Lofty Legacies: Superman Futures End #1

The following is my review of Superman: Futures End #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

In the 1980s, Coca Cola found out the hard way that there's no replacing a classic. Even when a new product is objectively better or completely indistinguishable from its predecessor, people will still favor the classic. It's like a security blanket in that when it's taken away, everybody's first instinct is to whine about it. So it stands to reason that if New Coke caused such a massive public outcry, then a new Superman would be every bit as controversial. And unlike unhealthy sugary soft drinks, this controversy evokes more genuine passions.

DC's Futures End event has already explored a future that's not quite apocalyptic but not quite utopian either. Not all the circumstances of this future are clear. At some point there was a devastating war with Darkseid, but it wasn't devastating to the extent that it turned the entire world into a Blade Runner rip-off. What is clear, however, is that Superman was one of the casualties of this war. Nobody knows what happened to him. He just disappeared like one of those celebrities that joins some shady cult and is never heard from again. Other issues have explored what happened to Superman, but Superman: Futures End #1 deals directly with carrying on his legacy.

And in terms of legacy, Superman is the Peyton Manning of Superheroes and Billy Batson has to play the role of Andrew Luck. Thanks to Lois Lane, the world now knows that the man behind the masked Superman that has been running around in this future isn't the same Superman they once knew. And thanks to the same public that rejected New Coke, they don't see Billy as a suitable replacement. To them, there's no replacing Superman. He's either Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, or he's just a glorified cos-player.

The problem with this inane preference for style over substance is that the world still has a need for Superman's heroics. There are still innocent people to be saved, super-villains to be thwarted, and beautiful brunettes to seduce. And Billy Batson, armed with the power of Shazam, takes it upon himself to carry on that legacy. He has Superman's strength, durability, and physique. He can fly and save children from burning buildings, just as Superman did. He can go toe-to-toe with someone like Ibac and take him out in a way that Superman would gladly approve of. However, that still doesn't feel sufficient and not because of bad marketing either.

It should be overwhelming for anyone attempting to carry on Superman's legacy and not just because of public perceptions. Carrying on any lofty legacy is wrought with pressures that no amount of therapy or life coaching can make easier. But instead of Billy struggling to rise to the challenge before him, he spends more time arguing with Lois Lane. He didn't like that she revealed the truth, even though that's sort of her job and one of her most defining traits as a character. He found it easier to carry on Superman's legacy when the people didn't know why he wore a mask now and just assumed he was emulating Batman.

This alone handicaps his ability to honor that legacy because it's built on deception. And deception isn't really consistent with the whole truth, justice, and the American way values that Superman championed. Lois gives Billy a reason to explain himself, but his explanation is only partially satisfying at best. There's nothing tragic or iconic about it. During the war, Shazam and Black Adam were in a fight to the death. Superman stepped in and saved him. Then he said something about this secret mission and was never heard from again. So at some point after that, Billy decided to take on Superman's mantle. It's only marginally dramatic at best and overly vague at worst.

This is the biggest weakness in Billy Batson's attempt to carry on Superman's legacy. There's not much emotional depth to the moment where he decided to follow in the footsteps of the world's most iconic hero. Superman just saved him in a way he's probably saved everyone in the Justice League at some point. There's no powerful moment where he seeks Superman's blessing or struggles with the idea of trying to carry on such a lofty legacy. It feels like he just changes his costume, puts on a mask, and lets good old fashioned justice do the rest. That might be okay if Superman's legacy was that of a stunt double, but not for someone that's supposed to be a living embodiment of justice.

It also doesn't help that the story about Superman's disappearance remains painfully vague. It remains one of the many unanswered questions about the world of Futures End and answering it here would've definitely given weight to Billy's actions, but by leaving it unanswered it only further limits the impact. It doesn't carry the same emotions as Dick Grayson taking over for Batman. It doesn't even carry the same emotions as Ashton Kutcher replacing Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men. He's just Shazam in a different costume. If Superman had a lawyer, he would have been sued on the spot.

As weak as Billy's efforts to carry on Superman's legacy might be, there is some substance to the narrative. Lois Lane gives him a chance to really scrutinize his actions. He can keep pretending that he's Superman, but he's still Shazam. And there's something more honest about being the hero he already is rather than trying to be the hero that somebody else was. It's something he comes to realize in the end, but it feels a bit too late to make his efforts as a masked Superman feel meaningful.  

Superman: Futures End #1 had unique set of circumstances. The concept of carrying on Superman's legacy has plenty of potential for drama, but little is realized here. It answers few questions and falls flat in critical areas. However, it does show that Billy Batson is capable of being a mature hero. Regardless of the circumstances, Superman was able to inspire him to be that hero and inspiring others will always be Superman's greatest power.

