for me was really funny to see the "Legion of Doom" place. I have no idea that it was a official place in the main DC Universe now.

Final Crisis #3 - rated 8
"I never thought I'd have to say this again...where's my jet pack?"

Yes, we all know that this is the one where evil wins, but the goodguys are organizing on several fronts and won't go down without a fight. Checkmate and S.H.A.D.E. pool their efforts, Alan Scott and Wonder Woman initiate Article X, Sonny and Shilo get a ride from new friends, and the Flashes take a hard look at where this whole thing is going. The usual suspects are all here, but I didn't necessarily expect to see Frankenstein, Aquaman, Mr. Tawky Tawny, and Cave Carson.

A couple of response comments:
1. Mary Marvel's look: Every time a new issue comes out, it looks like we are going to have to say this again - Ignore Countdown. Pretend you didn't read it.
2. The woman who shows up to talk with Superman: I don't think she's a New God. I think she's one of the Monitors.

Detective Comics #847 - rated 8.5
"The sight of his costume in a widening pool of blood fills my heart with joy."

Bruce & Tommy go to camp! Selina Kyle gets some advice over a game of three-card monte. Batman gathers the troops to give a warning. We learn the secret of Thomas Elliot's mentor, and yes, it is someone we know. And if you're not sold already, I've got two words for you and they both start with "Tweedle."

Trinty #10 - rated 7
"Well, she smells nice. For a gorilla."

Busiek shows here, in case any of us were inclined to forget, that Grant Morrison doesn't have a monopoly on the art of constantly throwing around crazy ideas, all of which somehow build to a compelling narrative. Anti-matter Metal Men, a sun chained in ink, and a visit to the Crime Syndicate all populate the main story. The backup story explains the bizarre thefts from last issue and introduces the fourth member of their team, which is apparently named the Dreambound. Primat offered the funnest, most ridiculous fighting banter I've seen in ages.

Jonah Hex #34 - rated 6
"Love thy neighbor and thou shall not kill stand at odds with each other an' ya prefer ah take up the work of yer angels who ain't but assassins with wings!"

This was a decent, but familiar kind of story, the plot of which offered no real surprises. On top of that the art, though quite beautiful at times, more often came off a bit stiff, unable to properly translate movement and action. This issue's saving grace, though, comes from an unexpected conversation with God. This isn't the best issue of this series, but it definitely has its moments.

Actually, I believe that's the symbol (or at least a variation of such) of the Apokalips gods. It was shown in the sketchbook a few months back. The New Genesis crew use an inverted version of that, similar to Orion's starburst.

See, that's the thing. In order to enjoy/understand Final Crisis, what do you really need to know about SHADE that isn't presented in the story? They appear as a government special forces/SWAT/police force, one of their agents is Frankenstein (a monster/meta), and they're led by a man named Father Time. You even learn what the acronym stands for during the Bludhaven scene. To be honest, there isn't really much more to know about them.

I don't mean to single you out BoyBlunder, but this sort of thing seems to be one of the constant complaints of the series even though it's mostly groundless. Last issue people seemed to be up in arms about not having every detail about the history of the Super Young Team or Sonny Sumo, despite the fact that it was the SYT's first appearance.

On a different note, has anyone translated the German from the nazi Supergirl? I ran it through the trusty babelfish but was slightly hampered by the fact that the letters with accents seem to have been printed in the comic as random punctuation marks. Feel free to correct me but I came up with: "I am Supergirl" and "No. The sky is bleeding. Hell is here."


This last bit placed in a spoiler box because it deals with the last page:

Since I haven't seen these mentioned by anyone else yet:

Hawkman Special #1 - A Rann-Thanagar Holy War tie in, though you don't need to have been following that mini since this is essentially a Hawkman solo story. It doesn't do much to advance the Rann-Thanagar plot but it does seem to succeed at one important thing: it clears up Hawkman's backstory and origin. It looks like they went with the KISS principle this time and it's pretty much the opposite of the fixes they tried in the past.

Nightwing #147 - A Batman RIP tie in, though you wouldn't know it other than a few mentions of Batman "running around in a technicolor dreamcoat". Two-Face asks Nightwing to help save a woman he loved in his pre-crime days. She's a DA who's being targeted for death before she can deliver important testimony in court.

Manhunter #33 - Kate breaks into the pharmaceutical company and runs into their super-powered security. Dylan gets beat up while trying to figure out how to avoid running into the Joker. Ramsey seems to live up to his metahuman lineage. And finally the former Suicide Squad shows up to help (or, more likely, hinder) Kate's investigations.

The person you cannot place is Starfire. You can see her skin is orange.

Makes sense. I was thinking along the same lines until I convinced myself that the orange skin was just a result of the red/orange glow of the sky.

