threat she can be to anyone she faces, demigod or not. Robinson skillfully guides her into a collision course with Wonder Woman while the artwork of Emanuela Lupacchino provides the necessary brutal imagery to that journey. More than anything else, that journey ensures that any pending clash between Grail and Wonder Woman will carry a lot of dramatic weight.

The family dynamics for both Wonder Woman and Grail, as dysfunctional and divine they may be, create a unique appeal that feels right at home in the bizzare, yet lecherous world of Greco-Roman mythology. Wonder Woman still embodies the higher values that mythos, but Grail is set to embody the worse. The fact she can do all of this without being the bitter offspring of Zeus makes that feat all the more remarkable.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Gods, Justice, Secrets, and Spectacles: Justice League #50

The following is my review of Justice League #50, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Every major comic book event likes to claim it'll shake the foundations of this entire fanciful world to its core. Very few can claim they deliver on a consistent basis. Geoff Johns is one of the few who can make this claim, at least in the context of DC Comics. For the past decade, he has been the architect for many of the important upheavals in the DC Universe. He seems to bring a new upheaval every other year and Darkseid Wars is no exception.

This event is already shaking and shattering the foundations of the post-Flashpoint era of DC Comics. Darkseid is dead. Batman now sits on the Mobius chair. Lex Luthor now wields power, courtesy of the pits of Apokalipse and his unparalleled capacity for deceit. Wonder Woman now knows that Steve Trevor wasn't the first man to visit Themyscira. Johns is putting every character in a position to reassess the fundamental nature of who they are. Some handle it better than others and for once, it's not just Lex Luthor who lets his ego get in the way.

Justice League #50 is the culmination of all these factors on top of being the capstone to the New 52 era. It's a lot to assess, reassess, and reconfigure. Events that started back in the Forever Evil event come into play. On paper, it seems impossible, juggling so many plots and making every outcome feel meaningful. In addition, this all has to be done in conjunction with the world from an inter-dimensional entity that already has one dead universe to its credit and a dead Darkseid as a bonus.

It's the kind of massive threat that brings out the best and worst of the Justice League. In this case, Johns manages to highlight the best, minimize the worst, and complete the Darkseid Wars saga in a meaningful way. He once again proves himself a skilled juggler of all things DC Comics, but with Darkseid Wars, he sets himself apart from any street performer or circus act.

Darkseid Wars is an omega-level DC Comics spectacle and Justice League #50 acts as the finale when all the fireworks goes off, all the dazzling lights shine, and everybody's ears are left ringing in the best possible way. The Justice League doesn't just come together like the scrappy underdog in every sports movie ever made. They navigate a vast, intricate conflict that begins with Forever Evil and ends here.

Like the finale of any great spectacle, it gets pretty chaotic at times. Between Grail using Superwoman's baby to channel the power of the New Gods and the Anti-Life Equation taking a new form, it's like keeping up with the Flash after a dozen cups of coffee at times. However, Johns keeps things concise, using Wonder Woman as a narrator and an anchor for the plot. She provides the context for the emotional and dramatic breadth of the story and its a role she's uniquely adept at.

This context is built around Grail and her connection to Wonder Woman's homeland of Themyscira. The entire catalyst for Darkseid Wars begins and ends with the secrets and lies surrounding Themyscira, which have nothing to do with an illegitimate offspring of Zeus for once. Grail acts as the ultimate disruption to the order these secrets and lies protect, not at all caring that parts of this order kept forces like Darkseid in check.

This helps make Grail the biggest star of this story. For most Darkseid Wars, she carries herself like the antithesis of Wonder Woman. In Justice League #50, she finally demonstrates a level of depth that makes her worthy of being the star rookie of DC Comics' team of premier villains. What she does, how she does it, and how the Justice League opposes her bring out the potential that is undeniably present, but takes longer than expected to realize.

Grail and Wonder Woman help guide the narrative of Darkseid Wars to its conclusion. However, as strong as these characters and the surrounding spectacle are, there are times when it feels rushed. Johns avoids stumbling as he juggles so many plots and themes, but the story still gets ahead of itself, especially at the very climax of the battle. Jason Fabok's art skills seem wasted with how quickly the dust settles. There's a distinct lack of grit that keeps it from having the kind of visceral impact that separates great stories from iconic stories.

