tim, kon, bart, cassie? damn. if the second arc is "the search for connor hawke" i'll take back every criticism i've ever aimed at bendis and build several churches in his honor.
Did everyone notice that cassie was crying when she was getting herself ready to help Tim?
Btw the theory superlad just bounced off me last night over on the superboy appreciation thread was that SB probably lived in hamilton,which is where clark,lois,and Jon lived,because in one pic he is flying away what looks like a football field with a big H on it,and in school in the other 2.
If this is accurate then that means SB and Jon spent time together in the past,and when they meet in the present will better set a foundation for them when they do.
Definitely a "throw you into the action" / "get everyone on page, we'll deal with motivations and backstories later" style first issue. Which is always fine in a first issue as long as answers get peppered in or strung along with frequency and naturalistic pacing after that. I guess I've noticed Bendis to be "Somewhat Decompressed" on that scale, so we'll likely get more answers about Gemworld next issue as the battle continues than full on team catch-up, but that too is part of the "thrown into the adventure" trope. And that's not a new trope, in fact it's generally how all runs of Teen Titans/YJ or anything else get started.
So I liked it enough to be able to rationalize or write-off any necessary retcons. Certainly the biggest question in my brain was Tim's recollection of Conner. I mean I wanted that relationship back anyway, but yeah, given the hints at "waking up Tim's memories" in Detective last year, I figured there was at least a story in Undoing the New 52. Last time Tim and Conner saw each other, Tim was in his superior V.2 Red Robin costume, running around Batman Incorporating, and Kon was doing the t-shirt and cowboy boots thing.
It's somehow easier for me to believe that Bart's return has less "timeline memory restoration" pomp and circumstance. Maybe just because we already went through that with Wally recently. Back from the Speed Force, lightning rod, memory's back, hey guys, moving on.
Pre-Flashpoint Cassie was also rocking a blue jeans look. Man, they weren't really superheroing that hard in those days, just with a red shirt instead of a black t-shirt, with more of a decorative WW design, even though as "Wonder GIRL" she only really needs one W. Weird. New 52 Cassie was weirder, though, basically just poaching Donna Troy's style with a red bodysuit, armor bits, AND a starfield. Eesh. (Although I didn't actually hate that costume).
So yeah ...
I'm pretty curious if "Seven Crises" can not just explain what's up with Gemworld but also will not even remotely coincidentally tie in to how everyone is back to team up as well. It seems pretty built in to that premise that any questions we have about like "HOW CONNER?" or "HOW BART?" or whatever could just as easily be tied into that broader storyline. And Gemworld, much like say, Earth-2 or Earth-3, might not appreciate the fact that they got Flashpointed HARD right alongside our Earth. I'd say the Flashpointed Earth-2 (N52 Earth-2) got shafted pretty hard - who knows what it's like Rebirthed (apparently we might need a new Multiversity Guidebook), but Gemworld was pretty cool during the N52 so maybe it then got screwed over by Rebirth.
Retro315 no more. Anonymity is so 2005.
retrowarbird.blogspot.com
I don't think anyone should take "Seven" to be canon/definitive, all it means is that this character believes there to have been seven such events, and the number is not important at all to his talking about it. However, it will be interesting to see if the concern about these events is more than just a motivation to get Gemworld to be in conflict with Earth or if it is more connected to things going on with these characters themselves, and something more recent, yet to be told.
Picked up the new issue today, I very much enjoyed it. Probably a little overwhelming if you're not familiar with some of the characters but as my first purchase of a DC book in roughly Four years I was pleased. Not sure if I'll buy issue Two, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for collected editions in the future.
Continuity, even in a "shared" comics universe is often insignificant if not largely detrimental to the quality of a comic.
Immortal X-Men - Once & Future- X-Cellent - X-Men: Red
Nobody cares about what you don't like, they barely care about what you do like.
