Injustice: Gods Among Us #32 (August 21, 2013)

Tags

Batman, Black Canary, Captain Atom, Catwoman, David Lopez, Green Arrow, Injustice Captain Atom, Jheremy Raapack, Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Mico Suayan, Santi Casas of Ikari Studio, Superman, Tom Taylor, Wes Abbott, Wonder Woman

>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS<<<<<<<<<
(You’ve been warned)

“Chapter Thirty-Two”

• Writer: Tom Taylor
• Artist: Jheremy Raapack
• Colors: David Lopez & Santi Casas of Ikari Studio
• Letters: Wes Abbott
• Cover: Mico Suayan, David Lopez & Santi Casas of Ikari Studio

I certainly hope you weren’t too attached to the Injustice Captain Atom.  He went all Kingdom Come in this issue.  But he went down swinging.

Picking up where Injustice: Gods Among Us #31 left off, Batman’s crew is leaving the Fortress of Solitude when Superman comes home and throttles Captain Atom.  The Kents assure him they’re okay and to let Cap go.  But Cap is far too pissed himself to just let this go.

Captain Atom proceeds to lecture Superman while simultaneously kicking the Kryptonian’s ass.

The battle shakes the walls of the fortress and as a result Green Arrow ends up trapped inside with the Kents.  Black Canary can’t free them with her sonic scream because it may cause more damage.  Batman assures Arrow that they will come back for him.  Meanwhile, Captain Atom continues to school Superman.

Cap is telling the bleeding man of steel that, orders or not, he’s going to take Superman down.  Then Wonder Woman steps in and puts a magic sword to Cap’s throat that punctures Cap’s shell.  Which is not good news for anyone.

Captain Atom’s shell (not specified if it is an alien alloy in this reality) keeps all his nuclear stuff inside.  As in Kingdom Come, if the shell is ruptured, Cap goes critical and takes the surrounding area down with him.

Captain Atom realizes he’s doomed and decides to take Superman with him.  He drags Supes up into the Earth’s upper atmosphere.  Wonder Woman follows.


Superman blasts Cap with his heat vision just as Atom goes critical.

Captain Atom appears to be dead.  Wonder Woman is most likely injured but alive.  Superman is most likely alive as well.  I think we may find in future issues that Cap’s death was in vain.  As in The Dark Knight Returns, this whole mess is going to have to come down to Batman versus Superman.  Nightwing and Captain Atom are just collateral damage.

It is sad to see Captain Atom die again, but his departure from this series was much more satisfying than the New 52 Cap’s departure from the DC Universe (and time will tell on that one; he might resurface).  Again, Tom Taylor has told an engaging tale and Jheremy Raapack has backed it up with superb artwork.  I’m giving this issue an A+.  Well done, folks.

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Injustice: Gods Among Us #31 (August 14, 2013)

Tags

Batman, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Captain Atom, Catwoman, David Lopez, Fran Vazquez, Green Arrow, Huntress, Injustice Captain Atom, Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Mico Suayan, Santi Casas of Ikari Studio, Sergi Erra, Superman, Tom Derenick, Tom Taylor, Wes Abbott

>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS<<<<<<<<<
(You’ve been warned)

“Chapter Thirty-One”

• Writer: Tom Taylor
• Artist: Tom Derenick
• Colors: Sergi Erra, Fran Vazquez & Santi Casas of Ikari Studio
• Letters: Wes Abbott
• Cover: Mico Suayan, David Lopez & Santi Casas of Ikari Studio

We’ve been without an appearance of Cap in this comic for six issues.  And when he comes back, he gets his ass handed to him.

Batman wants to break into Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, but in order to do that he needs to distract the man of steel.  This he arranges with the President of the United States.

Green Arrow and Black Canary enter Batman’s latest hide-out via a bathroom elevator.  There they find Bats calling a meeting (naturally) with Black Lightning, Huntress, Catwoman, and Captain Atom.  Black Lightning is pissed off with Batman for imprisoning Hawkgirl.  Captain Atom tells Bats he should have told them about his plans to use Martian Manhunter.  Then Batman drops the bombshell that Superman killed Martian Manhunter (in Injustice: Gods Among Us #29 – Supes used his heat vision to burn J’onn J’onzz to death).

Batman and the president have arranged to have U.S. warships head towards the Korean peninsula, knowing the Justice League will respond.  Batman’s team teleports to the Fortress of Solitude, where Catwoman will pick the lock and Captain Atom will open the door.

But Superman isn’t playing right.  Rather than heading for Korea, he shows up on the White House lawn and demands to speak to the president.  It doesn’t take Superman long to realize this was a distraction.  Meanwhile, in the Fortress, Batman’s team comes upon Ma and Pa Kent.

Batman calls off the mission at once.  He wants to get out before Superman gets the wrong idea and thinks he showed up there to hurt the Kents.  But Superman proves yet again that he is faster than Batman and stronger than Captain Atom.

