Countdown to Infinite Crisis - Unboxed Spoilers

Cafe Society
1

The 80 page, $1 one-shot that’s had comic fans buzzing for quite a while now came out today. I thought it might warrant its own thread, since it’s sort of a marker for where the DCU stands right now and what’s about to come.

First of all? What a stupid title. It sounds like a parody of big crossover events (toss the word “Gauntlet” in there and you’d be all set!). But moving on…

Okay, I get that one of the things you do in comics when Ushering in a New Era is taking care of the old. The old hero gets retconned out of existence or white martians blow up his satellite or something. It’s just what happens, and by and large I have no problems with it when it’s done well.

But what I really don’t get is why the JLI is getting such mean-spirited treatment all of the sudden. First all the Sue Dibny stuff (yeah, she wasn’t just a JLI character, but that’s probably where she had her biggest impact) and now Blue Beetle is killed (after his company and life are destroted and Booster Gold - whose robot partner, Skeets, is apperantly dead - is nearly killed), shot in the head by Maxwell Lord, who is running Checkmate, some kind of Round Up The Metahumans government organization.

I’m sort of impressed that they remembered to include Max’s mind manipulation abilities, but that’s sort of overshadowed by his admission that he’s always been planning something like this and that’s why he “kept the League ineffectual for years.” Okay… except the League wasn’t ineffectual. They were goofy, but they got the job done; the Earth wasn’t destroyed on their watch or anything. In fact, that’s why all the “bwahaha, we’re losers” jokes from those days worked - because when push came to shove, the League could take it.

I’m also not sure that putting Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Power Girl, Metamorpho, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, and other powerful heroes on the various JLI teams was such a good plan if he wanted the Leage to be ineffectual, but whatever. This whole Max Lord the Masterind thing also contradicts instances from the JLI days when we were privy to Max’s personal thoughts.

It also looks like the recent JLI-revival books are totally out of continuity (although the cover of FKATJL #1 appears on the monitor Beetle is looking at at one point), since according to that Booster Gold was married to a multi-millionaire and not exactly hard-up for money. And why was J’onn being such an asshole to Beetle? Beetle and Booster always gave J’onn a headache, but he never hated them.

I’m not saying that the book wasn’t well-written or well-drawn, because it was. It was an engaging story that actually has me quite interested in the miniseries’ coming in the summer, which I wasn’t before. I’m not going to deny that I’m suffering from a bit of “Just saw one of his favorite heroes gunned down”- itis; I fully admit that I’m bitter. And I’m not saying that the DCU has to worship at the altar of the JLI (after all, that would take time away from worshiping Superman, which the entire DCU can’t do enough of these days). But even though Beetle got a higher-profile sendoff than most heroes, this whole thing does seem like something of a slap in the face to an era that the writers at DC seem to see as an easy target.

Phew. That was probably my most long-winded fanboy moment ever. And I again want to stress that I think the one-shot was a great way to get people interested in the summer events, and very well written and drawn. I’m just not sure I’m so keen on the way the DCU is going right now.

Anyway, thoughts?

2

The new writter doesn’t like how things were done. He has free range, thus he out and out insults the past methods, and claims his perception for the reality, instead of trying to do things better.

3

Haven’t picked it up yet. It was originally billed as ‘DC Countdown’ - that, or simply ‘Countdown’ would have been a better title. If next year’s mega-event is in fact called Infinite Crisis, it better live up to the name.

I agree that Max is severely out of character - but I seem to recall his shadowy entanglements from as far back as JLI, so at least the developments aren’t out of the blue.

4

I remember them, too. But Max’s huge personal story arc was how, through the human aspects of the heroes around him, he gave all that up and became an actually half-decent person.

5

And let’s not jump to conclusions yet - there may be more to why Max is working in this capacity, or it may be an imposter; likewise, Beetle’s death may not be all it appears to be.

Between this and Seven Soldiers, plus the tail-end of GL : Rebirth, the fine folks at DC have really figured out how to soak up my disposable income…

6

So John Byrne wrote it? :smiley:

7

I can’t wait to get out of work to buy this comic, since the guy who dies has been my favorite superhero ever since I read JLI back in elementary school in the late '80s. I’m sad they killed him, but I hear he goes out like a champ, and not a chump (as too many writers have portrayed him as). Since I’ve read all the spoilers online, it sounds almost like he’s a tragic Fox Mulder figure, too smart and tenacious for his own good, but nobody takes him seriously until it’ll be too late. I’ll miss the guy, but I can’t wait to read what happens. It’s all about the journey, not the destination.

