By Mark Rodriguez
The Crime Syndicate, an evil Justice League from another dimension, has come to take over the world and release all the villains. They have captured Nightwing and exposed his true identity tot he world at large. They also took down the Titans and sent them to Impulse's future timeline and out of their way. Lex Luthor is determined to do something about this and finds a Superman clone he named Bizzaro. Elsewhere, Batman and Catwoman suddenly appear at STAR Labs with what's left of Cyborg saying the Justice League didn't survive.
This issue opens with a flashback as the heroes try to explain what's going on. Cyborg's cybernetics suddenly gained a life of their own and ripped themselves out of his body, which as you know, doesn't leave him with much actual biological parts to live with. Just then the Crime Syndicate showed up and started attacking. Superman was previously wounded with a sliver of Kryptonite buried in his brain (I assume this happened during the Trinity War) so they were unprepared. Deathstorm exposed the matrix that bonds the two people that form Firestorm together and the resulting explosion pulled everyone inside him, except Batman and Catwoman that managed to get to shelter and watch over what was left of Cyborg.
Now in the Red Room of STAR Labs, the scientists there ask what happened to Firestorm now that he had so many people inside him, but Batman and Catwoman don't know. Batman explains they escaped in a sewer system with Victor and took him to a Justice League safehouse, which warped them to Detroit. Victor's dad is ready to operate on his son and save his life, but his assistant doesn't want Catwoman to enter the operating room with them. Batman says he wouldn't have brought her over if he didn't trust her.
Just then the news on tv repeats the reports of Nightwing being captured and exposed as Dick Grayson. Batman wants to head off to save him. Catwoman says he might already be dead. Batman says they don't know that. Catwoman asks who is Dick Grayson and Batman says he's a friend.
Meanwhile in Metropolis, Lex has Bizzaro bring a huge satellite dish for him. Lex has several satellites in space beyond the reach of Cyborg or the Crime Syndicate, and he plans to use the dish to track the movements of the Syndicate without them realizing it. Lex has locked onto Ultraman's signal, and currently the evil Kryptonian is busy fighting Black Adam.
Superman punches Black Adam through a battleship as they continue to fight. Black Adam yells out 'SHAZAM' and lightning hits Ultraman. The Kryptonian grabs his face and breaks his lower jaw, much to the surprise of Lex who is now able to watch. He then drops him to fall to the ocean below. Ultraman then notices his nose is bleeding. He asks Grid for the location of Metallo (since he has a Kryptonite core) and he flies off. Lex noticed that he's avoiding direct sunlight as he flies and wonders why.
In Central City, Deathstorm and Power Ring ask why the Rogues haven't destroyed the city yet. Captain Cold explains the city still has schools and hospitals that haven't been evacuated yet (since these guys are more into robberies and daring crimes, not cold blooded murder). Power Ring freaks out and thinks the Rogues are going to attack them... so he tries to kill them first.
Cold freezes Power Ring's hand, which temporarily quiets his ring and ends the pain. However, the ring's power soon breaks the ice off his hand. Wizard creates a fog, but Deathstorm turns the liquid droplets into hydrogen, which prevent Heatwave and Trickster from using of their devices. Deathstorm grabs onto Captain Cold and reworks his DNA. The Rogues have had their DNA altered to allow them to use their tricks and gimmicks as natural super powers (which is how Cold can now fire ice blasts with his bare hands instead of using this trademark Cold Gun). Deathstorm removes this ability from Cold, leaving him a regular human now.
Mirror Master grabs Cold and he jumps into a mirror with the rest of the Rogues. Power Ring suddenly shoots at the mirror and shatters it. Cold is suddenly sent flying through the window of some building and hitting his head on the railing of a fire escape, before landing on the ground. Cold can see the other Rogues in the reflections of water puddles on the ground. Mirror Master says his powers are messed up and they're trapped, though they can still see through reflections. They don't see the Syndicate, but they do see what they think is Superman. It's actually Bizzaro, working with Luthor, and he uses his fire breathe over the ocean.
Just then Black Manta surfaces and brings out Black Adam. He says the Crime Syndicate killed Aquaman, something he wanted, so now he wants to take everything they want from them. Captain Cold arrives and finds them, and asks if the Superman clone injured Black Adam. Lex said Ultraman did. Cold says he 'hopes' Ultraman is far away. Lex says 'hope' won't save the world... but maybe they can.
My Opinions-
The story is unfolding rather well and it's catching my interest in every turn. One thing that interests me though, is Power Ring. I am curious about his back story and wonder if the poor dude is even evil at all. It all seems to be the ring's doing. It's rotting his damn arm and it seems everything he does is for the sake of 'ending the pain'. The dude himself seems kinda spineless and overly paranoid, though it's hard to tell if that's also due to the ring possibly rotting his mind as well. Of course, coming from a world where weakness is shunned and if you have a problem you're pretty much doomed to solve it yourself cause no one else really gives a damn... he's doomed to suffer alone. He might go along with the Syndicate but all he really cares about is ending the pain, as seen with his brief moment of relief when Cold froze his hand, and Ultraman sounds like he'll have him killed if he doesn't pull his own weight.
I'm still confused as to what the hell Grid is exactly. He isn't so much an evil version of Cyborg... he's Cyborg's own...cyborgness coming to life and ripping itself off Victor. How the hell did that happen... and how the hell did THAT open the portal from our world to evil world? I know that in the New52's case, Apokolips technology was somehow related to Cyborg becoming what he is... but was it some sort of evil AI that was lying dormant all this time waiting for the right time to break free and establish itself...?
I'm anxious to see how this is all going to work out. Of course by now more issues of this series are already out, but I'll do my best to catch up to them.