This rushed pacing extends to the aftermath and epilogues as well. There are significant implications from the events of Darkseid Wars, but these implications are mostly reduced to teasers. These teasers are tempting and appealing in their own right, but they raise far more questions than they answer and these questions are of the frustrating kind.

This is especially true with the teasers surrounding Batman and Wonder Woman. The revelations they uncover raise more than a few eyebrows, but the impact is muted. This impact can certainly be explored in other comics, but it does little to improve the impact of Justice League #50. There are other developments, like those surrounding Jessica Cruz, that offer a more meaningful and immediate impact. Like most teasers though, it's over too quickly.

The pace and polish in Justice League #50 keep Darkseid Wars from broaching that iconic status. It's still a story that hits all the right notes, evokes the right drama, and balances the right themes. It just doesn't fit together in a cohesive, comprehensive manner in the end. It's a flavorful desert of sorts, being the Justice League story that caps off the New 52 era. It's not completely filling, but it's still very satisfying and previews the menu for DC Comics' next big feast with Rebirth.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Unholy Grail: Justice League: Darkseid War Special #1

The following is my review of Justice League: Darkseid War Special #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

When historians look back on this era of comics, they will likely refer to this era as the silver age of female superheroes. The only thing that might keep it from being a golden age would be the fact that Ant Man got a solo movie before Wonder Woman. Shortcomings aside, it's undeniable that female superheroes have risen to prominence during this era.

Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel. Kamala Khan became Ms. Marvel. Harley Quinn became more than an obsessive Joker fangirl. There are still unresolved issues, such as Power Girl's costume and Starfire's sexuality, but there has definitely been progress in the realm of female superheroes. However, the same cannot be said for female villains.

Female villains create a unique set of challenges that cannot be easily resolved with clones, time travel, and skin-tight costumes. All too often, female villains are reduced to typical femme fatales or glorified Bond girls. It's not enough for a female villain to just be a menacing presence with an hourglass figure. To stand out in an era where it's way too easy to undermine female characters, it takes a novel approach.

This is the approach Geoff Johns has set up with Grail, who has been the main catalyst to the events of Darkseid Wars. He has tried to make the fact that she's a woman secondary to the overall story. It's ambitious in that it's one of those feats that isn't usually accomplished outside of a Joss Whedon movie. For it to work, Grail can't just be a female version of Darkseid. Having an hourglass figure and a desire to exterminate all life in the universe just isn't enough. She's has to be different kind of villain with a different set of motivations.

Justice League: Darkseid War Special #1 attempts to shed light on those motivations. What it offers helps move the plot of Darkseid Wars forward, but it does little to make Grail more than Darkseid's evil daughter. She still comes off as the rotten apple of her daddy's eye, in some cases quite literally when omega beams enter the picture, and her story does little to make that more interesting. If anything, it overly simplifies her persona in a way that might as well be ripped from a Superfriends rerun.

That story doesn't try to make excuses for Grail. It doesn't try to make much of a story of it either. Grail is an evil, devious woman who treats inflicting death with the same glee as a child eating a chocolate cake. There was no real progression to this evil. She basically just follows Lady Gaga's message to the letter in that she was born this way. There's never really a sense that she could be anything else.

That's not to say the overall story is bland. If Justice League: Darkseid War Special #1 has an intriguing character, then it's not Grail. It's her mother, Myrina Black. She's the only character whose motivations feel compelling. She's a mother trying to protect her daughter, but she's also a mother fighting a losing battle. Any mother who has dealt with a rebellious teenage girl can empathize. With Grail, though, this battle is taken to an unreasonable extreme.

There's nothing in this story that would make anyone sympathize with Grail. Geoff Johns doesn't try to make her a tragic villain in the tradition of Two-Face, Sinestro, or Joel Shumacher. He only ever reinforces the notion that Grail is just inherently evil and everything she does is intended to make children and puppies cry. To her credit, Myrina Black still tries to love her daughter as any mother would. However, despite what nearly every song by the Beatles may claim, love is simply not enough.