FC was a mixed bag for me. I was excited to see Frankenstein, but he only had a line or two. The same basic complaint applies to a few of the other plots. With so much going on, inevitably you feel like the plotline your most interested gets shortchanged. I want to see how Morrison pulls this all together, but there's a lot of balls in the air with not much time to pull it all together. Hoping for the big payoff.

Infinity Inc. #12 - How disappointing. I hate it when a series gets canned and the writer spends the last issue tearing everything down in a tantrum. One member's killed, the others are whisked off to Bludhaven for torture, followed by eventual dissection, evil wins and that's it. I don't mind things ending on a down note as long as it's done well, but this was a rushed hatchet job that urinates on the rest of the series and it's characters.

As a post-mortem on the series itself, I'm sorry to see it go, bit understand why sales slipped. Milligan had some great ideas, but the execution was a little clunky. When your team is relatively unknown and the "mission Statement" isn't well-defined, taking the first 5 issues to pull everyone together and get things started, really kills the interest of people wanting to sample the book. They could have got the team together, then started exploring the psychological issues and it would have been more palatable. And while I loved some of the characters (Gerome, Eric/Erika, Mercy) other were too ill-defined (does anyone know what Lucia's hang-up really were, much less her powers?), and Steel wasn't used as effectively as I think he should have been. It had potential, but I really hope Milligan goes back to Vertigo for his next series. he's sorely missed there.

I thought Bats was a no show because of Batman R.I.P. I think the person who saw Superman is from the future. I hate what they did to Black Mary. Apart from that I like what Morrison is doing but the Mary thing really bugs me. Also I thought that all the New gods died. How are they in human form? I like the call to arms and that Ollie is so opposed to it but suits up anyways. Superman was hurt the only way possible through Lois. Whats going on with Checkmate and S.H.A.D.E? Hows does everyone know that the Question is Montoya? So who is the carrier? Wonder Woman orthe E-mail?

I am going to get Supergirl next ish because of Princess and I got to pick up Robin. It sounds interesting.

I'm going to have to re-read Final Crisis, but I'm afraid this one totally jumped the shark.

Darkseid's master stroke is an email attachment. That opens itself. Apaprently, with no regard for whether you were actually looking at email at the time. And in response, Oracle expects to shut down the *Internet* in a matter of moments.

I can't take that seriously. I really, really can't. Morrison has officially exceeded my suspension of disbelief, and it's going to taint everything that comes out of it.

-J

Only the S.H.A.D.E operatives know Montoya's the Question, which makes you wonder what else Father Time knows. S.H.A.D.E is currently trying to secure Bludhaven and the weapons factory, though why they'd bring in an international team like Checkmate for help is hard to tell.

like I read in a past inteview. maybe they are taking this as a joke. Not serioulsy like the past Crisis.

the past Crisis and some other macro events were epics. this Crisis don't look in that way (at least not yet).

I was hoping for a scene like...
-Oh my God, it's Barry!-
-Barry, it's rally you?-
-Yes, I'm. and I comeback because this will be the final days of history. We have little time. This is what we have to do...-

Not Barry just seating in a rock in the future.

1. As pointed out already, the only people who indicated knowing Montoya was the Question were agents of SHADE and Checkmate, ultra-high level superhuman intelligence agencies. I'm sure there are a lot of things those agencies know that most of the rest of the DCU does not.

2. Who is the carrier? I would assume both. As pointed out by several posters, a Apokoliptian-level e-mail virus would still have its limitations, but could, conceivably, attack a huge number of people all at once. My assumption is that those "infected" would then seek out the rest, until all were caught in Darkseid's web. Some trying to avoid infection would, inevitably, be super-heroes, hence Darkseid's need for a super-powered agent, like Wonder Woman. She may not even have been his only agent he recruited in that manner, but certainly the most prominent.

Keep in mind these are my assumptions, and I didn't need a PhD in DCU history or hours scouring the internet for interviews and clues to figure this out. For those still complaining that Final Crisis is too confusing, I want it on the record that I made these assumptions based solely on what has happened within the Final Crisis comic itself.

I thought this issue was a real standout. It was one of the most moving comic stories I've ever read. It's stuff like #34 that's kept me a diehard Jonah Hex fan, through thick and thin, for more than thirty years.

To me, this issue, the issue illustrated by Darwyn, and the three-issue origin arc are required reading for any Hex fan (or those new to the fold).

FC #3 - Why did Lois's name tag in the hospital say Louis?

Mary Marvel's new look is because she's now a Fury. I know, I know...still looks stupid beyond compare, but that was what made it "ok" with me that she looked that way. The Furies have NEVER looked normal anyways!! =)