Final Score: 4 out of 10

Evil Triumphs: Justice League #23

The following is my review of Justice League #23, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Reading a typical superhero story these days is like going to a movie that has already been spoiled. The ending is usually a foregone conclusion in that the villains are defeated, the heroes are triumphant, and the right guy ends up with the obligatory pretty girl. It's a story that has played out so many times that it has come to be expected. But what if the hero didn't succeed? What if evil won out in the end? It would be like the first Die Hard movie ending with John McClane falling 32 stories off the Nakatomi Tower and the final scene shows Hans Gruber laying on a beach top a pile of money.

This kind of resolution does not sit well with most people. There is almost a pathological need for people to see the heroes win and the villains lose to satisfy some primordial need for good to triumph over evil. Evil triumphs so many times in the real world. Former football stars get acquitted of murder, and nobody on Wall Street went to jail when the economy crashed. In the real world, good only seems to triumph when evil can't pay for an expensive enough lawyer. But when it comes to the modern superhero mythos, it is assumed that the heroes will triumph no matter how devious the villain may be.

For that reason, some people may be disturbed by how Justice League #23 plays out. It is the final chapter in DC's Trinity War event. On the surface, it looked like DC was trying the leech off the success Marvel captured with Avengers vs. X-men. There is a long tradition of comicbook publishers trying to one-up each other like contestants in "Dancing With The Stars" and at the beginning of the event, there were plenty of parallels. Two different teams of heroes clashed over the murder of Dr. Light and from there, Trinity War could have devolved into a typical super-powered WWE brawl, but with slightly less gaudier costumes. In the end this story took a different path and that path leads to an ending that sets it apart from any superhero brawl or Die Hard movie.

Throughout the many conflicts in Trinity War, there has been a sinister figure pulling the strings of the warring Justice Leagues. The identity of that figure has been a mystery, but in Justice League #23 this figure steps into the light and makes his presence known. He doesn't just taunt the leagues for dancing to his tune. This figure essentially brags about how he has been following the Justice League, working behind the scenes, forming connections with his Secret Society, and setting the stage for this final battle. And while the heroes work valiantly to uncover his plot, they fail to stop him. The only thing missing was a sinister Dr. Evil style laugh to taunt all the heroes for doing exactly what he needed them to do.

And what they do is expose the truth about Pandora's Box and the murder of Dr. Light. Even Pandora, the one whose name is attached to the box, had no idea what she was dealing with. Like it has from the beginning of Trinity War, the box corrupts everyone around it. The heroes of every league fail to stop it and they attack each other. And unlike Avengers vs. X-men there are no sides. It's like a bar fight with superpowers wherein petty differences, rivalries, and emotions boil to the surface. It exposes these heroes as petty, insecure, anxiously, and vindictive. It's akin to the downfall of Tiger Woods, a clean cut and upstanding role model being being exposed as having very egregious flaws.

To add insult to injury, a traitor is exposed within the Justice League of America and this traitor reveals that they were never close to solving the mystery about Dr. Light's murder. Even with all their god-like powers and the world's greatest detective on their side, they didn't find out who was behind the spark that triggered this conflict until it was too late. This revelation wounds Cyborg while setting the stage for the true purpose of Pandora's Box. Once again, it is revealed that the Justice League was never even close to figuring out its true nature. They kept treating it like magic, but it wasn't magic. As Arthur C. Clark once articulated, magic is merely science that isn't yet understood. And because the Justice League didn't understand Pandora's Box, they had no hopes of stopping it. They might as well have been trying to fly a plane by channeling ghosts.

In some respects, Pandora's Box still stays true to its mythological origins. While it wasn't the magical source of all evil, it did contain a very potent evil that has now been unleashed within the DC Universe. And since the three leagues were generous enough to soften each other up, this world is now ripe for the taking. There is no deus ex machina. A wizard doesn't appear to undo everything. Nobody reveals they have a secret weapon akin to Bat Shark Repellant. And nobody from an apocalyptic future shows up to warn anybody. The most powerful heroes of the DCU fail and evil prevails.

There's no getting around it. Trinity War is a big loss for the heroes of the DC Universe. Yet it feels like a satisfying loss in the same way that the end of the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back felt like a satisfying loss. Evil did triumph, but the heroes weren't destroyed. They were just humbled. In a sense Trinity War is a how-to guide on humbling beings with god-like power. They were outsmarted, exposed, and turned against one another. Now they have a much bigger threat to deal with and nobody to blame but themselves.