Even if love isn't enough, the greatest strength of the story is that it's told from Myrina Black's perspective. Geoff Johns includes plenty of rich dialog and inner musings that offer insight into Myrina's personality. She's very much an Amazon. She has more warrior spirit in her pinkie than most people not named Bruce Wayne have in their entire bodies. She sets herself apart from Wonder Woman in that her mission as a mother converges with her mission as a warrior. In the end, however, it's a mission that was doomed to fail.

If Myrina Black's perspective is a strength in this story, then Grail's progression is its greatest weakness. There's no real sense that she ever even tried to become more than Darkseid's daughter. There's never a sense that anything Myrina Black did would've had any impact on Grail or how the events of Darkseid Wars played out. Justice League: Darkseid War Special #1 basically amounts to Myrina Black's failed efforts to help her daughter and Grail's utter lack of effort in heeding her mother's help.

It's basically a perfect storm for failed parenting. There's never a sense that a little extra therapy, a little more honesty, and a few more self-help books would've changed the situation. Grail still walked the same path as her father and she did it with a smile. While that might make her the kind of female villain who can take down the Justice League without breaking a sweat, it doesn't make her the kind of character that would be any more compelling than an evil Supergirl.

Grail is still a menacing character with a great deal of potential. Justice League: Darkseid War Special #1 is able to realize some of this potential, but for the most part it just moves the Darkseid War arc forward. It nicely ties in with the events in other books, incorporating ongoing plots involving Jessica Cruz and Steve Trevor into the mix. However, if the purpose of the story was to make Grail a more compelling character, then it came up short.

It didn't fall flat on its face, but it didn't break new ground either. Grail is evil. Grail is her father's daughter. Her mother never stood a chance at helping her. It's a depressing message, but most stories that begin on Apokolips usually are.

Final Score: 5 out of 10

A New World of Wonder: Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1

The following is my review of Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

At what point does innovation become derivation? Where exactly is the line the separates a simple bottle of homemade soda from being Coca Cola? These are questions that have plagued artists and enriched copyright lawyers to no end. There's this nebulous gray area between being Apple and  being Weird Al Yankovich that few seem to know how to traverse. But if that area were a hidden temple, then Bruce Timm would be Indiana Jones.

With Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Bruce Timm has once again proven what Apple proves to its investors every time it introduces a new product. It's not enough to just make something similar to an established product. It's more important to make it awesome. That's how characters like Daredevil can thrive, despite key similarities to Batman. That's also why the last two Die Hard movies have failed so spectacularly. Being similar is okay. Failing to be awesome is not.

When reinventing Superman and Batman, Bruce Timm pushed the narrative into bold new territory with Hernan Guerra and Kirk Langstrom. But with Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1, he gives that narrative more of a firm kick to the gut. But in doing so, it manages to create a version of Wonder Woman that doesn't just make a case for being a female icon. She violently shoves herself into that conversation and proves herself in ways that would leave Johnny Cochran himself speechless.

Unlike Superman and Batman, the Wonder Woman of Justice League: Gods and Monsters is not a mere renovation as much as she is a complete overhaul. There are no Amazons. There's no Themyscira. There are no Greek gods that seduce mortal women and impregnate bulls. Instead, Wonder Woman is Bekka, one of the New Gods from New Genesis. Like Kirk Langstrom as Batman, she comes from one the more obscure sector of the DC Universe. In the pre-Wikedia days, most comic book fans wouldn't know she even existed.

This makes her a perfect foundation on which to build a new Wonder Woman. She's not a completely blank slate, but it never feels like she was poofed into existence like a trick from Mr. Mxyzptlk. She's very much a product of the war between New Genesis and Apokalipse, a conflict that is to DC Comics what World War II is to the History Channel. This already puts her in the same league as Diana and the Amazons in terms of fighting experience, but with much less misandery.

