Villains' Month And Forever Evil - One Last Look

Villains' Month is now officially behind us but there were a couple of small things which I wanted to cover here. Now one thing I very much like. The other I am cringing at a bit. Both warrant some coverage. And I thought I would bullet cover the other issues I bought that month.



Forever Evil as a whole is what I thought it would be. It is vicious with the usual amount of blood and gore. While there are some mysteries (who is the hooded figure, what invaded Earth-3 forcing these guys to come here, where is the Justice League), overall the story hasn't grabbed me. And as I thought, since 'evil is relative', Lex Luthor is viewed as the hero here despite releasing Bizarro and having him tear an innocent security guard apart.



Will Forever Evil end with a brighter more optimistic DCU when the heroes return? Who knows.

I suppose it is my own idiosyncrasies that this panel was my favorite one from Forever Evil #1. And the reason why I love it is because with this Lex Luthor memory, Geoff Johns has put Lena Thorul back into continuity.



Lena has always had a strong connection to Supergirl and so I hope that this isn't a throwaway line. If Lena is mentioned, she should be used.

Lena first appeared in Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #23 but became a recurring Supergirl character in Action Comics #295.



In this issue, Lena shows her patented telepathy obtained by her interaction with a space brain. She doesn't even know she is a Luthor here.

Of course, Lena played a huge role in the classic Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade.



I have covered Lena before on this blog here and there. She is an interesting character with some potential outside of the Silver Age.



I hope that Tony Bedard or whoever is the new long term Supergirl writer picks up on Lena being in continuity and uses her as a supporting character. It would be a nice nod to Supergirl's history.

As for the other moment worth some coverage, it was in Justice League #23.1, Darkseid written by Greg Pak and drawn by Netho Diaz and Paolo Siqueira.



I will say I didn't like this issue too much with Darkseid not being 'created' with the explosion that created New Genesis and Apokolips. Instead, Darkseid is a god-killer on his world, destroying the 'titans' of that planet and gaining their power.

The issue ends on a down note for me and here is the moment I felt I needed to cover.



We see Darkseid in a room of dead Supermen. I guess he has traveled throughout universes killing other Supermen. And then we see this abomination of Superman, stitched up and attached to machines. I can only assume that this is the Superman of Earth 2 who wasn't killed in battle but kept alive and perverted. One thing I liked about Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest was that the Trinity on that planet seemed purer than the New 52 versions and that they sacrificed themselves as heroes should. Now, I suppose, DC is going to make the Superman of Earth 2 a villain, a dupe of Darkseid.



And that just seems wrong.



A few other comments on books I bought in Villains' Month. I will list the books by their villain as I don't know which 23-point-what the issues are off hand.



First the good:



Rogues - I have shied away from Flash in the New 52 but this issue was pretty good, making me think I am going to get the Rogues mini-series.



Killer Frost - great issue by Sterling Gates showcasing a sympathetic villain. Well worth reading.



Riddler - solid stuff by Scott Snyder, showing a psychopathic Riddler



Ra's Al Ghul - a very good story telling Ra's origin, riffing on classic O'Neil/Adams stories, and showing Ra's has a different long-term view about the Earth. He could not care less about the CSA.



First Born - this issue read like another issue of Wonder Woman, working the story into the longstanding arc in the main book. I liked that.



Mongul - fun book recreating a completely ruthless dictator



And the not so good -



Harley Quinn - I want to root for Harley, I want to think she is just misguided. But she kills thousands of people with booby trapped gaming system which seems wrong. Also, in this issue it appears the Joker threw her into an Ace Chemical vat, recreating his origin. Seems needless.



Deadshot - I like his old-school 'rich boy who is psychotic' much more than this 'poor kid witnessing his family's murder'.



Poison Ivy - forgettable



Cheetah - not really a Cheetah book although the inclusion of a Mark Shaw (Manhunter) almost raised this.



Any Villains' month book I miss that I should go out and get?

Posted in: Reviews