3 Razors

Flashpoint #2 (of 5)

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flashpoint-2-coverFlashpoint continues with three stories. One showcases Deathstroke and Emperor Aquaman‘s take-no-prisoners attitude towards trespassers on the high seas. The second involves Wonder Woman‘s encounter with an American special forces officer who just happens to be named Steve Trevor. Both help further paint the bleak landscape of this transformed Flashpoint reality.

It’s the third story however that’s the most important. Barry Allen attempts to convince this reality’s Batman (Thomas Wayne) that he isn’t crazy, is from an alternate reality, and can fix the world… if Batman helps him get struck by lightning. As you might guess, it takes a little convincing.

It’s not a bad second issue, although the glimpses we get of both Aquaman and Wonder Woman make me cringe at the thought of either of them being the center of future issues. And the consequence of Barry Allen’s experiment does have an unintentionally funny ring to it. (And it’s certainly better than the other off-shoot mini-series which also hit shelves this week.) Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Deadpool #37

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deadpool-37-coverSporting a serious death wish, Deadpool seeks out to antagonize one of the few creatures in the Marvel Universe who might be able to kill him – The Hulk (the original one, not one of the dozen or so other versions Marvel has running around now).

As an added incentive Deadpool has bought himself some nuclear bombs from the black market in hopes that they’ll help the Hulk decide to give Deadpool the one thing he wants – death.

There’s plenty of action in this issue including some very humorous panels involving Deadpool stuffing grenades down the Hulk’s throat before detonating them. Although the rest of the art is fine, I’m not sold on Bong Dazo‘s take on the Hulk which looks more like a giant green Bane on serious Venom bender than the Hulk.

As an idea, this one works fine for a single issue, although I’m not sure we need to see it continue for another month. Still, there’s fun and plenty of insanity to be had here. And isn’t that what you want from a Deadpool comic?

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Amazing Spider-Man #660

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amazing-spider-man-660-coverAs the Future Foundation battle the Sinister Six on pirate island (or whatever you want to call it) a little misdirection lets other members of the team sneak into the Baxter Building to steal one of Reed Richards‘ pet projects. I’m going to go out on a limb and say whatever use Doc Ock has for whatever he stole isn’t going to be good for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Interesting moments (even if they are borrowed from a lackluster movie plot) as the FF find themselves shifting through each others powers (and Spidey gets a temporary makeover sure to give you nightmares). There’s also a nice scene of the FF showing old Web-Head some love and positive reinforcement after the battle (which, as he says, he’s unaccustomed to).

And, finally, the Carlie Cooper tattoo fiasco in a switcheroo that makes no sense whatsoever and yet is still better than what was shown in last issue with her brilliant idea of branding her body with the image of the man who threw Peter Parker’s first love off a bridge. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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FF #3

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ff-3-coverThe FF and Doctor Doom team up to take down not one, but four Reed Richards. And they’re also enlisting the help of several of the Fantastic Four’s old foes (including the High Evolutionary, Diablo, the Mad Thinker, and the Wizard) to help.

It seems Valeria made a bad mistake by releasing four Reed Richards from other worlds into our own. And these men haven’t exactly been idle since entering our reality and they’re more than willing to sacrifice our world for their own ends.

Even if this one is mostly backstory fill-in, it’s a solid issue all around and includes some fun moments such as the various villains being summoned to the Baxter Building for an evening with Victor von Doom. Classic.

On the negative side, this is at least the third time I’ve seen the Watcher make an appearance in as many months. That’s far too often, especially here when his appearance isn’t warranted in this issue. Instead it’s used to over-hype the events that may occur in the next few issues. I like the Watcher, but if he starts showing up for every calendar event the entire point of his character is made worthless. Just sayin’. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Flashpoint #1

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flashpoint-1-coverBarry Allen wakes in his office in Central City only to realize it isn’t his Central City. He’s not the Flash, and the world around him isn’t his own.

Alternate reality comics are a staple of the business (just ask the X-Men who have been doing this on a regular basis for decades now). They’re also severally limited. Nothing that happens in this reality matters outside of it. And usually few, if any, characters remember the events which took place in the other reality.

As alternate stories go Flashpoint isn’t awful. The first issue does a good job setting up the differences in the world. There is no Superman, no Justice League, Abin Sur never died bequething his ring to Hal Jordan, and Batman isn’t the Wayne we know.

This world is trapped in wars with both Wonder Woman and the Amazons and Aquaman and the Atlateans. And the closest thing the resistance has to a leader is… Cyborg. Oh, that can’t be good.

…

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