Event Leviathan discussion thread

[Godlike13]

Do you know what, I didn’t hate this. It was an origin story.

[DragonPiece]

Do you know what, I didn’t hate this. It was an origin story.

yeah, that's what i was thinking. It seems like levithan dawn will be the actual story, where things actually happen.

[j9ac9k]

Do you know what, I didn’t hate this. It was an origin story.

Was it? It read to me like an introduction. An origin story, to me is about the character. This wasn't about Mark Shaw - we didn't see his journey from Manhunter to Leviathan. There were some exposition bubbles that explained it after he had revealed himself to Superman. (great job, detectives)

And in terms of expectations, yes I was let down that Vic and Kate didn't get to do more, but the real thing that bugs me about the reveal is that it came from nowhere in terms of these six issues. Bendis said that this was playing fair as a mystery, but you would have had to know DC comics (and old ones at that) to even think of Mark Shaw. If it had been Kate all along, then we could piece it together after the fact and admire Bendis' craftwork, but If someone were just reading this story and nothing else, your reaction would be as flat as Superman's was when he saw his face.

I figured there'd be more with Leviathan and the new status quo with his presence in the DCU, but these six issues still has to function as a fullfilling story, and to me it did not. It was all about leading up the Big Reveal - which was underwhelming, *had no emotional impact on any of the characters*, then it was over.

[cranger]

So here is the obvious problem: the writer promoted it as a solvable mystery. It is not. Even if people picked up on the Manhunter hints, it still could have been anyone. Absolutely nothing about the story supports why it is Mark Shaw. So, no, it is not a mystery and there are no hints.

The bigger problem is that by the end of it, Leviathan is still as much a threat, if not bigger, than at the beginning. All this did was give the protagonists the name of someone that means nothing to them anyway. So other than not suspecting everyone of being the leader Leviathan, so what? They should still suspect everyone of working for Leviathan.

[Holy Nightwing Fan]

Was it? It read to me like an introduction. An origin story, to me is about the character. This wasn't about Mark Shaw - we didn't see his journey from Manhunter to Leviathan. There were some exposition bubbles that explained it after he had revealed himself to Superman. (great job, detectives)

And in terms of expectations, yes I was let down that Vic and Kate didn't get to do more, but the real thing that bugs me about the reveal is that it came from nowhere in terms of these six issues. Bendis said that this was playing fair as a mystery, but you would have had to know DC comics (and old ones at that) to even think of Mark Shaw. If it had been Kate all along, then we could piece it together after the fact and admire Bendis' craftwork, but If someone were just reading this story and nothing else, your reaction would be as flat as Superman's was when he saw his face.

I figured there'd be more with Leviathan and the new status quo with his presence in the DCU, but these six issues still has to function as a fullfilling story, and to me it did not. It was all about leading up the Big Reveal - which was underwhelming, *had no emotional impact on any of the characters*, then it was over.

I agree with you completely. Besides, the ending felt rushed, especially concerning Mark Shaw encounter with Superman and the rest. I didn't understand yet how he was able to flee from them. Did Supes and the others just stood there and begun discussing and Shaw just... got away? What?

And there were more negative issues with this series: the characterization was off, in some cases, specially in Batman's and Damian's, it was terrible. Lots of lines were pretty dumb, which undermined my reading. After all, in a mistery story, you expect your characters to be more intelligent and not even dumber than the usual.

But it's what they usually say: Bendis gotta Bendis

[ducklord]

As someone else said, this wasn't "Heroes In Crisis" bad, but it wasn't exactly super-good, either. Pretty to look at, some occasionally amusing bits of Bendis-speak, and a hero-turned-villain with a compelling motivation for future stories, but:

1) This whole story could have been told in an 80-page giant with about half as many characters, and not one scintilla of the tension would have been lost.
2) The hit-to-miss ratio of Bendis's "wit" remains on the "unfortunate" side for me. YMMV.
3) I felt a tiny gut-punch when Superman didn't recognize Mark Shaw. Granted, he's being drawn like no version of Mark Shaw ever, and it's at least a couple of reboots ago, but if you're going to make a nostalgia play in your big reveal, I think you have to go all in.
4) (Gets on his hobby-horse) If you're going to write ANYTHING about the Guardians, Green Lanterns, or Manhunters, I demand that you know the difference between "universe" and "galaxy." When your "smart" characters use them interchangeably, they sound like idiots.
5) I can't shake the feeling that Bendis only has a superficial grasp of DCU Manhunter history. Which is fine, because a) it's stupidly complicated, and b) reboots, but I'd like to be proven wrong.
6) We better get a decent "Why I Became Leviathan" story out of this. And it better be told in a one-shot, not another 6-issue mini.
7) Seriously, what WAS the point of that second detective group?

[Denirac]

The Second Group was the Characters Bendis had forgotten

[Frontier]

7) Seriously, what WAS the point of that second detective group?

Bendis likes to have a lot of characters guest star even when they contribute nothing to the plot.

[ducklord]

The Second Group was the Characters Bendis had forgotten

Seriously, that whole second group felt like Bendis realizing that even HE couldn't write two more issues of the original group engaging in these exchanges:

"I think it's you now."
"Yeah, well now I think it's you."
"This is all a distraction."
"I think you're the distraction."
"<Plastic Man punchline>"

So, he threw together another group (with a convenient teleporter to move all the characters around at the end of the story) to engage in more-or-less the same exchanges, but with Constantine slotted into the Plastic Man role.

Man, I've gotten cynical.

[Arsenal]

Even though most people hate them, the story probably would have benefited from some tie in material to cover the things that seemingly occurred off panel.

[BatmanJones]

Do you know what, I didn’t hate this. It was an origin story.

I guess. It certainly wasn't a "mystery thriller."

[ducklord]

I guess. It certainly wasn't a "mystery thriller."

It was more like half of an origin story. You know the classic Batman origin, "Who He Is and How He Came To Be?" This is like the first part of that story, stretched out over 6 issues.

"Whoooooooooooooooo Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Isssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss -" if you will.

[LordUltimus]

All this to give Bendis his DC-Hood villain. Prepare to see Leviathan in every other story he writes, either directly or as the one pulling strings behind the scenes.

[Frontier]

All this to give Bendis his DC-Hood villain. Prepare to see Leviathan in every other story he writes, either directly or as the one pulling strings behind the scenes.

Oh man, I hope we're not in for another Hood equivalent...

[Vordan]

All this to give Bendis his DC-Hood villain. Prepare to see Leviathan in every other story he writes, either directly or as the one pulling strings behind the scenes.

Oh no lmao I was just thinking this.