Nearly every issue of this comic ends with an “oh shit” moment and this one does not disappoint.  Tom Taylor is crafting quite the story.  And Tom Derenick does a great job with the art.  I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but once again this is an A book.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #25 (July 3, 2013)

Tags

Batwoman, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Bruno Redondo, Captain Atom, Catwoman, David Lopez, Green Arrow, Huntress, Injustice Captain Atom, Jheremy Raapack, Lex Luthor, Santi Casas of Ikari Studio, Superman, Tom Taylor, Wes Abbott, Wonder Woman

>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS<<<<<<<<<
(You’ve been warned)

“Chapter Twenty-Five”

• Writer: Tom Taylor
• Artist: Bruno Redondo
• Colors: David Lopez and Santi Casas of Ikari Studio
• Letters: Wes Abbott
• Cover Artist: Jheremy Raapack

This story opens by showing the juxtaposition between the Watchtower and the Batcave.  Superman is talking to Wonder Woman in the Watchtower while Catwoman is talking to Batman in the Batcave.  The world is celebrating, praising Superman for thwarting the alien invasion in the previous issue.

Wonder Woman says, “You saved so many lives,” to Superman.  Batman says to Catwoman, “He took so many lives.”  Superman himself says, “So many were lost.”  Three varying opinions right there.  But however you slice it, Superman killed a lot of people in Injustice: Gods Among Us #24.  And by “people” I mean Kalibak and an invading horde of parademons.  Superman says it isn’t enough, that more wars will happen.  He needs more allies.  Lex Luthor assures him he will have them.

In the Batcave, Batman calls a meeting (he seems to do a lot of that).  Assembled are Catwoman, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Huntress, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Captain Atom.  Batman holds steady with his “no killing” philosophy, but Huntress points out it was a war.  Superman killed the enemy but saved millions of lives.  Huntress defends Superman’s actions, saying Batman and his friends would be dead if not for Superman (indeed, in the previous issue Green Arrow and Black Canary were just about to bite it when Supes did his whatever-the-hell-he-did that killed all the parademons).

Huntress chides, “Being sanctimonious and arrogant doesn’t make you right, Bruce!”  For this she gets the Batman Glare ™.  She slipped up and called him Bruce in front of people!  She realizes her mistake too late.

Huntress tells Bats where to stick it, that she doesn’t want to fight Superman when she agrees with him.  Catwoman stops her from leaving, saying that she doesn’t have all the facts.  Batman reveals that Superman and Lex Luthor are working on a way to enhance people into super beings.  He is building an army.  Black Lightning asks how Batman got this info.  Huntress says if Bats expects them to follow him into war they need to know they can trust him.  So Batman removes his cowl.

Hell breaks loose then, when Superman cultists attack the citizens of Gotham (in and around Crime Alley).  Batman sends Captain Atom ahead as he is the fastest.

This Superman cult has been taking on criminals in Gotham since Superman killed the Joker.  It is just as Captain Atom is about to start quantum blasting the riff-raff when the Batcrew shows up.  They trade witty comments with the zealots before they start cracking heads.  These guys are no match for the Bat guys.  But Batman and his boys are halted by the sudden arrival of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.

The Super friends tell the Bat crew to back down and they will handle this.  Batman and Superman face each other down, but Catwoman tells Bats now is not the time.  The Bat crew sheepishly walk away.

I don’t know what this is building to.  The ultimate showdown, I guess.  I really like these takes on classic DC characters.  Tom Taylor is weaving this together really well.  Although they shake up the art team constantly, none of them have let me down so far.  I got the demo for the video game on my X-Box 360.  It is pretty cool (Captain Atom appears not to be a playable character, though).  The comic is pretty awesome, though, and is one on DC’s best titles right now in my opinion.  I give this issue an A+.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #21 (June 4, 2013)

Tags

Alejandro Sanchez, Batman, Black Lightning, Captain Atom, Catwoman, Cyborg, David Lopez, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Huntress, Injustice Captain Atom, Lex Luthor, Mico Suayan, Neil Googe, Robin, Santi Casas of Ikari Studio, Shazam, Superman, Tom Taylor, Wes Abbott, Wonder Woman

>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS<<<<<<<<<
(You’ve been warned)

“Chapter Twenty-One”

• Writer: Tom Taylor
• Artist: Neil Googe
• Colors: Alejandro Sanchez
• Letters: Wes Abbott
• Cover Artist: Mico Suayan, David Lopez, and Santi Casas of Ikari Studio

Captain Atom’s role in this amounts to a cameo.

The story opens with Hawkgirl in a foreign country capturing a dictator while he is riding in a convertible.  She swoops down and snatches him right out of his seat.  A short distance away, Batman and Catwoman are watching.  Via headset mic, Batman orders Captain Atom into action.  Cap swoops in and snatches the dictator out of Hawkgirl’s hands.

Hawkgirl is then shot out of the sky by Black Lightning and knocked out cold by Huntress.

In Mogadishu, Wonder Woman takes out a despotic general, killing him.  When one of the women witnessing this tells her another man will replace him and it will never stop, Wonder Woman forces the soldiers to drop their weapons and the women to pick them up.  She vows to return, telling them she will not leave them to this life, and that what happens now is up to them.  As she flies away, the women open fire on the now-unarmed soldiers.