However, I’ll put my fanboy hat on and speculate as to what happens next:

  1. B.B. becomes the new Spectre in Day of Vengeance.
  2. B.B. is somehow resurrected and becomes involved with the OMAC Project.
  3. Booster gets revitalized and goes out to kick ass to avenge his friend, perhaps becoming involved with the OMAC Project.
  4. Booster gets the scarab and becomes the new B.B.

In any case, it seems pretty clear that the DCU won’t be without a B.B. for long.

8

I hope it will be bad so that CandidGamera and I can agree on something for once. :wink:

–Cliffy

9

Summation: Written very well. Ted is written very well. Max wouldn’t do that. Max couldn’t have hidden that for that long.
Ted is very, very, very dead. This may not be permanent, but, yes, that’s Ted, and yes, that’s dead.

Is this the same jerk who wrote Identity Crisis? I may have to give up DC for a few years if he’s the golden boy.

10

No kidding! Sheesh. I’m tempted to pick up a couple of the miniseries spinning out of this (Villains United especially - and by the way, where did they explain how Dr. Psycho got a body again? Last time he appeared in Wonder Woman, he had to hop from person to person because his body was murdered by one of Veronica Cale’s flunkies), but with SS and the books I already buy from DC (Wonder Woman, Flash, JSA, and Legion of Superheroes), that’s going to get mighty pricey.

Having read the issue over a few times, I still think it’s a well-excecuted, but overly mean-spirited end for the Beetle. For a character who was known for being happy-go-lucky to meet his end in some kind of weird government conspiracy theory plot in such a gruesome way is just … stupid. It would be like having Spider-Man die (for real) in another galaxy fighting Terrax or something. Even though he went out heroically, the death didn’t fit the character.

If any of this ends up with Beetle or the JLI gang in general getting a modicum of respect from the DCU, I’ll rethink my position. But the way DC is, I’m pretty sure that, y’know, Superman is just going to fix everything.

As a side note, this issue did make me like Hal Jordan, who before I had absolutely no opinion on given my extremely limited exposure to him. He was nice to Beetle when almost everyone else was being a huge prick.

11

“Who’s futuristic flying vehicle is this?”

“It’s Ted’s. Ted’s Dead , baby.”

12

So, I guess the next couple issues of JLA Classified (“I Can’t Believe It’s Not the JLA”) will sure be the fun-filled romps they were intended to be when they were written and drawn over a year ago…

13

Okay, first off, I do have to send out my sympathies to the JLI-loving
folk. They aren’t my cup of tea (I’m waiting impatiently for ICBINTJL
to clear out of JLA: Classified), but it’s obvious that they’re on the
chopping block. I’m not sure why. It’s not to make the DCU darker.
It has a more Silver Age feel than it did overall during Beetle’s
heyday! Maybe they’re just relative well-known, yet disposable
characters. But it sucks when your favorites are disavowed and
killed. This is like Hal, except Beetle at least got a heroic
send-off and hopefully it won’t take three summer x-overs and a
miniseries until they let him rest (or bring him back, but I hope this
death sticks).

That said. Damn. This was a really good comic. A great little
conspiracy (two actually, three if you count Batman’s involvment) with
neat little tie-ins to events in other books (the Kryptonite, for
example, turns up in BATMAN). I’m not bothered by the behavior of
Oracle et al. Beetle really didn’t have much until after he hacked
into Checkmate’s system. I also think he was reading too much into
their apparent dismissal of him. Plus, well, they were standins for
the reader. Nobody takes Beetle seriously. He’s been a joke for well
over a decade now. They were harsh, but not out of character.

I like the mode of storytelling that this is opening up. Connected
miniseries with complete stories. A long storyline, in short and
accessible formats. A tight continuity encompassing most DCU books,
but (hopefully) not a strangling one. This all points to good things.

I’m also disappointed that they spoiled GL:R and the current Teen Titans story. We know that both Kyle and Light walk away from them. Oh well.

