Better Red Than Dead
Written By: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason
Art By: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz, Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 15, 2017
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
We're now at part three of a four part story and besides for Mxyzptlk coming out and saying that he's been the human Clark Kent this whole time, this Superman crossover has kind of come off as a bust to me so far. Yeah, it's cool to finally know what was up with the human Clark Kent and all that, but the explanation felt cheap to me because with Mxy being behind the whole deal that means that anything can pretty much be explained away by magic and everything loses a bit of legitimacy because of it. On top of that, there's a whole lot of continuity errors between these stories that are just down right pissing me off, but hopefully they're all explained away by revealing that there's something else to this story besides the 5th Dimensional imp running amok. Let's jump into this issue and see how Superman combats Mxyzptlk now that he's made it so the world has forgotten about Jon. Let's check it out.
Explain It!:
Our issue begins with us seeing a recap of Jon being taken away from his parents by the blue ghost fire that turned out to be Mxyzptlk, but unlike what we saw in the previous issue, where Mxyzptlk sat Jon down and played a game with him while waiting for Superman to find him, instead we see Jon floating in a void of nothingness, where two balls of red energy eventually find him and start talking to him............ you know, because why not.
While Jon ponders why those two energy balls sound like his parents, Superman and Lois have to work their way through a game board designed to look like the Daily Planet in order to get to their son, but even though Mxy tells us that inside is a place where physics and logic have no rules............ I still don't know what this game is because we see clips of things that look like pieces from Superman and Lois' past, but eventually Lois and Clark make it to the top, where they were told that Jon was being held inside the globe of the Daily Planet, or in this case, the globe of the Infinite Planet as Mxy likes calling it. Yeah, it doesn't seem like Mxy is too happy about Superman and Lois making their way to the top because to him there was no way for them to win the game. When the whole thing started, Superman started glowing blue like we've seen him do in the past and this represented his energy, but the longer he took to get to the top, the more of the energy would dissipate and when it was all gone, Superman would forget about Jon.
In the end, Jon hearing his parents get to the top, but not being able to remember who he is gets him to say that he's had enough and with the help of the two red energy balls, Jon breaks free of the globe and rushes down to save his parents before they fall to their death, but as the issue closes, it seems that he's done something way more than save them, he's fused the red energy with them, making them look like the New 52 Superman and Lois............. which this issue inferred the whole time, but it's so weird to me to think that the Pre-Flashpoint Superman was somehow split into the Red and Blue, making the New 52 Superman act rashly like the qualities of the red energy, while Pre-Flashpoint Superman takes his time and thinks things through like the blue energy.
That's it for this issue of Superman and boy does DC have some explaining to do to get them out of the corner they've painted themselves into. I mean, we already have Mxyzptlk involved which means we're already going to have a bunch of nonsense thrown at us that doesn't need to be explained because "Mxyzptlk" and now out of nowhere because we didn't have enough on our plates, the red energy of Superman has come to the pocket dimension created by Mxy......... which was previously in a dream being had by Lana Lang in the Superwoman book........... really, things are just happening because and because I personally would like some closure about what's going, I hope that we get more of an explanation about how everything works in this Reborn story because the continuity between each book even seems to be a bit willy nilly. While the art in this issue was great like it always is, I have to say that I actually downright hate the way that Gleason draws Mxy. There's just something about it that I really don't like and while the imp is supposed to come off goofy and playful for the most part, the way he looks here is just scary like a garbage pail kid and I don't want to see him anymore.
Bits and Pieces:
We're getting more reveals thrown our way, but by the end of the issue it really just comes off like everything is just being thrown at us all willy nilly whether it makes sense or not and I don't know how we're going to get a fulfilling ending with just one more issue left to this Reborn story. The art in this issue was really good, but there's something about the way that Gleason draws our antagonist that creeps me the hell out and I hope we don't have to see him anymore.
6.5/10
Gleason's choice to draw Mr. Mxyzptlk as a hybrid between a cabbage patch doll and Smeagol isn't random. He achieved to increase the chill factor and upgrade his whimsical menacing side. If you stare into his eyes for too long you feel like he will steal your soul. I always loved the imps of the 5th dimension and it is high time they got involved in some serious content that progresses the story. If DC finds a creative way to somehow connect Mr. Mxy's origin with a part of Grant Morrison's tale from new 52 and bring back his nemesis Vyndktvx then 5th dimension won't be a joke anymore. Also have missed Qwsp the Aquaman pest.
ReplyDeleteSo N52 and pre52 are the same universe but between convergence changing the first crisis and doctor Manhattan stealing the 10 years we end up with a young superman red and an older superman blue, superwomans dream works because she has Red's energy inside her, what i am really curious about is now they are whole what does that mean for their personalities/memories
ReplyDeleteMy inference from solicits is that next issue of Action handles the merger and resolution with Mxy but next month's Action, Trinity, and Wonder Woman annual deal with what the effects on history will be.
ReplyDeleteCurrent favorite theory is that the electric Red/Blue Supermen never remerged. Blue went on to have the 2000s adventures. Red was abducted circa Superman Forever and placed in the New 52. When they re-merge, their histories will get fused, maybe with the New 52 adventures being assigned to Superman's Red half.
Next month's Action promises the life story of Superman. Trinity has him explain what Oz did to him. Then Action has a Hank Henshaw Cyborg Superman/New 52 Zod team-up. Superman appears to have the return of Manchester Black. Wonder Woman annual tells how Superman and Wonder Woman first met.
