Category Archives: DC Comics

SpartanNerd…Follow up on “He-Man: The Eternity War”

by

3

I have been very impressed with the current run of DC masters of the Universe.  “He-Man: The Eternity War” has really been developed.  And we are seeing the characters presented in ways we have never seen before.

IMG_6160

Here is a pic of all six issues I have.  I have two of the covers from Issue 1.

IMG_6162

The version with the toys came only to subscribers, if I am correct.

What is so impressive?  Here are issue by issue thoughts.

Issue 1.  Hordak returns to flesh, using He-Man’s blood, drawn unintentionally by She-Ra in the preceding story arc.  And then he becomes a super charged version of himself by tapping into the power of Grayskull.  See what I mean…We’ve never seen Hordak presented like this.

Issue 2.  Man-At-Arms converts Roboto into a flight suit to take out the Horde’s orbital disruptor.  (This weapon wiped out most of the Masters of the Universe and the Eternian army in prior issues.  Kind of a mini-death star.)

Issue 3.  The deal with the Eyes of Grayskull returns from the digital-only books that began DC’s current run on Masters of the Universe.  She-Ra finds the Eye of Chrono and unintentionally leads Hordak to it.

Issue 4.  She-Ra takes a beating, but Skeletor rescues her using the eye of Chaos, which he had in his possession.  (Now Skeletor has both eyes!)

Issue 5. Skeletor witnesses She-Ra use her sword to heal herself, and asks her to heal him.  Then he explains that he has had a change of heart and doesn’t wish to be constantly defeated, as he has seen over and over in different versions of himself as he traveled the Multiverse.  The Green Goddess (or Sorceress, or Teela, what should we call her now?) lets He-Man know that “The Goddess” (adding to the confusion) has three faces, Serpos, Zoar, and Horokoth.  Eternia has witnessed the age of Zoar, but she fears the Age of Horokoth is inevitable.  He-Man chooses to look at the future behind a door with the Horde symbol on it, (which means Horokoth, the destroyer now.)  He sees himself as King He-Man, with the normal skinned (and naked) Teela as his queen.  A military state is evident.

Issue 6.  “The Problem with Power.”  He-Man sees a vision of the future.  DC uses King He-Man…an impressive draw to this story…the cover is magnificent.  We see more of the kingdom that King He-Man will bring about.  Notably, Skeletor’s allies are now his allies, while the “Good Guys” are now “The Great Rebellion!”  At the end, He-Man breaks the sword in half, destroying it and relinquishing the power to return to the form of Prince Adam.

I can’t wait for issue 7!

IMG_6161

Skeletor’s romp through the Multiverse let him see many versions of himself, each one ending in defeat.  He never acquires the power of Grayskull.  Check out my Skitch below…

IMG_6161 skitch

IMG_6163

“The Problem With Power” was the title of perhaps the greatest Filmation episode, where He-Man changes into Adam…a reverse transformation rarely seen, and then throws the sword into the abyss.  He decided in that episode that being He-man wasn’t worth taking the life of someone.  In this issue, there are echoes of the same, but all of Eternia is the victim as King He-Man is a despotic leader.

IMG_6159

This page kind of captures the state of things.  Beast Man is wearing Battle Cat’s hide as a cape!  He-Man is riding Panthor, and the Eternal Guard are riding Nightstalkers!  Also, notice the weaponry all over castle Grayskull.  In this issue, He-Man also orders an insurgent’s head on a spike…exactly the the thing Mattel told the moviemakers to avoid in the 1980s.  (I recall seeing the the Art Book instructions for “No Heads!  No Spikes!”

Finally….

IMG_6158

He-Man destroying “The Sword of Eternity.”  (A new name for “The Power Sword.”  Christened thus for only a few panels.)  a moving panel…Prince Adam appears so weak in the next few panels walking away, and I wonder how this is going to work.

“He-Man: The Eternity War” is a terrific read, and keen fans will see little allusions and nods.  I see it as the comic writers have a box full of toys, and are constantly playing with them in new ways.  Shaping a story the way little kids would have, and then making modern comics meant for an adult audience.

I hope DC keeps making MOTU comics.  I don’t ever want that dry spell that seemed to happen for so long to ever return.  I want to see toy versions of these comics characters.  The work is certainly deserving….

