Event Leviathan discussion thread

[j9ac9k]

From the interview:
https://www.newsarama.com/46900-bria...-spoilers.html

Deathstroke is supposed to be dead, so this doesn't look like it's Slade under the mask.

[Yoda]

So Sam Lane is playing possum, that much seems obvious.

[gohei_]

So far the story is interesting enough, and the art is great. But my god the dialogue ranges from atrocious to just plain bad most of the time.

[king81992]

From the interview:
https://www.newsarama.com/46900-bria...-spoilers.html

Deathstroke is supposed to be dead, so this doesn't look like it's Slade under the mask.

I'm guessing Rose or Jericho is under the mask.

[H-E-D]

I'm really liking this series.

[Caivu]

Obviously the new Leviathan is even more a pain in his ass, so when he was approached by Lois Lane, he probably agreed to help her relatively cheaply.

Ah, so she only pays 25k an hour instead of 100k. Gotcha.

[Superlad93]

I'm thinking Leviathan is totally a future version Damian.

Here's why from another thread...

In his latest interview Bendis said that if a character wasn't already part of the story, then it doesn't make story sense for them to be a suspect let alone Leviathan.

So, with that in mind, and looking at the fact that Oliver, Lois, Kate, Question, and even Plastic Man have all either been approached by Leviathan, or set up by Leviathan, that leaves Damian. And as Bendis puts it, "Damian's one of the wild cards" in the story. He's also the least likely simply due to his age and size.

So, I'm gonna go ahead and tipple down on my Future Damian guess. A future Damian coming back to his past and taking over the name and organization built by his mother, but using it to his own ends makes sense and keeps it in "in the family." The current Damian was the first to basically kick off this event by placing doubt on Jason. That's not to say that current Damian is in League with Leviathan, but rather that it's a twist on the age old murder mystery concept of the killer being the one to cast the first stone. Then there's Jason's comment about "daddy issues." Then there's the fact that Leviathan has said that he tried it Batman's way.

Also now his comments to Plastic Man make more sense if it's Damian. The world he was born into almost did swallow him whole, and he had to turn things around. And if it is a future Damian then he likely did fight as part of the Justice League and so on.

While time travel isn't too hard to come by in the DCU, it's just now become of greater importance to Bendis due to his Legion book, and it's possible that Damian gains the tech from a future Jon.

I really think Clark flat out saying "a clue" when he noticed the teleportation tech had some trace amounts of temporal energy to it seems like, well, a clue. And just look at all the Event Leviathan covers and variant covers. It's so Batman related, but he's not the one leading the charge or even driving the investigation. Lois is. And yeah, Batman's image pushes units, but it almost exclusively being Batman is kind of...off, yeah? Plus, the "I tried it your way" teaser with Batman.

I imagine making the next big fixture in the DCU's DNA the Son of Batman reforming how Earthly intelligence works would be a way to give it some cred and put it on the map, so to speak.

Also the irony of Talia shouting out "if you kill me, my son will..." as she's pushed from the aircraft by Leviathan (knowing Superman would get her) would be pretty sweet. And Leviathan calling her a broken women, and hoping that she could move past her upbringing hits all the harder if its a Damian who is old enough to be over his mother's crap.

And, just because I keep noticing this stuff, it "rhymes" with Jon's journey. Under Bendis' pen Jon just set in motion reform on a galactic scale, and now Damian is reforming how the spy game works on Earth. That plays to the idea that, in their own distinct ways, these kids are trying to bringing about change.

That's assuming my guess is correct.

Edit: This would also explain his Batman related stuff he teased on twitter. He says he's not going to be writing any Batman books, but I have to imagine that he'd get his Bat-fill if he were writing Leviathan as Damian because that would absolutely require Bruce showing up.

Edit2: it may not seem like much, but in issue 3 Damian finds the device that Waller left in the Fortress and immediately says "oh we're poaching this tech" in the event where the main bad guy admits to poaching or borrowing other tech. Sure, it's not crazy for a Batman character to say this, but it's at least notable in this event, I feel.

