Freak Comics

So the first Iron Man image has been released by Marvel on the internet. The hilarious thing is Marvel’s piss poor attempt at creating buzz around the image. Their news post screams “Look, we just learned how to use the interwebs for fun and profit!”.
Case in point:
Marvel claims that the image in question recently surfaced. They then go on to point out that “With filming underway, it could be the real deal, but no confirmation has been given.”

How stupid do you think we are, Marvel? Of course confirmation has been given you simps… you just posted it on your site with the Marvel water mark stamped proudly across it!
If you’re going to release an image and make an attempt at a viral marketing campaign, give the image to one of your employees and instruct him / her to give it to a friend who will then post it on his / her blog and say they got it from an inside source who leaked it. Then you act angry that the image was leaked or just keep your mouth shut altogether.
Under no circumstances should you post the image in your official news section and claim no knowledge as to whether or not it’s authentic. Why didn’t you just post a virtual wink while you were at it?

I don’t give a crap what Eddie Berganza says. Supergirl is NOT for girls and this statue pretty much proves it (Warning: this thing is barely work safe… no pun intended).

So girls, what do you think? Want to give the Supergirl series a chance? Yea… I didn’t think so.

Freak Comics embedded source, whose name will remain undisclosed, risked jail time (or at least getting his phone confiscated) earlier today, snapping these restricted photos for us. Click the images for a larger view.

The first one is a nice shot of the Gotham National Bank sign (actually a modified post office on Van Buren in downtown Chicago). The cranes have lights to make it nice and bright inside… perhaps mimicking sunlight.

Next is a larger view of all the cranes.

And finally we see what this scene might be building to:

Looks like a school bus is actually inside of the “bank”. You can see it in the second window. This merely looks like a reflection in the photo, however my source confirms that there was no school bus in sight… rather the bus was inside of the building. To the far right of the photo is a portion of the building that was actually added on for the film (the part of the building which is lower than the rest). It’s built of plywood. According to my source, the bus is facing the fake portion of the building and the cameras are positioned to the left of the bus facing it. It appears that the bus is a getaway vehicle for the robbers and they plan to smash through the phony portion of the building.

I’m hoping to stop by the set and get a few more photos later tonight. They are hard to come by as the security guards are confiscating any recording equipment (including cameras) from anyone who snaps a quick pic.

I just got word that Batman: The Dark Knight, a sequel to Batman Begins, is currently filming some scenes in Chicago. As I type this I am stuck at work, but I have someone at the scene checking things out. He claims to have snapped a few photos with his phone and a couple digital pictures. I’ll be posting these later today.

It seems that the producers have turned the Post Office on Van Buren in to the Gotham Bank… and it’s currently being robbed (possibly by the Joker) with a School Bus which is backed up in to the “bank”.

I’m hoping to get more information throughout the day.

52 has been leading up to this?! Talk about lame.
When reading the press releases and all the hype surrounding World War 3 I was expecting something Earth shattering to happen. In a way it did… Black Adam slaughtered mass amounts of innocent humans in an attempt to get some manner of twisted revenge on the world for the loss of his beloved Isis and her brother Osiris.
In theory this should have been a great comic.
Perhaps I expected too much out of this mini-event, but I can now say that I am disappointed.

Let’s examine the good and the bad. The following does contain spoilers, so you should come back to this article after you’ve read World War two, or do yourself a favor and just read the synopsis of each book (links below).

First up, the good

There are two different aspects of this comic which I would like to cover in this review. Concept, which is the idea behind the execution of this mini-series, and plot which is the actual execution of it.

The Concept

I absolutely love the concept behind World War III. DC nailed it when they said a war between super heroes would be quick. That’s one of the things that Marvel lacked in their Civil War series. They were caught up in the red tape of bureaucracy that they forgot that super heroes settle things with their fists. DC didn’t make that mistake.

The Plot

Black Adam is an awesome character who’s potential has rarely been tapped until now. Seeing the destruction he’s capable of was really cool. I would venture to say that his only equal (outside of Captain Marvel) is the Spectre, and not even Superman (who is susceptible to magic) would be able to stop him.
Killing off Terra and Young Frankenstein was a nice touch as well. I really hate the Teen Titans. My only regret in the fight is that Adam didn’t murder the whole lot of ‘em.
It was also nice to see Infinity Inc. cower in fear when asked to go in to battle. They are weaklings crafted by Luthor and will hopefully be written out altogether very soon.
If you’ve been following Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Checkmate or any of the other crappy new comics that came out after Infinite Crisis, I suppose it’s cool that you got more insight on what happened to these characters prior to the One Year Later storylines.