From this foundation, Bekka is basically cast from this devastating war and into 1960s era Earth. It's not exactly the most peaceful time in world history, but it's not Medieval Europe either. It's a world that Bekka sees through a remarkably balanced perspective, more so than most news organizations today. It helps that she has Mother Box, which basically acts as a more SFW version of Google. It allows her to learn about and explore this world as Diana once did after she left her home.

In many respects, Bekka follows in Diana's footsteps and embraced this world as she did. However, Bekka does it her own way. There's no Steve Trevor to guide her. She craves her own path. This leads from a tiny village in India to a hippie commune in the United States. And somehow, she finds a way to thrive in both environments. She even finds a way to make some very devious enemies in the form of evil hippies. Even on her worst day, Diana never had to deal with evil hippies.

It's a twisted yet fitting way to push the theme of Justice League: Gods and Monsters, putting Wonder Woman in a somewhat darker set of circumstances. It's hard to get much darker than evil hippies. Even so, it never becomes goofy on the levels of a Deadpool comic. And like Batman and Superman before it, the scope and scale of the story never escalates beyond a certain point. The story isn't about Bekka saving the world and becoming Wonder Woman. It's about her embracing Earth as her new home and becoming the woman who ascends to that title.

This is where the story in Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1 is at its strongest. Throughout her journey from her arrival on Earth to her encounter with evil hippies, we see her grow into a woman that becomes worthy of such an iconic title. The core of Wonder Woman involves embodying feminine ideals and strength. Bekka has all that on top of being a sexy redhead. She'll embrace others in a maternal way, as she does with some of the not-so-evil hippies in this story. She'll also protect the weak in the traditions of every badass warrior in history, male and female alike. And she does it in a way that actually makes living on a hippie commune seem attractive.

But beyond doing justice to the title of Wonder Woman, Bekka does set herself apart in a few key ways. It's not just that she's a redhead either. Unlike Diana and the Amazons, Bekka is basically an exile like Superman. She has no sense of sisterhood to guide her. She's more an individual following her own path, which even hardcore feminists can appreciate. And there's never a point where she separates "Man's World" from "Woman's World." They're all the same to her. While that might not resonate with hardcore feminists, it should suffice for most reasonable people.

These differences put Bekka on a wholly unique path to being Wonder Woman, but it's a path that makes the story in Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1 feel complete. Through this story, Bekka grows from a semi-blank slate to a woman worthy of being an icon. It's a personal story and one that isn't solely defined by her saving the world from evil hippies. At a time when female characters are just starting to be taken seriously, Bekka's story couldn't be more appropriate. She might not make it into Joss Whedon's next movie, but she proves she's more than worthy.

Final Score: 9 out of 10

Justice League #41 Chronicles a Catalyst of War

The following is my review of Justice League #41, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

War tends to bring out the bad in good people and the worst in bad people. Circumstances and situations tend to get simplified in a very callous sort of way. If Randolph Bourne is right and war truly is the health of the state, then it’s the kind of health that can only be maintained by powerful medications. And as with many medications, the side-effects are sometimes worse than the disease. Darkseid is by far one of the DCU’s worst cancers. However, it’s often the side-effects he incurs that do the most damage.

Darkseid isn’t just bad in terms of the Justice League’s many enemies. He’s a force of nature. He sees himself as the embodiment of entropy. He doesn’t trigger war. War itself follows him. He’s like the Joker, but without a sense of humor. There’s nothing funny about what he does and nobody’s laughing when he does it. That’s what makes him such a daunting foe. He’s the kind of force that few are equipped to fight. In the same way one person can’t fix a broken dam with a shovel, no one person can fight him. That makes him an ideal adversary for the Justice League, as shown in the very first arc with the New 52. Now that Convergence has passed, there’s a new brand to refine. And just like before, Darkseid is the catalyst for it.

This is what unfolds Justice League #41, laying the foundation for the Darkseid War and building an impressive structure on that foundation. The prologue established Darkseid’s new target in the Anti-Monitor. Between these two characters, it’s like throwing a universe-sized cherry bomb into the DCU. But unlike Darkseid’s first battle with the Justice League, this battle has more layers of complexity.

