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Written by: Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson
Art by: Daniel Sampere, Dan Mora, Wes Craig
Colors by: Tamra Bonvillain, Alejandro Sanchez
Letters by: Steve Wands
Cover art by: Daniel Sampere, Alejandro Sanchez (dual covers)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: October 2, 2024
Is DC All In Special #1 Good?
DC All In Special #1 may arguably be the most important comic for DC in the last five years or more. Why? Because it sets the stage for the new status quo of Earth after the events of Absolute Power and explains the foundations of the Absolute imprint, which DC creators have pushed hard for its unique takes on the Holy Trinity. Well, you certainly get an explanation for the creation of the Absolute Universe, but the gimmicky comic construction, disparate art between the two halves of the book, and wonky explanations don't quite generate the excitement DC was hoping for.
Disclaimer: The events of DC All In Special #1 take place after the Absolute Power finale. You don't need to know how Absolute Power #4 ends to get the gist of what's happening, except that all of Earth's heroes are back to normal. That said, you may find it preferable to read Absolute Power #4 first before reading this comic. DC All In Special #1 is broken up into two comics that converge at a single point. The first comic centers on the reformation of the Justice League Unlimited 52 days after a pivotal event. The second comic focuses on the pivotal event and the 52 days leading up to the collision with the Justice League Unlimited. I'll cover each separately since each is created by separate creative teams (and it shows).
DC All In Special #1 is broken up into two comics that converge at a single point. The first comic centers on the reformation of the Justice League Unlimited 52 days after a pivotal event. The second comic focuses on the pivotal event and the 52 days leading up to the collision with the Justice League Unlimited. I'll cover each separately since each is created by separate creative teams (and it shows).
52 Days Later
So far, the issue is off to a solid start. Presumably, Scott Snyder wrote this first half, and it's as good a way to inaugurate the Justice League Unlimited as anyone could expect. Snyder's choice of words for Superman's narration creates a vibe of hope and optimism, and you can see that optimism reflected in the reactions of the lesser heroes who get an invite, such as Blue Beetle and Roy Harper.
The issue switches to the focal point of the first half - Booster Gold. Booster feels lost of late and considers returning to his own time when Superman offers him a JLU card. Booster immediately accepts because he recognizes the card as a pivotal historic milestone from museum displays in his future. Later, Booster attends an orientation meeting at the new Watchtower to hear about the wonderous operations that will serve this new era of the JLU.
Why Booster Gold was chosen as the focal character will become clear shortly, and I like that Booster finally has a chance to be given a challenge much greater than anything he's faced before. So far, I'm on board with where this story is going.
Suddenly, alerts sound during the orientation meeting. Darkseid, missing a hand and bonded with Spectre, emerges from a tear in space/time. The collective of heroes leap into action. The magic wielders know the only chance to stop Darkseid is to separate him from Spectre, so they cast a spell on the only being who could contain that amount of magic and face Darkseid - Superman. The gambit worked, but tearing Spectre from Darkseid destroyed the latter and created a rift in reality to a new aspect of the multiverse created from Darkseid energy - The Elseworld, aka Alpha World, aka the Absolute Universe.
Now, the mission is set. Unfortunately, Alpha World has an unstable time flow, so the only heroes who can step foot in this new world are time travelers. Booster volunteers to pay Alpha World a ten-minute visit, gather data, and return via a tether Mr. Terrific created for Skeets. Of course, the recon mission doesn't go as planned.
Overall, the first half of DC All In Special #1 is well done with a fairly solid concept, excellent art by Daniel Sampere, and a threat that feels big enough to warrant the formation of a new Justice League. That said, everything following Darkseid's "death by cop" suicide attack and the explanations for what happens afterward feel rushed, convenient, and mildly forced.
52 Days Earlier
Why? Well, he's where the issue gets convoluted and messy.
Darkseid is desperate to find out how and where he felt the surge of energy, so he begins searching for the one man to answer his question - Jim Corrigan, aka The Spectre. Since Spectre is the Wrath of God, he is the only being who could grant Darkseid the power to break creation. In his search for Spectre, Darkseid encounters an assortment of beings determined to stop Darkseid from getting to Spectre, including Eclipso, Zauriel, and the Quintessence.