Now for the bad

This series moved very quickly, which is necessary from the standpoint that this was meant to take place in one week, but it made the comic feel empty and the concept feel shallow. DC would have been better off releasing this as a one-shot issue with all four issues grouped in to one, or release four separate issues but double or triple the length of each. So many separate story lines were attempted to be touched on that it made the over all story feel disjointed. This concept works well in 52 because the writers had a full year to stretch the multiple stories out and truly delve in to each character. World War 3 however tries to cram in as much information as possible in four issues and it just feels wrong.
Also, I stopped following certain characters in the DC Universe months ago, such as the goings on of Checkmate. Others I didn’t bother to pick up (Firestorm and Aquaman). These low sales, boring characters are the side stories that World War 3 attempts to interest us in.
The main story on the other hand, is that of Black Adam murdering people, and super heroes attempting to stop him. This is could have been a good story if we perhaps had some manner of character development on the supporting cast, outside of the Martian Manhunter. Instead the main story was little more than a 4 issue brawl; an extension of the fight which we already read about in 52 issue #50. In short, it was a money maker and little else.

What find to be rather humorous is this week’s DC Nation column which says in part:

“That’s why this week, in conjunction with 52 #50, we have four one-shots designed to cover the deep-reaching changes the war caused. In these books, you can see the effects of the war on the Teen Titans, Firestorm, Supergirl, Batgirl, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and so many others.”

Deep reaching changes huh?
Teen Titans, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman I’ll buy. Their lives were pretty well changed in the events of WWIII. But Firestorm, Supergirl and Batgirl? Not at all.
Let’s take a look at these three:
Firestorm merges with Firehawk. I suppose this is going to be permanent? I also suppose I’m expected to give a crap? Firestorm is a boring character. If this merger with Firehawk is actually “deep reaching” in some way then I guess I’m wrong, but seriously… it’s not that exciting.
Supergirl, according to book 3, was “mysteriously divided, and one of her selves has fallen to Earth, while the other remains lost in space”. Oh good… more dual Kara personalities. That’s not all that “deep reaching” is it? It’s not even much of a change. We’ve already seen a split Supergirl before the Infinite Crisis ended!.
Batgirl? You’ve got to be kidding me. She was in 3 pages… 5 max. And it involved Deathstroke trying to manipulate her way of thinking about being a hero. You can’t seriously consider that a “deep reaching change”. Perhaps a prelude to a “deep reaching change” but no real event took place. There were words exchanged and that was pretty much the extent of it.

52 has been nothing short of a masterpiece. Word War 3 was nothing short of filler that resulted in a little extra cash for DC to line their pockets with.

(check out my synopsis of each book written earlier today: Book One, Book Two, Book Three, Book Four and a review of 52 #50 which kicks off the war)

Check out a summary of Book One, Book Two and Book Three.Lookout below for spoilers.

Black Adam is finally taken down by the Justice Society and the rest of the heroes from America all upon China’s soil. This is pretty much just an extended battle scene from the pages of 52 #50. We do gain a bit more insight as to how Black Adam was distracted long enough to be changed in to his original form by Captain Marvel in a surprise attack. The Martian Manhunter entered Black Adam’s mind once more and flooded it with the horrors of the destruction of Mars and of all the victims whose lives were claimed by Adam.
In the end, Martian Manhunter claims that in the “moment of searing heat and pain” that severed his psychic link to Black Adam, he both “died and was reborn”. He will no longer deny what he is… J’onn J’onzz. The Manhunter from Mars.

Meanwhile above Earth on the Monitor Satellite, we Monitors discussing the fate of the planet and of it’s heroes. They make the ominous claim that “They must evolve or they will not be prepared. Their darkest hour has not yet arrived.” Presumably this is what Countdown 52 will be leading up to.

Check out WWIII Book One and Book Two summaries first. Spoilers are next.

In week 50 day 5 the Justice Society are busy cleaning up in the wake of Black Adam, and trying to help his victims.In Greece at the Parthenon Black Adam squares off against the Teen Titans. It’s a pretty one sided battle that ends with Young Frankenstein getting his arms ripped off.