She rejoins Flash, Green Lantern, Robin, Superman, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Shazam, and Lex Luthor up in the Watchtower (Luthor was recovered from the wreckage of Metropolis in Injustice: Gods Among Us #20.  He had been secreted to a secret bunker by a female speedster who was killed with the rest of the city.).  When Flash tells her Captain Atom took Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman suspects the U.S. Military.  Luthor says it was Batman, and he knows so because Batman wasn’t spotted at the scene.  He warns Superman that he needs more people and he knows how to get them.

In the Batcave, Batman tells Catwoman he only needs Hawkgirl for one week (Hawkgirl is in a holding cell in the cave).  When Catwoman warns that the Justice League will come looking for her, he assures her they won’t.  Back up in the Watchtower, just as Flash is barking at Luthor that they have to find her, Hawkgirl appears in the Watchtower.  Batman tells Catwoman her team-mates won’t even be looking for her.

I’m still majorly digging this story and jonesing to play this game.  No new video games are in my budget for now, sadly.  While I prefer Jeremy Raapack’s art over Neil Googe, Googe is good.  But Tom Taylor has me on the edge of my seat!  Injustice: Gods Among Us #21 is an A.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #18 (May 14, 2013)

Tags

Aquaman, Batman, Batwoman, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel (Shazam), Catwoman, David Lopez, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Huntress, Injustice Captain Atom, Jheremy Raapack, Mico Suayan, Santi Casas, Superman, Tom Taylor, Wes Abbott

>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS<<<<<<<<<
(You’ve been warned)

“Chapter Eighteen”

• Writer: Tom Taylor
• Artist: Jheremy Raapack
• Colors: David Lopez and Santi Casas of Ikari Studio
• Letters: Wes Abbott
• Cover Artist: Mico Suayan

I know that it is Firestorm Appreciation Month on this blog, but I didn’t see this one coming and simply could not sit on it until June.  This series – although it is based on a video game and therefore could have potentially been awful – is completely awesome.  The art is beautiful, the story is compelling.  I usually don’t really go for digital books; I tend to wait until their paper versions are out.  But this one had me from the first issue.

Basically, Superman is going over the edge.  The Joker used Scarecrow’s fear toxin mixed with kryptonite on the man of steel, causing him to believe he was fighting Doomsday.  He wasn’t.  It was Lois Lane.  And he killed her.  The Joker had a trigger connected to Lois so that when her heart stopped, a nuclear device went off in Metropolis and flattened the city.  Eleven million dead.  And to add insult to injury, Lois was pregnant with Superman’s child.

So Superman has decided not to go soft on criminals anymore.  He started this by putting his fist through the Joker’s chest.  He has been taking down despotic world leaders (for example, the leader of Bialya, Rumaan Harjavti).  Flash and Wonder Woman have been working with Superman (among others), but Batman refuses to back his friend up.

This issue opens in Gotham City with Batman and Catwoman responding to the bat signal.  But it isn’t Commissioner Gordon waiting on the rooftop, it is the U.S. President.  The president begins by saying he saw the footage of what happened in Arkham Asylum and offers his condolences (Damien Wayne – Robin – accidentally killed Dick Grayson – Nightwing).  The president leads Batman and Catwoman to a room in the police station that has been fitted so Superman can’t see or hear them.

Meanwhile, Superman and Green Lantern are taking down spy satellites in orbit around Earth.

The president tells Batman that since the incident at Arkham, Superman and his crew have been inserting themselves into world conflicts.  Superman forced the leaders of Palestine and Israel to agree on a peace plan.  Wonder Woman has been fighting in Burma while Shazam and Green Lantern have been in Syria.  Raven terrified warring Sudanese tribes into submission.

While the president agrees that stopping bloodshed is a good thing, he is worried about what Superman will do once his attention is focused on the United States.  He’s worried Superman will take over the world and asks Batman if he can stop the man of tomorrow.  Batman says he can.  Catwoman says they will go to bat for the president but he needs to do his job better (she lists, “Health.  Education.  Gun control.  Poverty.  The environment.  Not telling people who they can and can’t love.”).  The president says he won’t accept their help in exchange for another set of costumed vigilantes telling him what to do.  Catwoman points out she isn’t telling him what to do, just asking him to do better.

The president gives Batman a file containing info on super-heroes not aligned with Superman who may be willing to stand against the last son of Krypton.  The top of the list is Huntress, whose file says she has “probable daddy issues.”  The bemused Catwoman points out the file fails to mention Huntress is an alien spy.  Batman and Catwoman split up to form their team.

Catwoman calls on Black Canary in Starling City.  Batman meets up with Black Lightning in Washington.  The next day, the newly formed team meet up in the bat cave.  Assembled are Huntress, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Aquaman, and (you’ve probably already guessed this) Captain Atom.

They sit down to plan their attack.

This new version of Captain Atom looks like a cross between the Modern Age Captain Atom and the Kingdom Come/Armageddon/Earth-22 Captain Atom.  I’m really looking forward to seeing this new take on the character.

I really love this series.  I’m not usually prone to doing this, but I’m giving Injustice: Gods Among Us #18 an A+.  I really need to play this video game.