Why? These powerful beings all know that Darkseid is the check and balance to hope and life. Darkseid is because reality requires him to be. The surge he felt was a result of the multiverse severing and part of the Darkseids inhabiting every universe rushing back to him. Darkseid has been weak lately because last year's DC events collapsed the Ominiverse into a plain Multiverse, so his weakness is a natural artifact of the multiverse correcting itself.
But Darkseid has other ideas.
Darkseid believes that if he can untether himself as a corrective balance to the multiverse, all Darkseid's will collapse into a single being and become the Absolute Darkseid. To accomplish this task, Darkseid must bond with Spectre against his will using the "wish machine," pierce the veil between realities to find a group of heroes powerful enough to destroy him and be reborn as a singular being, untethered from the multiverse with a world built from his collected energy.
The second half dovetails into the ending of the first half with a titanic fight, Booster Gold taking on a dangerous recon mission, and the time-displaced hero finding something that spells big trouble (no spoilers on what he finds).
Overall, the second half of the DC All In Special #1 is far more convoluted and messy than the first half. Joshua Williamson aims for high-brow narration with Darkseid, but the mountain of mental shenanigans you have to work out to figure out Darkseid's plan will give you a headache, and Wes Craig's thick, sketchy lines don't hold a candle to Sampere's work in the first half.
What's great about DC All In Special #1? Putting aside the wildly inconsistent continuity and the mental gymnastics needed to make it all work, the core idea has merit. Earth Prime (or whatever DC is calling the mainline Earth) is aware of an Elseworld Earth where the Absolute lineup can be told without canonical restrictions while still creating a pathway for the Elseworld characters to interact with the mainline characters in a way that makes sense. This construct realigns the multiverse into a system for more Elseworlds stories with crossover potential.
Admittedly, readers may argue that this idea makes the multiverse more convoluted than it already is, but I appreciate the attempt to try and make lemonade from those lemons.
Also, the highlight of this issue is a bit of long-overdue character growth for Booster Gold. It's one thing to arrive as a self-centered buffoon, but he hasn't changed much from that reputation in years. It's good to see Booster grow up a little and have those steps of maturity recognized.
What's not great about DC All In Special #1? The comic is a mixed bag for all the reasons mentioned above and more.
The art and writing quality is vastly different between the first half and the second half.
Darkseid's path to Absolute Power (Oy!) doesn't make sense when you consider he built a "wish machine." Why go through all the trouble of piercing the veil and allowing himself to be killed when he can simply wish for a new existence?
Darkseid's path to Absolute Power (Oy!) lessens the character because he doesn't pursue his goals for any reason other than he wants to. When he encounters resistance from Eclipso and the Quintessence and Zauriel, they offer everything he's ever wanted to convince him to stop. By refusing the gifts that serve as the foundation of his motivations, Darkseid becomes a one-dimensional character who only wants power simply to have it. Darkseid had wants and desires that motivated his personality, so taking those desires away removes his motivations, making him less fully formed.
The explanation for the creation of Alpha World, Darkseid's predicament, and everything that comes after is not only a mess, but it uses the bits and pieces of DC events over the last few years to form a foundation for how it happened. It's fair to say almost every one of those events was a flop, from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths to Knight Terrors, so why build the next era of DC history on a faulty foundation? Everyone would rather forget Knight Terrors ever happened, so let's stop referencing it.
In effect, you get a double-sized comic at a standard cover price that's half okay. To be generous, this issue is mediocre. If DC All In Special #1 is meant to be the most important comic to set the foundation for DC going forward, DC is not off to the absolute best start.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
DC All In Special #1 begins a new era for the reformed Justice League just in time for Darkseid to hatch his most diabolical plan yet. Broken up into two comics as a gimmick works in theory, but the execution is far from perfect, with the first half stumbling toward the end and a second half that delivers much less quality overall when compared to the first. This was supposed to be DC's most important comic in years, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
6/10
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