14

Pour out a little liquor for Ted. Maybe one of those weird blue drinks…

Yes, he’s only a fictional character, but just like so many comic readers love Superman and Batman, I grew up liking Blue Beetle. He had a cool costume, neat gadgets, and he was smart and funny and capable (most of the time). He screwed up sometimes, but that was cool–unlike the Big Two, he’s not a god or a man who thinks he’s a god. He was just a man who thought he could do some good in the world on a smaller scale, and have some fun while doing it. To me, Beetle combined everything that made Batman and Spider-Man cool–the tech skills, the acrobatics, the wisecracks, the self-doubt, and none of the grimness and angst. He even fought weight problems–the only superhero I can think of who had to struggle to stay in shape and look good in the Spandex. As a guy who has never had six-pack abs and most likely never will, it was nice to see an “everyman” superhero like that. Whether he was written for laughs in Justice League International, as a shoulder for Barbara Gordon to cry over Nightwing on in Birds of Prey, or as a man with no super powers who stood his ground against Doomsday and was beaten into a coma on the day Superman died, he was so much more relatable than the Man of Steel or the Dark Knight. He was a jovial team player, a “nice guy” for girls to pass over in favor of the “dangerous guy,” and a brave hero who stood up for his friends, no matter the risk. That’s a comic book hero I could get into.

Well, I spoiled Countdown To Infinite Crisis by reading online synopses earlier in the week, but it’s all about the journey, not the destination. Countdown is a bargain at 80 pages for a dollar, and I’ll tell anyone it is one of the best stand-alone stories I’ve ever read. It’s definitely a conspiracy thriller with shades of X-Files, with Beetle as the perfect stand-in for Fox Mulder, too smart for his own good, but never taken seriously by his peers (until it’s too late). Even moreso, what it really was is a noir mystery, with Beetle as the down-on-his-luck private eye who is way out of his depth. Every secret he uncovers leads to deeper and more dangerous ones, and sadly, despite his most valiant efforts, like any good noir hero, he never really has a chance. Countdown reminded me a lot of Ed Brubaker’s Point Blank, the miniseries that served as a prequel to Sleeper, at least structurally. We’re introduced to the entire DC Universe through the eyes (and narration) of the doomed protagonist, who serves as a pretty good tour guide. On that note, this comic would be the perfect introduction to the DCU for a die-hard Marvel Zombie, or someone who has never read comics before, period. But just like Cole Cash was no match for Tao in Point Blank, Ted Kord was no match for the forces that were against him. The rumors are definitely true. But more than any issue of JLI, more than any issue of the '80s Blue Beetle series, Ted proved himself a hero here, a guy with no powers who truly earned his place standing alongside giants and gods. He was smart, he tried his best, and he never quit. And he died, but he didn’t go out like a b###h. He died a hero’s death. And if my favorite superhero had to die, I’m glad he went out on the last page of this comic.

15

I picked up JLAC #5 today because I didn’t pick it up last week, and I couldn’t really bring myself to read it for a little while after reading Countdown.

If all the jokes about Sue Dibney being pregnant weren’t creepy enough, now it’s hard to read the Beetle stuff, too (although, again, there’s no way this stuff is in continuity). Although it did make me realize that Power Girl should have had Beetle’s back in Countdown.

I hope Ted doesn’t become the Spectre. That’d be almost as stupid as Hal Jordan as the Spectre was. Maybe even moreso, since Ted was a happy-go-lucky guy. Plus, those goggles would look silly with the cloak (I’m sort of kidding about that, but look what they did with Hal…).

It does seem pretty obvious that a new Blue Beetle is going to pop up relatively soon in possession of the Scarab. We’ll see how that works out.

16

As I mentioned on the WCD thread, I thought this was a great issue, making me care about a character I had no thoughts about one way or the other before I started reading it.

I’m going to be checking out OMAC because Rucka’s a good and occasionally great writer, and maybe I’ll take a look at some of the other stuff, but I’m vary wary of the tight DC contnuity this purports to usher in. It’s fine for the zombies, but that’s not how I read comics, and it’s not how I like to read them. If I end up having to buy extra issues to find out what happens to the characters in a book I read, I just drop the whole damn thing. I played chase-the-crossover too much in the early '90’s and it got me to quit comics altogether for almost a decade. That’s not going to happen again.