Like any good sequel that’s not directed by Joel Shumacher, there are new paths to explore. The Justice League has undergone numerous developments and changes. Two of its members have hooked up. One of their greatest enemies has joined the team. They even found time to clash with the Justice League of America the way. They’re not overly vulnerable, but they have more to exploit this time around. And it isn’t just Darkseid who exploits them.

Like the inaugural arc of Justice League, the conflict in the Darkseid War starts with a mystery. Someone has decided to blatantly rip off the first Terminator movie and kill every woman named Myrina Black. It’s not exactly the same as John Smith, but it does ensure plenty of innocent women whose parents thought the name was completely innocuous face an untimely end. There isn’t an obvious link to Darkseid at first, but there are plenty of connections forming behind the scenes.

In addition to this mystery, there are several other sub-plots that effectively tie into this mystery, giving that added complexity that no parademons invasion can match. These ties include a nasty confrontation between Darkseid and Mr. Miracle, as well as few terse exchanges between Superman and Lex Luthor. They all have their unique appeal. There will always be an appeal to seeing Superman goad Lex Luthor into doing something crazy like curing cancer on a dare. But what makes the appeal more relevant is how each sub-plot converges on the main conflict.

These plots don’t converge completely like the final season of the Wire, but they come very close. The spark that turns the catalyst for the Darkseid War into a full-blown firestorm is the arrival of Grail, the daughter of Darkseid. She’s a new character with next to no history, but she’s akin to a top five pick in the NBA draft. And when she enters the conflict, she carries herself like Michael Jordan in his prime.

Grail does the kind of damage to the Justice League that might actually make Darkseid crack a smile. She takes down their heaviest hitters and does it with a creepy smile every step of the way. And unlike Darkseid, she does it with a lot more personality. Whereas Darkseid voice comes off as a less polite version of Robocop, Grail has some genuine charisma. She even finds a way to reveal her connection to the Amazons, which makes her defeat of Wonder Woman even more satisfying. And the artwork of Jason Fabrok helps makes it appropriately visceral.

In some respects, Grail is more imposing than Darkseid and not just because she’s more emotive than a tortoise shell. She has Amazon-type skill to go along with Apokolips-level brutality. That’s like putting Peyton Manning’s skill inside Cam Newton’s body with Michael Vick’s legs. It’s entirely believable that she could take down the Justice League single-handedly, something her father failed at the first time around. He’s either very proud or incredibly bemused.

Grail steals the show, but she doesn’t derail the plot. The complexity formed by the various sub-plots don’t get incoherent either, a testament to Geoff Johns’ attention to detail. It offers additional twists along the way. They don’t feel too forced, but some components feel like a last minute reshoot. It still doesn’t mitigate the impact. Each conflict and twist help ignite the spark that kicks off the Darkseid War. Like kickoff at the Super Bowl, it begins the spectacle in all the right ways.

The plot surrounding the first shots of Darkseid War is pretty dense, full of meaningful character interactions and heart-stopping action. The sheer density and complexity can be overwhelming at times, but it never gets convoluted. There’s never a point where the reader has to scratch their head and take notes to make sense of what’s going on. Everything is neatly organized and perfectly laid out for those willing to appreciate the detail and don’t just want to see a beautiful woman beat up the Justice League.

Few spectacles outside Breaking Bad can say they accomplished what Justice League #41 accomplished. It succeeded in kick-starting the Darkseid War. Anyone who is a fan of big summer blockbusters or volatile stories with the flare of illegal fireworks is going to want to get some popcorn.

Final Score: 9 out of 10

A Confluence of Conflicts: Convergence #1

The following is my review of Convergence #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

As kids, we all like to keep track of our toys. We do this because when we lose them, our first instinct is to throw a fit and hope that our parents wave a magic wand to fix everything or buy us a whole new toy, whichever comes first. The many universes of the DC Universe are like a giant sandbox of toys where kids of all kinds try to keep track of those toys and pitch a fit whenever someone kicks sand on them. But instead of parents, we take to Twitter and Facebook to complain. It's not nearly as effective as whining to our parents. However, it does reveal something about the structure of the stories that DC tells.