RE: Continuity --
Am I the only one who recalls the Tomasi Superman arc which had Pre-Flashpoint-Dad Superman merging with New-52-T-Shirt Superman? I've always felt like this was a monumental story development, not just for Superman, but for the entire DC Universe. And nobody paid attention to it. Not even DC. It was the biggest continuity reset since Flashpoint, and it ultimately created a hybrid continuity of pre and post Flashpoint. I theorized that DC never made much of it because the hybrid continuity just made things even more convoluted -- easier to say "Everything counts and fell into place" than to get into the nuts and bolts of exactly what's been altered.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03...man-lois-lane/
So, any time I see some questionable continuity inconsistency, I chalk it up to the Superman merge. Basically, the New 52 continuity was combined with everything before it to some unknown extent. So, as it relates to Young Justice, I chalk their inconsistent place in current continuity to the Superman merge.
Superman Reborn. No, everyone who's reading or interested in Superman paid attention to it. The problem is it was marketed only as a Superman event, so it gave the impression that only Superman family was affected. Therefore everyone's not reading or interested in Superman slept on it.
I think some kind of internal consistency is important, but the pre-COIE model was better equipped to balance the need for new continuities with a sense of weight and history. Just have all these worlds out there that can be returned to or left alone as desired. No one is obligated to write an Earth Two story, but it's there if someone wants a Superman from the 1930s.
If Dc could have predicted how easy it would be to look up a character's history online or even the invention of the TPB, they might not have destroyed all those universes in the first place.
But whatever the circumstances, great creators like Bendis are going to find exciting story opportunities.
Last edited by David Walton; 01-10-2019 at 12:54 PM.
I thought it was quite good the story was fast paced it just great have Kon-el and Bart back and amethyst seems like interesting character looking forward to next issue.
But it wasn't reset. That was a result from the Convergence story originally, right? With all these different universes which immediately conflicted with Morrison's Multiversity story I think. The problem is that a lot of the current continuity is still based around the New 52 stories. We are still in the New 52 but things have been altered here and there but not to the extent where we have separated from the New 52. Things like the Titans franchise is still very much in the New 52, the Justice League franchise in a lot of parts, and especially the Batman franchise is still very much still based around the New 52. Things like Superman and Wonder Woman have changed drastically but it hasn't been the case for a lot of the DCU. It is why things are so confusing.
It depends on the ultimate response to Jon's age up. If its at least mixed, things should be fine. If its overwhelmingly negative, by the time Bendis is done with it the character could be messed up beyond repair and the experiment will be over. They could not even deage him rather just get rid of him. Chris territory, in other words. But, that's doomsday scenario for Jon fans. Its nowhere near that point yet, and Jon has more popularity on his side than Chris ever did. The age up could even be successful, who knows. Or, if its really not, he may not be hurt by it so much where he can't just be de-aged and be done with it. Or a third possibility, it could be planned to de-age him as it even stands right now. There's still every chance this is designed to be temporary on the face of it.
IOW, the two Superboys should be fine for now. This year looks to be Kon getting the vast lion's share of the attention, but it should work at least in the short term.
Last edited by Sacred Knight; 01-10-2019 at 02:16 PM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
We're not in the New 52 anymore. The defining trait of the New 52, the five-year timeline, has been obliterated. And its not just Superman that's been affected by the changes, its everyone. I even made a whole thread about it: https://community.cbr.com/showthread...he-DC-Universe. Point being that, in general, DC writers are referring to Pre-Flashpoint continuity as if it still holds and have moved away from the New 52 as a basic concept if not full-out repudiating what was introduced in the New 52. Superman is just the most drastic example, but it shows in Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, and even Teen Titans and Flash. That's why people are calling it "Rebirth" continuity. There's still more of Pre-Flashpoint to be restored like the JSA's history and such, but that's sort of the point of Doomsday Clock and the ongoing issue of Wally West.
Last edited by Green Goblin of Sector 2814; 01-10-2019 at 04:15 PM.