Checkmate #6 Preview

[The Cool Thatguy]

I don't think DC needed a SHIELD equivalent. Like, Argus maybe but it didn't need to destroy all the other organizations.

Oh, I agree. I think DC does spy and magic stuff better, because they don't have one character planted firmly at the top.

Or, didn't, I should say

[Thor-Ul]

I don't think DC needed a SHIELD equivalent. Like, Argus maybe but it didn't need to destroy all the other organizations.

Are they? In Infinite Frontier the DEO was pretty much active and working on.

[Frontier]

Are they? In Infinite Frontier the DEO was pretty much active and working on.

Argus during the New 52 was basically more of a SHIELD (and they're the SHIELD equivalent in the Arrowverse) although it seems like the DEO functions that way too...depending on the writer .

[MajorHoy]

I read the entire thing - definitely a surprise.

But a good surprise or something else?

[Thor-Ul]

Because there are surprises!! and ..."surprises"..

[Robotman]

The only good thing that came from the Event Leviathan/Checkmate series was that Kate Spencer is back as Manhunter. Everything else, not so great. The Kamandi reveal was kind of interesting but I don’t really see the point besides shock value. Maybe Bendis has something in mind for him down the road.

this book was pretty frustrating at times as it could be a challenge to figure out what the hell was happening in the panels and who was saying what. Maleev’s action sequences are freaking hard to follow and of course all of Bendis’ characters sound the same.

A lot of Bendis’ story ideas have conflicted with other things going on in the DCU. They had to hand wave away the fact that Bones went insane and became a multiverse villain in Infinite Frontier. They had to teleport him back and pretend everything was all good. The Guardian is back to being a straight laced Metropolis hero. Waller is currently playing a diabolical Bond villain with her own private island lair and army. And who knows what they have planned for Talia in the upcoming Shadow War.

As others have said, it’s pretty lame that all of DC’s intelligence agencies have been homogenized. I wish they would all be given a specific niche.

DEO - alien/extra-terrestrial
SHADE - supernatural
Checkmate - covert ops
ARGUS - Justice League government liaison

[Factor]

The only good thing that came from the Event Leviathan/Checkmate series was that Kate Spencer is back as Manhunter. Everything else, not so great. The Kamandi reveal was kind of interesting but I don’t really see the point besides shock value. Maybe Bendis has something in mind for him down the road.

this book was pretty frustrating at times as it could be a challenge to figure out what the hell was happening in the panels and who was saying what. Maleev’s action sequences are freaking hard to follow and of course all of Bendis’ characters sound the same.

A lot of Bendis’ story ideas have conflicted with other things going on in the DCU. They had to hand wave away the fact that Bones went insane and became a multiverse villain in Infinite Frontier. They had to teleport him back and pretend everything was all good. The Guardian is back to being a straight laced Metropolis hero. Waller is currently playing a diabolical Bond villain with her own private island lair and army. And who knows what they have planned for Talia in the upcoming Shadow War.

As others have said, it’s pretty lame that all of DC’s intelligence agencies have been homogenized. I wish they would all be given a specific niche.

DEO - alien/extra-terrestrial
SHADE - supernatural
Checkmate - covert ops
ARGUS - Justice League government liaison

This would have been much cooler.
It boggles my mind that Bendis needed to miniseries to basically put Talia as head of Leviathan again. It seems like we're back at square one, but the DCU feels smaller now.