Also in this event Bruce has had several moments of "breaking character" and trying to be a dad. The first being when Damian jumps after Jason, and Bruce foregoes the chase to make sure Damian lands safe, and sure enough it was in the issue that someone joked that Leviathan had "daddy issues." The second is in this issue where Bruce is telling Damian to have more respect for Superman (something Leviathan does have, and would make a lot of sense if it is a future Damian)

Edit3: Damian is also seen admiring Manhunetr's staff and asking if she made the tech herself. Yet another instance of him Damian looking to approrate tech in the story where the mystery bad guy is doing the same but on a grander scale. And it's so "blink and you'll miss it that it makes for a great clue.

[Sacred Knight]

Best issue yet, in my opinion. A part of me is a little worried Bendis is going to somehow pin this on Kate, as Batgirl seemed to indicate that Leviathan might actually be in the room with the heroes, but I think it's a double fake-out on Bendis's part. I like the Mark Shaw theory, myself. I'm wondering if Dylan Battles might be tied up in this, too, though. He is a tech genius, after all, and Damian even asked where Kate gets her equipment, a question which I felt Bendis dubiously left hanging.

Also really like that Bendis took the time to focus in on Kate and have the other heroes ask why she's a part of this in the first place. As a fan of Kate's, I've been wondering that myself since the series was announced, but it makes sense that the heroes would question it, too, given her dodgy past with the greater hero community. Good hook having them confront it directly. Plus, it put the spotlight on her this issue, which was just fine by me.

Mark Shaw is a pretty cool guess, and it would be a clever way of cheating the idea that Bendis has insinuated many times that Leviathan is a character we've already seen in the story but staying true to it on a type of technical level. He hasn't been seen, but the identity in Manhunter has been seen via Kate. On the other hand, it wouldn't really be a reveal to have much oomph to the casual reader. He's been off the canvas a good while and wouldn't be instantly recognizable in a reveal in the first place. On the other other hand, you can always subvert expectations and not necessarily need the character to be instantly recognizable upon first unmasking anyway. Or what about the original, Paul Kirk?

[Pohzee]

I'm thinking Leviathan is totally a future version Damian.

Here's why from another thread...

Damn. Well thought out and totally convincing. Nice work!

[Sacred Knight]

Its a well thought-out theory, but gods I hope its not true. Not that there'd be anything wrong with a time travel or alternate Earth twist, nothing like that bothers me its just...enough with those two kids for just a little bit. But that's just me, with full disclosure to my biases. Again nothing against the crafting of the theory itself.

[BohemiaDrinker]

It jus occurred to me that I'd prefer if they didn't reveal his identity.

From the looks to the methods to what little we can peak at his motivations: this is already the best new villain since, I think, "The Reach", and that is over ten years.

I wouldn't mind keeping him around a little longer.

[Caivu]

A very strong case for the Mark Shaw theory:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/co..._leviathan_is/

[Sacred Knight]

The logo can't be coincidence. It doesn't necessarily prove the direct identity but to my eyes its too spot on to not be deliberate for some reason in regards to the Manhunter mythos. Just a question to me of what that reason is. Only thing I could possibly see wrong with it being directly him is, as others have pointed out and me too, it wouldn't make for a flashy reveal. If that's at all what Bendis is going for then its hard to imagine as he's been absent so long to be pretty much obscure to modern audiences. Although, if we want something "shocking", we could look to other things that have a connection to the Manhunter mythos. Like the Green Lanterns. Kyle? John? Hal is incredibly superfluous. Its hard to imagine Guy even being able to pretend to be as calm and calculating as Leviathan is. Just spitballing now.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

I'm thinking Leviathan is totally a future version Damian.

Here's why from another thread...

Didn't Bendis say that Leviathan was an established, yet completely obscure character? Am I misremembering that?

Honestly, I hope it ends up being someone completely out of left field; someone who has never had a real chance to shine. Ideally, I want Bendis to pull of something akin to what Geoff Johns did with Black Hand in his Green Lantern run: turning a previously obscure villain into a major antagonist.

[Korath]

I don't know how to feel about the Manhunter theory.

Clearly, the symbols in LoSH;M are really close to his, and Bendis confirmed it's a Leviathan's base (which should have been obvious because of the blue light it emits, damn it !). But I don't even know who that Mark whatever is. Perhaps the one who appeared to die in the first Batman and the Outsiders series I read recently ? I couldn't tell, I don't remember his name at all. So, it would be an underwhelming revelation, like "Tadaa! It's awesome for the two peoples who knew of this guy and cared deeply for him!". But it would also be great to see an obscure character getting to shine so prominently, if all his done well.

I'm torn, I guess.