Mister Miracle: the Source of Freedom #6 spoilers/discussion (Finale)

[sifighter]

Well Shilo it’s been a rather confusing ride but we are at the end of our six issue journey into your odd character retrospective and retcons while also wondering where the hell is Scott Free and Big Barda. And well...we sort of get answers to that but there’s also a huge load of questions, which makes me think there is something new god related coming later; either that or a second season mini.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, where we last left off Shilo was fighting N’vir at the source of her galactic empire after hitching a ride on a proto-Mobius chair. N’vir has activated a device called a world killer which is pretty self-explanatory. Hoping to stop her and getting advice from his recently retconned Ghost Grandfather he fights N’vir one on one with no powers and decides to talk her down which starts to work until it doesn’t but don’t worry he’s saved by...what the hell, his parents? But seeing Shilo reunited with his family ticks off N’vir so she about to go super saiyan to destroy everything. Thankfully Shilo talks her out of it but also clues us in that Scott and Barda have apparently been erased. But Shilo has saved the day...as for N’vir well something opens a boom tube to save her from an angry mob and she’s disappeared. Maybe she will be back? Who knows honestly but she isn’t gone is the important thing to note.

Anyway after all that we get a standard ending that is happy enough. While separated from his parents and Oberon Shilo gets to go home and reconnects with that girl he’s been interested in and finally comes out to the world that Mister Miracle is Shilo Norman.

I will say now that it’s all over I liked getting to know Shilo and frankly the retcons didn’t bother me too much because I’m not a huge mister miracle fan. Also I think this had some really good moments about how important it is to love yourself. Other then that though all the grand epic sci-fi/New God stuff can get zany to say the least, some sentences said felt like they required entire scientific degrees. But it was fun and we got Shilo now so I guess we just keep on the lookout for his next appearance.

[Artemisfanboy]

Thankfully Shilo talks her out of it but also clues us in that Scott and Barda have apparently been erased

Yeah, I don't like this at all. And them being apparently erased because of N'vir's time traveling or whatever also seems stupid. I can't wait for this to be retconned and undone and Scott and Barda to be brought. Which in their case at least I can feel reasonably confident will happen sooner or later.

I honestlty don't know what they were going for with this.

[The Cool Thatguy]

One of the only redeeming parts of Last Laugh was Shilo working to escape a prison of Jokerized villains with only his cunning and wits.

That Shilo could easily take over the mantle of Mr. Miracle, he's a good character.

But God damn, not like this.

Escape artist is a big part of the basic Mr. Miracle character, and we never really saw that here.

Instead, we saw Shilo doing a low rent Iron Man with a Mother Box, showing around energy blasts and whatnot. I understand not everyone can be Al Ewing, and a super escape artist isn't the easiest thing to write, but still.

I'd be annoyed about Scott and Barda being erased, if I thought it was gonna last. Does DC have any idea what to do with their New Gods besides Darkseid?

[lemonpeace]

I kinda absolutely loved this series? It had a lot of heart and I really dug the approach they took deepening the connection between Shiloh and the Mister Miracle legacy. i loved the retcons, I feel they were well executed and did a great job of contextualizing Mister Miracle and the New Gods through the lens of Shiloh. they worked with all the zany grand scifi imagery to ground the racial themes and elevates it to being a legitimate afrofuturistic tale instead of a sermon or a thesis.

i only say "kinda love it" because i did have my gripes. it did feel a little cheesy at times (though it's hard to fault a story for being too earnest) and I had a couple small nitpicks. I would've liked to see Shiloh utilizing some sleight of hand/escapology in his final showdown, that would've been great. I also felt it was odd to have him meet his parents then loss them again in such quick succession. I feel they could've just revealed they were alive and looking for him or something instead of having them meet like that. Also the N'vir disappearance was kinda sudden and oddly done. tho, while N'vir and the parents could've been handled better, i do get why they made those choices ("sequel bait" so to speak). regardless, I had a ton of fun with this series! I'm super ok with them leaving room for a follow up and i hope we see that soon. this is definitely one of my personal favorites of the year.

i would love it if, now that we've fleshed out Shiloh Norman's Mister Miracle, the next installment sees him doing more New Gods stuff. I'm sure after Infinite Frontier and all the changes to the cosmic landscape that came with it, DC's gonna wanna re-establish the New Gods going forward. With Scott and Barda off the board for now (thats obviously meant to be an ongoing mission for Shiloh) and the changes to the DC space layout in Green Lantern and Superman, I would like to see how Shiloh's role as Mister Miracle could factor into the New Gods and the overall cosmic DC landscape going forward.

[Frontier]

Yeah, I don't like this at all. And them being apparently erased because of N'vir's time traveling or whatever also seems stupid. I can't wait for this to be retconned and undone and Scott and Barda to be brought. Which in their case at least I can feel reasonably confident will happen sooner or later.

I honestlty don't know what they were going for with this.

Would be kind of convenient if they come back and it erases N'vir from existence...

[Robotman]

Wasn’t a big fan of this issue. I hate when a series has a lot of unanswered questions and then has an exposition data dump in the final chapter to try and close things out.

I really like Shilo as a character, even though Scott will always be my favorite Mr. Miracle (I actually have Scott and Barda tattoos on my arm). I wish there was a better explanation than just saying they were erased from existence.

As Darkseid and the New Gods have become so important to the DCU story, there’s really no way you could have Scott and Barda erased. Without Scott there is no Pact between Apokolips and New Genesis and the two would have potentially obliterated each other and the universe. The Pact is the most important chapter in the New Gods saga and the New Gods are now a lynchpin of the DCU.

I would have much preferred it if Shilo was Scott’s now grown sidekick (basically his Nightwing). Maybe say that Scott and Barda are missing and Shilo is currently the world’s Mister Miracle. Then maybe have N’vir be a Fury that Granny has brainwashed into thinking she was their child. The psychological warfare is right up the evil gods alley.

[Frontier]

I would have much preferred it if Shilo was Scott’s now grown sidekick (basically his Nightwing). Maybe say that Scott and Barda are missing and Shilo is currently the world’s Mister Miracle. Then maybe have N’vir be a Fury that Granny has brainwashed into thinking she was their child. The psychological warfare is right up the evil gods alley.

That's about what I was expecting when they announced this book.

[sifighter]

That's about what I was expecting when they announced this book.

Honestly I’ll say this series was really good if you liked Shilo or wanted to get to know this version of the character. As this is all about Shilo, his retcons, and his life.

However if you are a Scott Free fan then this series will likely leave you confused and asking a lot of questions.

[HsssH]

That's about what I was expecting when they announced this book.

I guess now that announced OGN with black Scott makes more sense. DC is probably thinking that instead of having a legacy/family with Scott and Shilo they should simply merge them into one character.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I wanted to love this book, and I did love some issues of it, but overall it didn't click. What we've seen of Shilo in Future State and thee Midnighter annual resonated more with me. Still, I see the potential for this direction going forward, even freeing Scott and Barda to actually be New Gods while Shilo does his thing on Earth.

I just wish it was a little bit more about Mr. Miracle: his skillset, his abilities, etc. It felt too much like "I have superpowers, this is my story". Like a Wally West Flash where we analyze all that makes him the Flash, but with no running whatsoever.