The World's Greatest Super-Villians
It's an exciting time to be an Earth-3 fan because it's a brand new ballgame with who our Crime Syndicate characters are, what they look like, and even who's a part of the team. That's right, with the Multiverse being reborn after the end of Death Metal, everyone, even the worst of the worst on Earth-3 gets another chance and Andy Schmidt has the task to build not only a new version of the Crime Syndicate but the world they inhabit. Let's hope that six issues are enough to really get the job done. Let's jump into this issue and see the formation of the mirror images of our favorite superheroes. Let's check it out.
While I love continuity and the ability to see patterns or callbacks to things that have come before, I also love just being able to sit back and enjoy something new and blossoming in front of me where I don't have to constantly wonder if things are exactly right with what's come before and with this Earth-3... It's all new and all different as we see our Crime Syndicate members laid out before us as they're eventually brought together to take on a common threat....... mostly because it would be fun to torture and kill it.
With this brave new world of evil before us, we do see that Ultraman, Superwoman, and Owlman are essentially the same in both look and backstory... yeah there are some differences here and there but they're only minor, while Power Ring is now John Stewart of this world and the new concept that there's a Power Ring Corps in this Universe that is ruled by the Overlords of Oa. That's cool and different and I can't wait to learn more about that, not to mention the redesigned Atomica and Johnny Quick, who we saw as a couple during Forever Evil, but besides for knowing they have a new look here, we don't know much about them yet. This is a fun first issue that's establishing these villains and this world and as of right now I just hope we have enough time to fully explore everything as we see the new formation of the Crime Syndicate.
All in all, I enjoyed the art in this issue and my only real complaint is that I wish the colors were a little less drab throughout, but beyond that, I had a fun time looking at this book and the new designs for these characters I love. Speaking of these characters, the story did a fine job of trying to give every member of the Crime Syndicate their individual time to shine, while also establishing a bit of backstory as it went along, and ultimately, I feel that this was a fun and exciting first issue that's doing it's damnest to try and establish a new Earth-3 and a new Crime Syndicate at the birth of their team and it's pretty damn exciting and it's pretty damn fun. I don't know how much of a fan of these characters you have to be to really enjoy this since I am one, but from my personal fan experience, this is the book I'm looking forward to the most right now because Future State outcomes of these characters aside, I want them to continue to go on and be as bad as they can be.
Bits and Pieces:
Earth-3 is reborn and with that, the beginnings of the Crime Syndicate are established in this issue and will be told throughout this six-issue mini and if the rest of the mini-series is as fun and enlightening in its character and world-building, this will be a series that will remain my most anticipated each month it comes out. It's a brave new world for the Crime Syndicate, make sure you're there to see it form.
This was my favorite comic of the week. Donna Troy Superwoman is officially my new favorite member of the Crime Syndicate (that technically is not even a team yet as this is the beginning of their 'team' origin. The call backs and visual nostalgia of Ultraman ramming the Daily Planet delivery truck into the publishing building (a la Action Comics #1) and the appearance of Starro (as a way of mirroring the origins of the original silver age Justice League) is icing on a big tasty cake that I fantasize Superwoman jumping out of. Boom!
ReplyDeleteI really liked it too!!!!
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