SpartanNerd…The End of an Era (Convergence)

by

0

Back in 2011, I was getting interested in comics again.  I had discovered “Comixology,” and was reading Conan the Barbarian and other titles lightly.  This was new to me…I had never read this stuff before.  But I thought it a good alternative to Marvel, who’s take on Spider-Man had pushed me away, and from DC whose universe seemed so large and old that I was intimidated by it.

When the news that DC was going to relaunch it’s whole lineup and re-number to #1s came down, I thought, “now is the time.” I began getting the digital copies, and enjoyed it really too much, probably.  So I subscribed to the physical copies of the titles I liked best, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, Batman, Justice League, Action Comics, and Aquaman.

Eventually I pared this down to only the Batman titles, and Masters of the Universe, of course.  And Batman has been a part of my life for several years.  I didn’t mind that his universe wasn’t completely re-booted.  I figured they would have alienated a ton of fans if they did.  I had little trouble getting into his universe…most of his enemies and allies did receive new treatment.  The only thing that jarred me at first was Damien, and I think he grew to be my favorite Robin, though.  I really felt wronged though, when they killed him off in the only title I wasn’t reading, “Batman Inc.”  And I wrote about that here on SpartanNerd.com extensively.  (I also think they gave haven’t written Tim Drake correctly.)

Still, this wasn’t enough to make me stop reading.  And I have enjoyed “Forever Evil” “Gothtopia”and all of the other “events” that involved Batman.  Also, Batman snd Superman has been a really good title, tying back to the beginning of the New 52 with connections to the Justice League story.  I wouldn’t know as much about Wonder Woman, Supergirl (Power Girl) or Huntress.

Finally, I thought the resurrection of Damien was really good.  And am happy, even ecstatic that he is back, and that he has super powers now as a new twist.

But DC Comics is voicing dissatisfaction with the New 52 universe.  I don’t know why…I guess just re-naming it wouldn’t be enough.  I heard things like they are out of ideas.  Or there are continuity errors.  The idea thing is a croc.  But there is no denying there are continuity errors.  Batman Eternal is busting with background noise from the Robin Rises story…for instance, this past week Raj Al Ghul referring to Batman’s leaving him in a frozen ravine…and in the same issue Batman looking longingly at one of the future Batmen and saying “Damien…”  Other continuity errors have come up as a result of writers leaving and other problems.  Geoff Johns just needed to keep a tighter reign on everyone.

And maybe that is what’s going to happen.  I have been lightly reading “Multiversity.”  I actually have the first issue and the guidebook.  What “Convergence” is supposed to do is do away with the Multiverse, and leave only the continuity established by the DC New 52.  They will use this event to correct some inconsistencies.

I am OK with this, but I feel a little bit of loss.  With the end of the Multiverse, that will take those Earth 3 “Heroes” out of the picture.  And what about the “Obama Superman.”  He will be gone.  No more Earth 2.  I never even read Earth 1.  The Multiversity guidebook presents a lot of cool characters.  Are these all going to be gone?  DC never has explained how Masters of the Universe fits into the New 52 universe.  He-Man “killed” Superman for crying out loud!

I think it will be cool to see the Flashpoint universe characters again.  I think it might be cool to see the old universe characters again.  The Convergence is supposed to bring these popular ideas back.  (I read the Flashpoint Batman stories after getting into the New 52…creepy!)

But I think I might just step off after the Convergence.  Maybe cherry pick the stories that interest me rather than subscribe.  Already I am forking over to get to the end of Batman Eternal and Future’s End.  I have a ton of comics now.  And I will have a complete collection of New 52 Batman books.  I hear that Marvel is doing something similar, and if they give us a clean starting point with Spider-Man, I will be back to reading that again.

Spoiler Free SpartanNerd

by

0

DC Comics made me REALLY MAD.  (again)

I have thoroughly enjoyed “The New 52.”  Many people are down on it.  But I like it because it is accessible to me.  Moreso than the old continuity of nearly 1000 issues of Detective and Action comics.  And “Crisis” after “infinite crisis” after “crisis on Earth 27” or whatever ridiculous intimidating thing they could throw out there.  No wonder I liked Marvel better.

When I jumped into the New 52, when it really WAS NEW, I was surprised how easily I took to Damien being Robin.  I didn’t even know there was a Batgirl other than Barbara Gordon, and was fine just seeing the familiar redhead.  Superman was reset, as was Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, the Justice League.  And so on.  Wonder Woman was even cool to me.  And all of these guys continue to keep me entertained.

But DC has burned me, too.  A subscriber.

