Who'd Like A Cocktail? #233

That's right, Flash - piss off the 40 foot giant...

EARTH 2 #14 - Flash, Green Lantern and Dr Fate head off to war, pre-empting the World Army's attack against Steppenwolf in an attempt to boost their popularity with the viewing public and ensure that the world's governments accept them. Trouble is, the World Army already have a stealth patrol in place and the heroes' attempts to help just get in the way. That's resolved just before Steppenwolf's own super-powered bad guys show up.

Another excellent issue from Robinson where he introduces a new Red Arrow as well as bringing back a very old character in Stormy Foster. Damn, I'm going to miss Robinson's writing here.

GREEN LANTERN #22 - the new recruits get a quick and harsh lesson as Larfleeze (who was last seen at the edge of the universe without a power battery in his own book) continues his attack on Oa, but reinforcements arrive in the shape of Saint Walker and an unknown Star Sapphire. This poor Sapphire is around only as a plot device as when she dies, her ring finds the prisoner Nol-Anj and recruits her, allowing her to escape. Larfleeze is fooled off-planet and the Corps re-group.

Not a bad issue, and while I'm glad I was right in my guess of Nol-Anj becoming a Star Sapphire, it was handled somewhat clumsily - the unnamed Sapphire turns up for no apparent reason (much like Saint Walker, to be honest) and then is killed simply so that the ring goes to Nol-Anj. Just a bit of lazy writing, I think.

THE MOVEMENT #3 - Katharsis is captured by the cops on the word of bad guy businessman James Cannon while the rest of the team visit Rainmaker only to learn she's not behind the spate of homeless killings. Virtue heads to the police HQ and offers an ultimatum which isn't going to end well.

This title still seems a little unsure of itself, on the whole and I wonder whether it'll last beyond the end of the year.

THE PHANTOM STRANGER #10 - God - in the form of a wee Scottie dog - takes the Stranger up to heaven where he reintroduces Zauriel, and forces him to choose only one soul to return to Earth. Elsewhere, Dr Thirteen's racked with guilt about his part in the attempted killing of the Stranger while the Question prompts him to commit suicide.

While much better than earlier issues, I still found this issue a little unsatisfying, mainly due to the Word's demand for respect. Somewhere along the lines, I've read something that boils down to those who demand respect very rarely deserve it, but I don't think this blog's the place for that discussion.

STORMWATCH #22 - the Kollective use Lobo to power some sort of galaxy wide ray which wipes out every member of two warring races; their justification is had either of them won the war they would have gone on to enslave and destroy even more people than the Kollective killed. Needless to say, Stormwatch aren't pleased by this but there's not much they can do except swear to keep an eye on them. Oh, and accept Lobo as a member of the team.

I'm not entirely sure what Jim Starlin's doing here - it's all gone a little weird since he took over.

SWAMP THING #22 - Swampy follows the trail of Seeder to Scotland where he's created a tree that fruits whisky. Hardly surprising that john Constantine's been investigating and, as it turns out, sampling the new local tipple as well. While all's fun and games at first, the whisky affects the drinkers, turning them violent, including Constantine who manages to block Swampy's powers and then set the rampaging villagers on to him.

Not bad on the whole, though the Scottish dialogue is dreadful; would it have been too difficult to get Grant Morrison to look over it?

TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #1 - Pandora's origin is revealed as simply a curious woman who finds and opens a gleaming skull-shaped box, thus releasing the seven deadly sins. For this she's rather harshly punished by a council of wizards and cursed to live forever. She uses her immortality to train herself to fight the sins, meeting Vandal Savage on more than one occasion, before we come to the present where the last of the wizards tells her they were wrong. She's justifiably annoyed that it took them 10,000 years to come to this decision, but is armed with weapons to take on the sins and the knowledge that she needs the box to overcome them.

Not a bad opening but, as this is a prequel to Trinity War, I have to wonder what happens after that? Plus, when do we get her role in shaping the New 52 explained?

---

And what made me smile:

Nice to see Robert Venditti continuing the grand old tradition of Hal Jordan getting hit in the head.