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  1. #1
    Always Rakzo
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    Default Batman: Fear State Omega #1 Discussion/Spoilers

    Yes, I know I said I was going to quit at James Tynion IV's last Batman issue because of how terrible of final issue that was but I had the morbid curiosity to check if he could create an appropriate closure for this storyarc and his run as a whole in this special.

    Surprise! Surprise! He couldn't!

    In fact, as far as actual conclusions go, this might be one of the most unsatisfying ones in a while, even worse than anything that Tom King and, dare I say, Scott Snyder did in their long runs. Hell, is not even a conclusion as much as an epilogue in which Tynion focuses on the worthless characters he created during his time (Again, big surprise) probably because he knows nobody actually gives a damn about those derivative messes and he will be the last one to actually write them (For God's sake, those creations might even beat Snyder's Ultra Violet Spectrum and Still/Strength Forces in terms of laziness).

    Sure, Batman still gets some kind of starring role here which is the very least they could do but if you're really honest, Bruce mostly reflects on what Tynion's "OCs don't steal" crew does and contemplates what they will do in the future. Seriously, Tynion might be even worse than Tom Taylor at pushing his pet characters.

    And about the plot, forget about it, is an overly-long conversation between Batman and the Scarecrow that doesn't bring anything new to the table and doesn't redeem this storyline in any sort of way. In fact, is surprisingly devoid of content because Tynion decided to give the main focus to the already mentioned complaints.

    Riccardo Federici, Guilem March, Christian Duce, Ryan Benjamin and Trevor Hairsine share the pencils and they all do a surprisingly consistent work with an appropriately gothic style.

    Aside from that, this issue and run were a waste of time.

  2. #2
    Astonishing Member
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    I liked the bit where Batman says Gotham "shrugged off" Joker War and Fear State.

    Yeah, me too.

  3. #3
    duke's casettetape lemonpeace's Avatar
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    we still talking about "pet characters" like that term means anything? sounds like a bunch of bitter fanboyisms tbh.
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  4. #4
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Tynion's run started with a bang and a promise but ended on a whimper and like a self-promotion.
    Quote Originally Posted by Claude View Post
    I liked the bit where Batman says Gotham "shrugged off" Joker War and Fear State.

    Yeah, me too.
    At this point when it's event after event you kind of have to.

  5. #5
    Ultimate Member sifighter's Avatar
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    Honestly I liked the part with Ghost-maker recruiting Clownhunter by going “I’m not going to give you some speech like Batman, how about you and me just do sword fighting”.
    "It's fun and it's cool, so that's all that matters. It's what comics are for, Duh."
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  6. #6
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sifighter View Post
    Honestly I liked the part with Ghost-maker recruiting Clownhunter by going “I’m not going to give you some speech like Batman, how about you and me just do sword fighting”.
    Which is also kind of funny because it feels like Batman has been all speeches in this run to various degrees of effectiveness .

  7. #7
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    Am i the only one who thinks that Batman apparently arranging for a not exactly mentally healthy kid that has already brutally killed more than 20 people, to get trained by socio- or psychopathic vigilante is extremely out of character?

  8. #8
    Extraordinary Member thwhtGuardian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aahz View Post
    Am i the only one who thinks that Batman apparently arranging for a not exactly mentally healthy kid that has already brutally killed more than 20 people, to get trained by socio- or psychopathic vigilante is extremely out of character?
    It's the end of a poorly conceived and written run, so it's not even worth worrying if its out of character.
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  9. #9
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aahz View Post
    Am i the only one who thinks that Batman apparently arranging for a not exactly mentally healthy kid that has already brutally killed more than 20 people, to get trained by socio- or psychopathic vigilante is extremely out of character?
    My understanding of Ghost-Maker is Rule of Cool overrides actual logic.

  10. #10
    Extraordinary Member thwhtGuardian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    My understanding of Ghost-Maker is Rule of Cool overrides actual logic.
    ...except he's not cool at all. It's like they wanted to put Poochie in the DC Universe.
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    My understanding of Ghost-Maker is Rule of Cool overrides actual logic.
    There'd be something to be said for actually exploring that notion diagetically in-story.

    I thought the art here was nice all (I particularly sort of appreciated Guillem March stopping by to do a five-second Gotham City Sirens reunion), and I agree, not much was particularly well wrapped up and the thing comes across as a shrug and a meh. An epilogue to an anti-climax isn't exactly a far-reaching epic thing. The best part, I thought, was probably just the actual words of Batman's conversation with Crane and the kind of mundane nature of it. That pitch itself; Batman shoves Crane into the Batmobile and takes him to the loony bin and calls him on his fear bullshit, I can very much get behind.

    Of course, this is an unnecessary epilogue issue so it functions as narration for a big clip-show of those aforementioned extraneous characters, living allegories and otherwise, and that sort of thing is definitely well into the "OU/overused" category of comic book format tropes. I'd have much preferred a completely weird, point A to point B effed up little character-piece between Batman and Scarecrow. You can end it with the drop-off at "Newly Minted Next Year Arkham Disaster" with Chase Meridian if you want, but the clip show ... ugh, one grows weary. I am happy to see Meridian brought in from the films with some actual gusto and heat behind it, though her introduction to Dick Grayson in Detective was vastly superior.

    I will say that, in spite of really loving the energy and dynamic and style of Fernandez and vibing with it incredibly well (while acknowledging that this sort of manga-Gotham isn't the mise-en-scene I gravitate toward), you see Federici's art in a couple books this week and while it's a wee bit "static", it just like, screamed "appropriate for a big Scarecrow story".
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  12. #12
    Extraordinary Member DragonPiece's Avatar
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    It was alright, I enjoyed this more than the final in the main book. I feel like I was a cheerleader for a lot of Tynion's only to feel disappointed almost the entiery of this final arc. At least his Joker run is still great.

  13. #13
    Invincible Member Vordan's Avatar
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    Ended with a whimper. I really liked Tynion’s pre-Fear State run and was so excited to get a big Scarecrow story from him. Unfortunately it sucked and I’m ready to move on. I’ll continue to hope Scarecrow gets that big story he deserves one day.
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  14. #14
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by K. Jones View Post
    Of course, this is an unnecessary epilogue issue so it functions as narration for a big clip-show of those aforementioned extraneous characters, living allegories and otherwise, and that sort of thing is definitely well into the "OU/overused" category of comic book format tropes. I'd have much preferred a completely weird, point A to point B effed up little character-piece between Batman and Scarecrow. You can end it with the drop-off at "Newly Minted Next Year Arkham Disaster" with Chase Meridian if you want, but the clip show ... ugh, one grows weary. I am happy to see Meridian brought in from the films with some actual gusto and heat behind it, though her introduction to Dick Grayson in Detective was vastly superior.
    I just laughed when Chase Meridian showed up. Felt so random .

  15. #15
    Extraordinary Member thwhtGuardian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    I just laughed when Chase Meridian showed up. Felt so random .
    Yeah, she was in 'Tec too, it's interesting to see her get brought back into comics.
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