Justice League #23 doesn't just end an event. It forcibly injects humility into the DC Universe's most powerful heroes. It may lack substance in certain areas, but there's no denying its impact. In the end heroes and even demigods don't always win. In the saga of Trinity War, they defeated themselves and now they have to deal with the consequences.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Corruptive Influence: Justice League Dark #23

The following is my review of Justice League Dark #23, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Abstract concepts like evil are difficult to quantify in the same way that it’s difficult to quantify the appeal of boy bands. There’s nothing to count, measure, or touch. It’s like trying to determine the flavor of water in that the concept itself has no depth. But it’s a concept that is often at the center of many famous stories, going all the way back to the days of Greek mythology. In that sense, it’s fitting that the primary source of evil in DC’s latest event, “Trinity War”, has been Pandora’s Box.

Even in the DC universe, evil that takes form and substance is difficult to deal with. I’m sure Superman would much rather be punching Brainiac’s head off than having to deal with being poisoned by some ancient box that was literally shoved into his hands. Even for Superman, a tangible object imbued with pure evil is too much to handle. In that is a theme that has played out in many different ways throughout “Trinity War”. And as Justice League Dark #23 demonstrates, such an object is too much for even the entire Justice League to handle.

Like foolish hikers that chase after a bear that just mauled a herd of deer, the Justice League and the Justice League of America fight over possession of Pandora’s Box. And not surprisingly, they had no better luck at avoiding the influence of the box than Superman. It corrupts the likes of Wonder Woman and Shazam, two heroes that, like Superman, are supposed to be personifications of all things good. Yet this object that isn’t much bigger than a laptop corrupts Earth’s most powerful heroes to the point where a good portion of the comic consists of them fighting over possession of the box. It’s like Lord of the Rings if Hobbits had superpowers.

But “Trinity War” hasn’t just focused on ancient artifacts that can corrupt angels and demigods. Other sources of corruption have emerged within each respective league. Amanda Waller and the Justice League of America may not be as evil as a sinister ancient box forged by actual gods, but the corruption behind their heroics is every bit as damaging. Now Waller’s intentions have been exposed for both leagues. She organized the JLA to effectively counter the Justice League, right down to picking heroes with certain abilities that would match or neutralize certain members in the opposing league. She even had Firestorm learn to make kryptonite with his powers. What makes it all the more distressing to both leagues is that she did this in secret. And the JLA doesn’t take too kindly to this revelation. I doubt anyone would blame Green Arrow for threatening to shoot Waller with one of his non-boxing glove arrow.

This kind of hidden agenda is something that is only possible under the guise of corruption. However, it’s not the same corruption caused by Pandora’s Box. The entire conflict behind “Trinity War” has been fueled by suspicion and paranoia about how supremely powerful beings such as Superman can be controlled if they ever became corrupt. It’s a very real and logical concern for those who aren’t more powerful than a locomotive. And to an extent, Amanda Waller was vindicated at the beginning of “Trinity War” when Superman was corrupted by Pandora’s Box. Like Dean Rooney in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, she was right in the grand scheme of things.

Waller may claim ignorance in the face of hostility from both the Justice League and the JLA, but on some levels she has to know that she was right. Superman was corrupted and because of that, he may have killed someone. Even though it was revealed several issues ago that there is another sinister force working behind the scenes, it is still a clear manifestation of Waller’s concerns. If there was no plan in place to deal with a corrupted Superman, who or what could possibly stop him? He’s Superman and his power is nothing short of god-like. Yet he’s not a god in that he can be corrupted, as Pandora’s Box has shown. So why shouldn’t there be a plan in place to deal with him and his team of demigods?

While this recourse makes intuitive sense, it too is prone to corruption. And that’s exactly how it plays out in this issue. Each Justice League team fights for control of Pandora’s Box, getting corrupted along the way, until they eventually reach Madam Xanadu, who was imprisoned before she could uncover the secrets of Pandora’s Box. She is the one that finally reveals the source behind the power of the box. This also leads to the reveal of the sinister figure who has been manipulating all three leagues from the beginning. And at this point, he doesn’t even need to hide anymore. The damage has been done and he didn’t even have to do that much. Unlike Lex Luthor, this nameless figure works smart and lets heroes destroy themselves so he doesn’t have to. It may seem like a lazier form of evil, but there’s no denying its effectiveness.

This is the most telling message of “Trinity War”. In attempting to create a balance of power between the Justice League and the JLA, both sides became corrupted. Paranoia and fear created the circumstances under which Pandora’s Box could be so effective. It didn’t have to be an object of pure evil. It just needed to give these heroes the right nudge to start attacking one another. In doing so, the corruption ensured that they couldn’t figure out whom or what they were dealing with until it was too late.