For instance, I reported how mad I was that they killed off Damien Wayne suddenly.  Pretty much at the end of “Death of the Family.”  I had every issue I could get my hands on.  Even the side titles I wouldn’t normally have read.  But they killed him off in “Batman Incorporated.”  A book I wasn’t reading, because the art wasn’t that good and it was kind of an “old 52” story.so I could focus on the Joker.  One reason why I subscribed was so I wouldn’t MISS ANYTHING.

Another reason for subscribing though, was to have something fresh and new to read, to look forward to. To think about.  To predict.

DC blew it.  Longtime Hub City Geeks know that I have written extensively about who was going to take over as Robin.  What was going to happen.  Etc.  I REVEL in not knowing.  I like to be surprised.  I don’t read spoiler sites.  I avoid blogs and commentary.  (Odd.  Isn’t that what The SpartanNerd Blog is all about?)  But I do that because I want to be surprised.  I don’t want stuff spoiled.

But it is hard.  So hard.  Especially when DC Comics puts THIS IMAGE AND ARTICLE in the back of every comic.

IMG_5332

 

No more conjecture required.  Damien DOES LIVE AGAIN.  And he has super powers too.  No more wondering if Stephanie Brown from Batman Eternal will replace him.  Or if Carrie Kelly will.  Or if maybe Red Robin comes back.  Or Jason.  Sure, we knew the Robin from a few years in the future is a new different guy.  No more wondering about Collin Rowe, or Harper Rowe.  No more mystery.  I know, the series was called “Robin Rises.”  But that still could have had a mystery ending.  Instead, we see Damien busting Kalibak upside the head.  No Hellbat suit required.  No Justice League required.  He might be Superman level, from the looks of it.

I am just disappointed that DC decided to go ahead and spoil this.  Why not do like Marvel did with AGE OF ULTRON, and black bag the cover?  Why not do what they did leading up to the death of Damien, and spoil out fake covers?

They make an excuse for themselves.  They say something like “You’ve read “the internets.”  Or something.  NOPE.  I DIDN’T.  How many others out there are like me?

So thanks a lot for taking some of the fun out of it, DC.

Batman and Robin has been the best written Bat book consistently.  I have to say, I am looking forward to seeing Damien back.  I like the little guy.  I was sad to see him go.  I think it would have been cool to have Carrie Kelly or Stephanie Brown.  But we didn’t get that.  I’m cool with that.  I just am not cool with the spoilers.

SpartanNerd Comics Commentary…He’s BAAACK!

by

0

“No.  No. Not HIM!”  Batman utters this line pretty often.  Is it poor writing?

He says this as Superman grins a Joker-ish grin at him.

Yes indeed.  The Joker returned before Robin has been claimed.  BIG SURPRISE!

Back in Summer 2013, as the “Zero Year” storyline was hitting the shelves, and the “Death of the Family” story fresh in our minds, not to mention Damian’s sudden death, there was an innocuous “Batman Annual #2” issue promising a blurb from Zero Year.  To me, I read this issue and enjoyed it, but thought the Zero Year part of the story was just added as hype to sell the book and maximize money from that particular story event.

But here we are.  November 2014.  A year and a half later or round about.  And all this time, sitting in my comic book storage box and yours too, was a secondary character named Eric Border.  A nice guy.  Someone who cared for the patients…a truly caring doctor.

And he was the Joker.  Biding his time!  (I dug through my comics to re-read “Annual #2”.  Oh the planning that went into this!  There were hints in that issue we would have never seen!)

 

IMG_5216

 

This twist had me reeling!  When I read this in Batman #36,  I was shocked!  Not real clear entirely how he got his new “mug.”  But he has one, and is looking younger and more current.  (He also has his old face, so what has “Joker’s Daughter” been wearing?)

This storyline, “Endgame,” has been a little disjunct so far.  For instance, suddenly without warning, the Justice League starts attacking Batman.  He is prepared to neutralize them all, but when he spits the “kryptonite gum” in Superman’s face, we don’t really see it making Superman suddenly crash.  A tiny dose of the stuff was enough to beat him?  And because Batman Eternal hasn’t been completed yet, we are having to infer where and why Batman has set up shop by reading the tiny details between the lines.  And we keep seeing a couple of sidekicks, one “Lark” and the other “Bluebird.”  These haven’t been explained sufficiently.  At least “Lark” hasn’t.  (Isn’t Lark the Penguin’s lackey?)

