Where Art Thou, Owlman?
Written by: Brian Buccellato
Art by: Phil Winslade
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 27, 2015
This book was the one I was looking forward to the most going into the final week of this Convergence Event. The last issue really took me by surprise and even though I am not schooled on either the Crime Syndicate or the DC One Million heroes, I was so into the story that Brian Buccellato gave fans. He focused on both teams and both stories were winners. The Crime Syndicate fighting to save Superwoman's life and the Justice Legion Alpha fighting Lincoln Luthor for all their lives were just plain excellent and had me on the edge of my seat. Then the Dome went down and we were left with two teams facing off to save cities that want them dead. If that isn't an awesome setup I don't know what is. Does this issue live up to that awesomeness? Let's find out...
After my favorite opener the last issue, Buccellato switches sides and we get a little history of the Justice Legion Alpha care of Wonder Woman. It wasn't as good as Superwoman's introspective narrative from last month, but it does set the stage well for what's to come...and possibly after.
We then get down to the fight at hand. After such good character moments up until now, the actual fight is very lackluster. In fact, I really didn't like it at all. We get some decent moments...Aquaman vs Power Ring, Owl Man and Batman facing off, but the highlight for me was Ultraman versus Wonder Woman. Why was this my favorite? Because we get to see Wonder Woman kick that jerk's ass. It also leads to the big twist of the issue.
After Wonder Woman beats up Ultraman, Owl Man shows up and is the last remaining member of the Syndicate still standing. He doesn't have much fight left in him, mainly because he doesn't want to save the city that took the life of his love, Superwoman. Not really the hero's choice, but Wonder Woman seizes the opportunity and knocks him out just as Superwoman shows up. Superwoman...I thought she was dead!
Nope, she gives a pretty forced explanation and then the real hero shows up...the Earthquake. This happened once before (in Wonder Woman) and I hated it then as much as here. Superwoman and Wonder Woman are engulfed by the earthquake and the issue ends with Wonder Woman (I think) crawling out of the rubble to be the victor. The issue closes with my least favorite ending..."The End?", but it's fitting here because I wasn't really sure what the hell was going on.
This may be my most disappointing issue of this entire event. Part of the reason is that I was looking so forward to it, but it's also because it was a confusing mess. I wish I could just go back to the first issue and pretend this never happened.
I really liked Phil Winslade's art last issue and while I still enjoyed the retro goodness this month, it was very confusing at times. The worst part was at the end where I think I know who survived, but if you told me I was wrong, I wouldn't argue with you.
Bits and Pieces:
After such a great first issue, this one falls flat on its face. I don't know if it was because of the time constraint or being held captive by the Event itself, but this was my most disappointing issue in the entire Event. There wasn't much of a story and what we got felt rushed and forced. The art was still retro, but it was also very confusing. Not a good issue at all.
4.5/10
Why is that, in most of the Convergence comics, the defining earthquake seems like a mild tremor but in this comic it seems like a genuine cataclysm? And that's just one of the problems. I don't think I disliked it as much as you, but I did find it lame. And I found the art very lacking, way more unpolished than last issue.
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