Don't forget Henshaw is a player in this. He created Red and Blue pre-Flashpoint. In this story, he was shown as a human government agent in the Fortress of Solitude. My guess is that next week, history gets shuffled and Hank magically becomes Hank-as-Cyborg as history reverts to pre-Flashpoint, mostly, for Superman.
The upcoming Supergirl issue which has Superman team up with Supergirl against Emerald Empress while looking for the Legion probably matters. As it will likely retell how Superman and Supergirl first met and have Superman interested in finding his old Legion friends to help set history right.
Correction Hank Henshaw is already something far lethal than a tin man. Hyathis knows to what extend the Oblivion Stone has transformed him. Question is when this ticking bomb explodes.
DeleteI prefer DC before flashpoint and phew 52, only some stories were notable and Aquaman's face lift. New 52 is a failed experiment that made the classic universe unrecognizable and tried to merge all acquired publications into a gigantic tumor that ultimately evolved into cancer for DC.
I have actually really liked the N52. But the there is a problem with this dc continuity. And that's the fact that they are trying to revert it back to Pre flashpoint continuity. You can't have the best of both worlds, one or the other. Trying to have both now after dc established the n52 continuity is a growing problem, because that means retconing shot which takes away from the world building and character development that this new continuity has been showing us. The N52 is a New universe dc, stop try to turn it back into the old one.
DeleteThen you must stand alone with that preference. Flushpoint and phew 52 destroyed everything only Batman and Green Lantern survived its retconning schemes. DC realized their mistakes with the puny regressive progressions and race switches and swept everything under the mat with Rebirth. Keep telling yourself it's not a reboot toward classic continuity. Even your favorite Red Hood is back to his former self. Also no Wildstorm is part of the main DC universe anymore and any weird fusion experiments are thrown away.
DeleteMidnighter and Apollo are still in main DC Universe. I LOVED the New 52 and while some books weren't great, I liked the variety at the beginning of it. It did last 5 years before Rebirth and Rebirth was more because of the DC YOU than New 52, if you ask me...Robo Batman, Superman Truth, Batgirling of the DCU were all DC YOU mistakes.
DeleteThe erase of Wally West, New 52 crappy Superman, broken and forgotten relationships of the classic heroes like the original Teen Titans that never existed, the awful new 52 Hawkman and first volume Deathstroke, the depressing Captain Atom and Firestorm, the dismantling of Wildstorm legacy with nonsensical Stormwatch and faux Team 7 that destroyed the Authority and Gen13 continuity, the pre-Lemire godawful run of Green Arrow, the entire new 52 Catwoman series, Scott Lobdell's Teen Titans run that killed the comic, the Ravagers flop, the horrible run of Vend-Jensen in Flash, new 52 twilight slick Lobo, new 52 Red Hood and the outlaws, the Earth 2 travesty were all products of Flushpoint and I'm glad they were flushed away for good. The only good books new 52 produced were Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Demon Knights, Dial-H , Wonder Woman by Azzarello and Chiang and the DC You gave us three novelties with Grayson, Martian Manhunter and The Omega Men. Midnighter and Apollo are one foot in one out of the unofficial DCU and that's because they contribute to the LGBTQAI aspect of DC's comics but to me they belong with Wildstorm and always will be.
DeleteThis smells of retconing bullshit, this event to just to get n52 Clark Kent identity Retconed out of everyone's mind. Mxy is just like another fucking Somnus Satilite, mind wiping Identities. Just proving there are no stakes in this series. I hate Retcons
ReplyDeleteI'm w Anthony here .... what is the point of dragging out red and blue superman again , its a much better book w the N52 characters of Lois and Clark dead.
DeleteSo what Mxy took the red energy of Supes and Lois when they died and hid it? Then went to play with PreFlashpoint and got caught? Then became Clark? This literally makes no God damn sense
That Mxyzptlk smile is going to haunt me for weeks
ReplyDeleteEveryone is so angry about Myxy being involved, but this isn't the first time he's really gone full on crazy (I refer you to Allan Moore's Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow, the final bronze age Superman before John Byrne's Man of steel mini) Honestly, I'm enjoying this for what it is, and I'm excited for just one Superman again. They've set up all the ducks to allow Superman to resume being Clark Kent without everyone thinking/knowing he's Superman. There will be some changes, but I say hell yeah the New 52 Super-family was shit...i would rather lick an animals backside after it poops than EVER have to look at New 52 Super characters again (this from someone that HAD an unbroken run of ALL Superman related comics from 1978 until the 8th issues of the New 52 bullshit where they ruined Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy) Rebirth revitilized me and my collection once again and I'm happy for the first time in 6 years to see where DC is going.
ReplyDeleteAmen! I will build a statue or a bust of yours to honor your logic and celebrate your honesty. New 52 was toilet paper. Geoff Johns has admitted that phew 52 has made a mess and was very too ''cynical'' of a universe which translates to bullcrap. That's why Pandora the new 52 orchestrator waved us buh bye and blew up as a metaphor.
DeleteAmen to the Amen! I will build a statue to your statue of a statue! Phew to the Spew 52 of the doo doo! Pandora went done and done gone us a fly by buh bye of a cynical bullcrap that's the pinnacle of a bear trap.
DeleteYou are a snappy problem-solver!
ReplyDeleteThis made me smile!
ReplyDelete