With an event like Convergence, DC Comics is trying to make it easier to keep track of all these wonderful toys that so many have come to love. We can argue to the farthest reaches of the multi-verse, but stories like Crisis and Flashpoint have helped refreshed and/or rebooted the overall context of DC's continuity in a way that helps streamline the narrative. It doesn't always lead to quality or even a satisfying resolution. Anyone familiar with the concept of a continuity punch can attest to that. But also like some kids, there will be fans who complain no matter how the situation resolves itself.

The premise of Convergence #1 isn't the same as Flashpoint or Crisis. It isn't the same as Crisis on Infinite Earths either, but it utilizes the same tools. There's a huge threat to the multiverse. Multiple versions of DC's iconic characters will be effected. And somehow, this threat needs to be confronted in a way that won't make anyone who hasn't read any of Stephen Hawkings' books too confused. In that sense, Convergence #1 does sort of handicap itself in establishing a coherent narrative. However, that doesn't keep it from being at least semi-coherent enough.

For those who have been following the events of Earth-2, there is a sense of progression. These versions of DC's mightiest heroes act as tour guides for this multiverse-level crisis, their war with Apokolipse being the anchor that gives context to their role. For anyone who hasn't been following that conflict or anyone who isn't familiar with DC's catalog of alternate universes, much of that progression is going to be lost. However, it's not entirely necessary for the story to carry weight. Like tuning into a Simpsons rerun halfway in, it's fairly easy to surmise the nature of the conflict.

That said, it takes a while for the weight of the conflict to set in. There's a teaser in the beginning that helps offer a clue as to how badly this will go for certain universes that were already screwed to begin with. However, the details are fairly generic and more forgettable than the last three winners of American Idol. It only offers clues as to what the heroes of Earth-2 are up against and it's always worth knowing that one screw-up could lead to the destruction of an entire universe.

Even with this clue, it takes a while for the characters to catch up to the conflict. They spent a good chunk of their time arguing and whining. But unlike the Avengers movies, there's none of Robert Downy Jr.'s charm or Chris Evan's charisma to tie it all together. It's only when the mysterious planet they find themselves on starts attacking them that they start to understand that arguing and whining is about as productive as spitting yelling at a TV to affect the outcome of a football game. Even so, the act of the planet attacking them isn't as epic as it sounds.

There's no subtle message from Al Gore here or anything. At times, it looks like the characters are fighting ghosts. It's hard for the conflict to feel epic when they're basically doing the work of a superpowered mime. It eventually does get the necessary detail when Brainiac shows up. Brainiac is essentially the arbiter of the Convergence conflict. He's the one bringing these universe's together and the heroes of Earth-2 just ended up drawing the short straw in that they came from a world that was already on the business end of Darkseid's wrath. Their terrible luck still ends up being the catalyst for a much larger conflict.

Eventually, the details do become more concise and the scope of the story comes into perspective. Brainiac sees this anomaly as an egregious error in an otherwise perfect system. So like an overly-zealous IT manager, he demands that this error be purged from his system. And also like an overly-zealous IT manager, he has a method for doing just that and it doesn't involve rebooting.

Brainiac essentially becomes the hype man before a rap concert, announcing to the entire DC multiverse that all their worlds are about to take part in a universe-level version of Wrestlemania. He's not nearly as charismatic as Vince McMahon, but he still gets his point across. This is how he's going to cleanse the multiverse of one too many errors. And he's going to have each universe prove that they're worth saving. It sets up a galactic-sized cage match, complete with some creative word play that will satisfy fans of certain worlds.

Convergence #1 takes a while to become coherent and the characters involved who aren't named Brainiac don't really distinguish themselves. They're not pawns as much as they are a bunch of rats being put in a cage with only a finite amount of cheese. Those not already familiar with these versions of DC's characters probably aren't going to become cos-players at the next Comic Con. But they still play a role and they succeed in that role, triggering the conflict that kickstarts the story. Like a juicy steak without the steak sauce, it's still edible and it still has the potential to become part of an epic feast.

Final Score: 6 out of 10