–Cliffy

17

I’ll buy OMAC Project just because it will deal with events directly following from Countdown, and because I like Rucka and creepy government conspiracy stuff. In an interview, he said the miniseries would mostly involve Batman, Wonder Woman, and a third hero who might surprise people. I am hoping it’s Booster Gold out for revenge, or if not him, then the Question (another Rucka favorite, and who is better to investigate conspiracies?).

I’ll also check out Villains United because I like Gail Simone, I loved the supervillain-centric book Sleeper, and I’ve always wondered why the smartest, strongest villains didn’t combine their resources to really get stuff done. I like comic book villains who are smart and manipulative and have codes of honor, which is why Hunter Rose (Grendel) is one of my favorite characters. Luthor’s team seems to have a bunch of those people: notorious “tweeners” Deathstroke and Black Adam (both of whom are major ass-kickers who have played hero in the past), and Talia, who has helped Batman before, if I’m not mistaken. If the book featured sadistic psychopaths like the Joker, I’d have no interest at all, but machiavellian villains who think they’re doing the right thing (see also Magneto, Dr. Doom) are okay in my book. As far as I know, Dr. Psycho is a Golden Age Wonder Woman villain, and even though I didn’t read Identity Crisis, I know that Calculator is like the villains’ version of Oracle, a super-smart information broker. Should be a good time.

I won’t bother with Day of Vengeance because I’m not into supernatural/magical stuff, especially because DC’s mystical characters are all so powerful, they usually spend crossovers sitting around a table and holding hands to “channel their magical energy.” Otherwise they’d be too much like deus ex machina devices for the next Crisis or Zero Hour, and that would foil the editors’ plans of Superman and Batman saving the universe like they always do.

And finally, I won’t pick up Rann/Thanagar War because I’m not into sci-fi stuff. I hear Diggle’s Adam Strange miniseries is very good, but I’d much rather read a “street-level” superhero book or something by Wildstorm or Vertigo with my limited budget. And I couldn’t care less about Hawkman, I’m sorry.

18

I really really like it. It ties together a lot of disparate plot threads - I assume Zoom and Cheetah’s meeting with Doctor Psycho at the end of the Flash/WW crossover has to do with this new group. And now it seems like Luthor’s insane ramblings about an upcoming Crisis refer to Infinite and not Identity.

I get the impression that the villain group is not affiliated with Checkmate, though - despite Luthor’s recent tenure as President.

DC’s doing a bang-up job of interleaving continuity, and I love it.

Booster stepping up to take the blast at the computer was nice, too. You just know he knew it was about to happen.

Rest in Peace, Blue Beetle.

19

A couple really good reasons come immediately to mind.

Unlike heroes, Villains rarely have the same goals (since their goals are usually something other than ‘protect the innocent’), and in fact, their goals are often at odds with eachother. When they do have the same goals, they do hook up, in organizations like Kobra (bring about an age of Chaos), or loose affiliations like the Rogues (mess with the Flash), or the various Injustice Gangs (cause problems for the JLA).

Then there’s the fact that the ‘smartest, strongest’ villains usually have egos to match.

And that latter one is my problem with Villains Unlimited, although I do have faith that Gail can sell it.

Who do we have in this group? Lex Luthor, Wilson Slade, Teth-Adam, and Talia. 4 characters, 3 Generals, one Captain (referring to their accustomed positions in most organizations). Only one of the Generals (Slade) has displayed the ability to defer to authority - Adam chaffs at it, at best, Luthor refuses to acknowledge it. Even though both Adam and Luthor have shown the ability to work with others, it’s always been on their terms…they’re the ultimate word.

The whole thing is a recipe for disaster, and not in the way Kobra or the Rogues are. More in the vein of ‘guaranteed to fall apart and be nothing but a headache for all involved’…like some incarnations of the Injustice Gang.

Also, it bugs me that Teth-Adam is apparently going back on his word to stay in Khandaq - both breaking a promise, and abandoning his people - two things he doesn’t strike me as the type to do.

20

I don’t read JSA (even though I hear I should), so I don’t know anything about Teth-Adam’s time working with the good guys, or what/where Khandaq is. I heard something about a trip back to Ancient Egypt, where they met ancient Egyptian equivalents of the JSA?