Justice League Dark #23 offers a painful lesson about what happens when corruption blinds otherwise good people. Even superheroes with all their power end up playing into the hands of a skilled manipulator. The scale of the conflict and the potential for it to get worse help this issue up the stakes in “Trinity War” to extreme levels. It also shows that while kryptonite is Superman’s greatest weakness, corruption is the greatest weakness to every hero, no matter how powerful they are

Final Score: 9 out of 10

It Was All Building To This: Justice League #22

The following is my review of Justice League #22, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Colonel Hannibal Smith of the A-Team was right to love it when a plan came together. A well-orchestrated convergence of details and timing is a beautiful thing. Every great story demonstrates this to some degree. From Shakespeare to Michael Bay movies, the value and appeal of a story is predicated on its ability to bring multiple elements and plots together into a single, unified product.

However, there’s a trade-off for the kinds of plans that the A-Team are so good at crafting. There’s an exceedingly narrow window for convergence in a story. Move too fast and key details are lost, which is akin to Murdock crashing the helicopter. Move too slow and those details lose their meaning, which is akin to Mr. T taking a wrong turn during a car chase with mobsters. DC often sets itself apart from Marvel by saturating their stories with details. That’s what was presented with Flashpoint and that’s what has been promised with “Trinity War”. Justice League #22 marks the beginning of “Trinity War” and a convergence of numerous details that have been unfolding between the panels.

In this story, characters such as Shazam and Pandora, who have been background characters since the New 52 began, finally play an active role in a much larger story. Those who have been following Justice League finally get some payoff for the Shazam origin story that appended the end of every Justice League comic for the past year. In wake of Shazam’s defeat of Black Adam, he must make a fateful decision on what to do with the ashes of Black Adam. It is this decision that creates the circumstances that put the Justice League and the competing Justice League of America in the deserts of Khandaq. And it feels all the more fitting that this decision is rendered by a pre-pubescent boy whose understanding of global politics doesn’t extend beyond World of Warcraft.

But that isn’t the only plot that leads to the convergence of the Justice League and the JLA. Pandora, whose story has been unfolding in other books, also enters the picture when she approaches Superman about her mythical box. Having been a shadow in the New 52 since its inception, it’s refreshing, albeit overdue, to see her contribute to a major story. And it’s partially because of her actions that Superman ends up throwing the first punch in the “Trinity War”. In addition, visions with Madam Xanadu offer a telling insight into how badly this war ends. It doesn’t feel like a spoiler, but it does give the reader an idea of how badly this could go.

The clash between the two leagues and the subsequent impact on the reader can either be this issue’s greatest appeal or its greatest flaw. In the past, DC’s strongest events involved stories that casual readers could pick up and understand what was going on even if they hadn’t been following the issues leading up to it. This was part of what made Blackest Night so appealing to many readers and stories like Infinite Crisis fodder for angry readers on message boards. Justice League #22 is not quite on the same level as Blackest Night, but it is in the same zip code.

Readers who have been following Justice League and nothing else will feel rewarded for their dedication. Readers who have been following only Justice League of America will feel just as rewarded. But casual readers who haven’t been following either series closely will still get something out of this one issue. It doesn’t offer every detail about Pandora or Shazam or the Justice League’s recent activity in Khandaq, but it offers enough to make the story both coherent and epic. It’s basically a comic that fans of Avatar and Pulp Fiction could get behind.

That said, casual fans may still be at a disadvantage. Without knowing the details surrounding Shazam or the recent story about Superman and Wonder Woman’s activities in Khandaq, the impact of this story might be lost. Taken from the perspective of someone who is just curious about DC, who also happen to be the segment of the market that comic book publishers covet the most, this issue takes the form of just another superhero mash-up. And in a market where events like Marvel’s Civil War and Avengers vs. X-men are still fresh in peoples’ minds, this may be a major turnoff. Lately, it seems as though big events can only happen when heroes fight each other. It’s getting to the point where readers might suspect that the villains in comics are getting lazy.

But what keeps the first issue of “Trinity War” from echoing the same sentiment as Avengers vs. X-men is the ending. Even casual readers will feel the impact of the ending because it gives a clear and definitive message about the story. It’s not just about two teams of heroes fighting. Someone devious is pulling the strings and with DC’s upcoming villain month, it reassures readers that the villains in comics are not getting lazy. They’re just working smarter and not harder.

There are lots of appealing aspects about “Trinity War” and Justice League #22 demonstrates nearly all of them in a neatly contained package. The challenge now is to not overwhelm the readers with too many details and tie-ins, which DC has a nasty habit of doing. For now, at least, Trinity War is off to a promising start. Everything that has been unfolding in the DC universe is starting to come together and like the A-Team, there’s a lot to love about a plan that comes together.

Final Score: 9 out of 10