On day 6 the obnoxious Teen Titans confront Adam once more. This time it’s an arial battle high above the Himalayas. This battle ends with yet another dead Titan, as Black Adam power punches his fist through Terra’s chest… and right out of her back!

Throughout this issue Martian Manhunter walks cloaked among the people of the Earth observing events as they happen. At the end he reveals his true identity to the police at the precinct house in Denver, Colorado where he used to pose as detective John Jones.
After that he travels to his former base of operations, the Terrel Building and burns it all down.

Watching the Teen Titans attempt to battle Black Adam was truly a gratifying sight. I really hate them so it was fun to see them get utterly decimated by a demigod.

Earlier today I summarized World War III Book One: A Call to Arms. As was mentioned in that article, spoilers will abound in these summaries, so skip over them if you’re planning on reading World War 3. I’ll be doing an overall review later tonight.

In World War III Book One, we left off with the Martian Manhunter hugging his knees while floating in space, and mentally tapping in to the goings on of Earth.
In Book Two: The Valiant, Supergirl returns from the future and we gain more insight on Aquaman. His ocean lair is disturbed by humans who wind up in the sea, but somehow are kept alive (some force of magic perhaps). Aquaman asks the sea gods for help, and they give him a power that he can’t control to rid the ocean of humans. After using this power he is transformed in to a strange creature with a water arm.

As in book one, a few smaller events are touched upon:
Harvey Dent fights Croc and appears to strangle him to death and Deathstroke tries to manipulate Batgirl.

At the end of the book the Martian Manhunter gains gathers himself together and prepares to fight.

World War 3 Began today with the release of 52 #50. This is the mini event that 52, the weekly series from DC Comics, has been leading up to for the past year.
This review will be littered with spoilers, so turn back now and wait for the review if you want to read this series and be surprised.

Book One begins in Week 45 Day 5 after the Infinite Crisis. Black Adam is walking the streets of Bialya where he has just slaughtered millions of innocent people in order to get to Death (one of the manufactured four horsemen of the apocalypse). He encounters the Martian Manhunter and easily defeats him, allowing the Manhunter a glimpse of his mind which is black with the horrors of death. Manhunter freaks out and ends up retreating in to space.
Five weeks later the entire world is in turmoil as nations rise up to stop Black Adam’s rampage of destruction.

Lots of little things happen in this issue. Rather, lots of epic things happen in a very short amount of time.

Martian Manhunter has a nervous breakdown.

Father Time gets his face ripped off in mid air as he confronts Black Adam while wearing a jet pack.

Jason Todd assumes the identity of Nightwing, stops a robbery, claims he’s going to kill the robbers and makes off with their loot. The great Pyramids are destroyed, Black Adam kills millions of people and the entire world is in chaos.

So far I’m a slightly disappointed in World War 3. It feels like little more than a rushed extension to 52. I will wait to pass judgment on the series as a whole when I finish reading and write a review article (will appear on this site later tonight).

52 has been nothing short of a thrill ride from the first issue. It’s amazing to me that a year long weekly comic featuring characters no one has ever really cared much for could be so entertaining. The Black Adam events have come to a head in issue #50 where World War 3 begins.

You may not have kept up with this comic, so here’s a brief overview of 52:
Early on in 52 Black Adam became the ruthless, self proclaimed ruler of Kandaq. He ruled with an iron fist of sorts, enforcing his strict form of blind justice, until he met a woman and bestowed upon her the magic of Isis. He also gave her brother a portion of his power thus bringing the Black Marvel family together. Later that family was wiped out by agents of the Chinese government. Black Adam was taken captive by a group of mad scientists on a remote island. Adam escaped and starting making his way to China, killing anyone who stood in his way. Once he arrived in China he was met with various heroes of the Chinese government.
Meanwhile the Justice Society of America and various American super heroes were poised at the border of China, ready to attack Black Adam as soon as they received clearance from China. After Black Adam killed all who met him on the battlefield, the Chinese government reluctantly sanctioned the American heroes’ entrance on Chinese soil. Moments later the fight began, and Black Adam was defeated by Captain Marvel.

As always this was a great issue. As 52 draws to a close I find myself getting nervous about Countdown 52 (DC’s replacement weekly series). I’m not sure how it can live up to the excitement and great storylines of 52.