The Crime Syndicate, an evil Justice League from another dimension, has come to take over the world and release all the villains. They have captured Nightwing and exposed his true identity tot he world at large. They also took down the Titans and sent them to Impulse's future timeline and out of their way. Lex Luthor is determined to do something about this and finds a Superman clone he named Bizzaro. Elsewhere, Batman and Catwoman suddenly appear at STAR Labs with what's left of Cyborg saying the Justice League didn't survive.
This issue opens with a flashback as the heroes try to explain what's going on. Cyborg's cybernetics suddenly gained a life of their own and ripped themselves out of his body, which as you know, doesn't leave him with much actual biological parts to live with. Just then the Crime Syndicate showed up and started attacking. Superman was previously wounded with a sliver of Kryptonite buried in his brain (I assume this happened during the Trinity War) so they were unprepared. Deathstorm exposed the matrix that bonds the two people that form Firestorm together and the resulting explosion pulled everyone inside him, except Batman and Catwoman that managed to get to shelter and watch over what was left of Cyborg.
Now in the Red Room of STAR Labs, the scientists there ask what happened to Firestorm now that he had so many people inside him, but Batman and Catwoman don't know. Batman explains they escaped in a sewer system with Victor and took him to a Justice League safehouse, which warped them to Detroit. Victor's dad is ready to operate on his son and save his life, but his assistant doesn't want Catwoman to enter the operating room with them. Batman says he wouldn't have brought her over if he didn't trust her.
Just then the news on tv repeats the reports of Nightwing being captured and exposed as Dick Grayson. Batman wants to head off to save him. Catwoman says he might already be dead. Batman says they don't know that. Catwoman asks who is Dick Grayson and Batman says he's a friend.
Meanwhile in Metropolis, Lex has Bizzaro bring a huge satellite dish for him. Lex has several satellites in space beyond the reach of Cyborg or the Crime Syndicate, and he plans to use the dish to track the movements of the Syndicate without them realizing it. Lex has locked onto Ultraman's signal, and currently the evil Kryptonian is busy fighting Black Adam.
Superman punches Black Adam through a battleship as they continue to fight. Black Adam yells out 'SHAZAM' and lightning hits Ultraman. The Kryptonian grabs his face and breaks his lower jaw, much to the surprise of Lex who is now able to watch. He then drops him to fall to the ocean below. Ultraman then notices his nose is bleeding. He asks Grid for the location of Metallo (since he has a Kryptonite core) and he flies off. Lex noticed that he's avoiding direct sunlight as he flies and wonders why.
In Central City, Deathstorm and Power Ring ask why the Rogues haven't destroyed the city yet. Captain Cold explains the city still has schools and hospitals that haven't been evacuated yet (since these guys are more into robberies and daring crimes, not cold blooded murder). Power Ring freaks out and thinks the Rogues are going to attack them... so he tries to kill them first.
Cold freezes Power Ring's hand, which temporarily quiets his ring and ends the pain. However, the ring's power soon breaks the ice off his hand. Wizard creates a fog, but Deathstorm turns the liquid droplets into hydrogen, which prevent Heatwave and Trickster from using of their devices. Deathstorm grabs onto Captain Cold and reworks his DNA. The Rogues have had their DNA altered to allow them to use their tricks and gimmicks as natural super powers (which is how Cold can now fire ice blasts with his bare hands instead of using this trademark Cold Gun). Deathstorm removes this ability from Cold, leaving him a regular human now.
Mirror Master grabs Cold and he jumps into a mirror with the rest of the Rogues. Power Ring suddenly shoots at the mirror and shatters it. Cold is suddenly sent flying through the window of some building and hitting his head on the railing of a fire escape, before landing on the ground. Cold can see the other Rogues in the reflections of water puddles on the ground. Mirror Master says his powers are messed up and they're trapped, though they can still see through reflections. They don't see the Syndicate, but they do see what they think is Superman. It's actually Bizzaro, working with Luthor, and he uses his fire breathe over the ocean.
Just then Black Manta surfaces and brings out Black Adam. He says the Crime Syndicate killed Aquaman, something he wanted, so now he wants to take everything they want from them. Captain Cold arrives and finds them, and asks if the Superman clone injured Black Adam. Lex said Ultraman did. Cold says he 'hopes' Ultraman is far away. Lex says 'hope' won't save the world... but maybe they can.
My Opinions-
The story is unfolding rather well and it's catching my interest in every turn. One thing that interests me though, is Power Ring. I am curious about his back story and wonder if the poor dude is even evil at all. It all seems to be the ring's doing. It's rotting his damn arm and it seems everything he does is for the sake of 'ending the pain'. The dude himself seems kinda spineless and overly paranoid, though it's hard to tell if that's also due to the ring possibly rotting his mind as well. Of course, coming from a world where weakness is shunned and if you have a problem you're pretty much doomed to solve it yourself cause no one else really gives a damn... he's doomed to suffer alone. He might go along with the Syndicate but all he really cares about is ending the pain, as seen with his brief moment of relief when Cold froze his hand, and Ultraman sounds like he'll have him killed if he doesn't pull his own weight.
I'm still confused as to what the hell Grid is exactly. He isn't so much an evil version of Cyborg... he's Cyborg's own...cyborgness coming to life and ripping itself off Victor. How the hell did that happen... and how the hell did THAT open the portal from our world to evil world? I know that in the New52's case, Apokolips technology was somehow related to Cyborg becoming what he is... but was it some sort of evil AI that was lying dormant all this time waiting for the right time to break free and establish itself...?
I'm anxious to see how this is all going to work out. Of course by now more issues of this series are already out, but I'll do my best to catch up to them.
Comments
Post a Comment
Leave your thoughts on this article!