The first title in the ultra-anticipated DC New 52, Justice League #1 released today. And I know that everyone who hasn’t read it yet is wondering if it is even worthwhile. I would say yes it’s worth a read, but I don’t know how long it will be like that for. Of course they don’t introduce the whole league in one issue so it might last a few more issues but I’m still kind of on the fence about the whole thing.
I’ll give you the basic rundown of the story, but not enough to spoil anything. There honestly wasn’t much to spoil in the issue. It was a really fast read with Batman and Green Lantern bantering back and forth throughout the majority of it. The comic takes place five years ago when heroes were apparently a new thing and the public didn’t entirely love nor trust them. The story opens up with Batman in pursuit of some weird alien whilst also being pursued by the cops.
Of course being the sector cop of Earth and an alien running loose falls under Green Lantern’s jurisdiction so him and Batman end up running into one another for the first time. It will be interesting to see all of the heroes meeting for the first time but that novelty will wear off quick I’m sure.
Overall I give the issue a 3 out of 5 grizzlies. It had a story that basically reminded me of the DC All Star comic line from a few years back, but that’s not a bad thing. Geoff John’s writing was up to snuff as usual and Jim Lee was… well, he was Jim Lee which is always a good thing. He was definitely having a good time drawing all of the Green Lantern constructs. I’ll have to check out the next few issues before I can pass down a solid judgment on this title, but so far so good.
So this is it. The last comic in the DC Universe we know until the new 52 starts, which just so happens to be today with the only other DC Comic to be released this week in Justice League #1. But let’s start with the end of Flashpoint.
Last time we saw it was definitely end game time with all the major players in action. Cyborg, Batman and Flash squaring off against Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Thawne, the Reverse Flash. It’s definitely a little confusing with all of the time travel stuff and I have to admit it sort of ended with not so much of a bang. It felt a little rushed, but had a nice little touch at the end which I enjoyed. It reminded me of Back to The Future actually… Now don’t go on if you don’t want to spoiled because there are spoilers aplenty.
*SPOILERS FOLLOW*
As Flash and Thawne square off it is not only revealed that Thawne was not the culprit behind the alternate timeline, but it was Barry himself! DUN DUN DUN!
So let me break it down…. Thawne could never kill Barry Allen as you may well know because then he could never be in the 25th century. But when Barry went back in time and pulled the Speed Force entirely into him to stop Thawne from killing his mother he basically reversed their roles and shattered the timestream into what we’ve been experiencing in Flashpoint. Thawne was running through the timestream when Barry altered it and was basically turned into a walking, talking paradox as he now existed outside of it. All the times Thawne tried to kill Flash, it would never work because with no Barry Allen from the past to create a Speed Force to carry on into the 25th century, Thawen would never have been the Reverse Flash. If you ask me, the guy was a paradox before and I wasn’t getting the logic of Barry not being able to kill him, but it’s ok because Thomas Batman Wayne took care of that problem. I would think with Thawne existing outside of the time stream even Barry could kill him. But enough of this because my head is hurting.
After Thawne is finished it’s up to Barry to go back and make right his wrong! He travels through the timestream saying a final farewell to his mother before catching up with the Barry who went back to save his mother and stopping him from screwing up time. As he is running Barry is told by a weird looking broad that the time streams had been splintered into three to weaken the heroes for someone’s impending arrival and that the three must be turned back into one. Overall a very confusing ending. Is the New 52 going to be made up of three different realities? Who is going to arrive? Darkseid?
My favorite part of the issue was involving Bruce and Barry. Before Flash went to go fix everything, a dying Thomas Wayne gave him a letter to give to Bruce when he sees him. Barry gives the letter to Bruce after explaining everything that happened to him in the other timeline. I admit I got a little teary seeing Bruce cry over the letter and was glad that he got a little bit of peace from losing his parents even if it was his father from an alternate timeline.
Overall I give the issue a 3 out of 5. It was a little confusing as far as time travel stuff goes but still enjoyable. The only thing that stopped it from getting a higher score was how rushed and quickly wrapped up it was and it makes me think that the New 52 thing was decided upon after Flashpoint already started. But who knows. Either way, bring on the new 52 and let’s see how long it all lasts!
Plenty of questions arise from the announcement that Ridley Scott would be doing another Blade Runner movie. Will it be a prequel? A sequel? A reboot? But the biggest question is one of who will star in it, particularly Harrison Ford.
After this little snippet from Worst Previews your question will be answered:
“Everything Ridley does as a filmmaker is fresh,” Kosove said. “I believe he sees an opportunity to create something that’s wholly original from the first ‘Blade Runner.'”
The two are now looking for a writer and are hoping to begin shooting in early 2013. And while it’s still unknown whether the new film will be a sequel or a prequel, Kosove said that Harrison Ford will not be involved. “Will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford? The answer is no,” he explained. “This is a total reinvention, and that means doing everything fresh, including casting.”
So the answer is no. No Harrison Ford for this go around with the skin jobs. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be no Deckard, but it definitely sounds like they are trying to go in a different, fresh direction for the new movie. I’m good with that as long as we get an interesting movie that makes us question what being alive truly means… again.
Grizzly Bomb 