(I’m starting to think Stephanie Brown may be the next Robin.  I’m thinking the “Damian Resurrection” story might be a bait and switch.)

So, I’m not the least bit worried about Batman being stuck in that cell paralyzed by the Joker and being poisoned by gas.  This is the classic Batman scenario.  Classic like in “1960’s” TV show!  Batman will get out of it somehow in issue #37.  Can’t wait!

One more thing…there is a backup story going on, which evidently will give us new information about the Joker and his origin.  A bunch of minor sickos have kidnapped Maureen, (who was dropped off by Eric Border,) and are telling her the stories the Joker told them to tell her.  All different crazy takes on who the Joker is and where he is from.  The first one in Batman #35 about the Joker being a demon rising out of the swamp on a mystical crossroads was pretty freaky.  Actually really disturbing.  And then #36’s story about him being an alien robot, also weird.  We the readers know for certain that these stories can’t be true.

Time to go back and read Zero Year again, and get a look at that chemistry teacher who was loading tanks for the Red Hood gang.  (was this in issue #24?)

SpartanNerd Thoughts…How did the “Junk Aggro” do, and “Arkham Manor”

by

0

Sorry no posts for awhile.  Like I said in my last post.  Life is happening!  Maybe not an excuse for not blogging for over two weeks. But still.  I been drained!

In my spare time, I have continued reading comics and nurturing my MTG skills.  I did OK at the big box tournament.  Not spectacular.  But OK.  I didn’t win or anything.  My “junk aggro” deck is really fun to play.  Way more fun than Mono Black Control was.  Some of my issues are deck design.  I can’t decide how much of what to put in there.  And I played a lot of goldfish, solitaire, challenge decks, etc.  One concern is that in order to have a consistant mana-base to support the three colors, The land hurts you!  I prefer to skip the Tri-Lands.  What good are they on the turn they come out?  Instead I am running “Mana Confluence.”  I am running three “Windswept Heath” so that is three more points of damage.  Two “Caves of Koilos” and one ” Llanowar Wastes.”  See what I mean?  Add to that “Herald of Torment” stinging you for one each turn, and “Thoughtsieze” hurting you too.  And you can drain yourself just to maintain a board presence.  Maybe I should re-think the Tri-Lands.  I have rethought “Thoughtsieze.”

I have been surprised by some cards as well.  “Abzan Charm” has ALWAYS WORKED.  As well as “Abzan Ascendancy.”  But how much of each to run?  I like hitting “Phalanx Leader” with the charm, boosting everyone else.  Then there is “Siege Rhino” and “Anafenza the Foremost.”  These guys are stars.

I haven’t really found a place for “Wingmate Roc” yet.  I like him, though.  I am finding that “Bile Blight” is really just about only useful as a one off removal spell most of the time, with the exception of the chumps that a few cards continually make.  I only own one copy of “Brimaz, King of Oreskos” as well, which isn’t really enough.  I don’t think he made a show even once last week.

Some of my problem was luck.  (A certain player played basically the exact same thing against me, only he had the right stuff at the right time to finish me quick.  Frustrating!)

I drew one match.  I was surprised that my deck could hold up.  It was the first full on control player I have played since the rotation.  I overran this guy on turn six in match one.  But match two he held me off.  But surprisingly, I was able to keep the pressure on him for like, thirty minutes or longer.  He was running three “Elspeth, Sun’s Champion.”  I downfalled one, overran another.  But couldn’t stop number three.  Match three went to turns and that was all she wrote.

As far as comics, there is something bothering me, and not bothering me at the same time.  Does that make sense?  The “Batman” title has moved onto stories that surpass “Batman Eternal.”  So the cat is out of the bag that Alfred is OK.  And Julia Pennyworth is still “Penny-Two.”  Oh yeah.  Arkham Asylum was destroyed and so the operation moved to…Wayne Manor!

(Dumb Idea.  Only belongs in the comics. Oh yeah!)

Issues dealing with “Arkham Manor” have begun coming out.  And it has its own title now as well.

But Shouldn’t DC have waited?  I would have preferred it to be so.  They make us wait for other important stuff.  Like for instance WHAT ABOUT DAMIAN?!  Some other things haven’t been revealed, (I don’t think.)  Like who is police commissioner.  Is Jim back?  I didn’t read “Arkham Manor #1.”  I have too much other stuff to read.  Maybe I’ll change my mind?

But what is left for Batman Eternal to reveal?  I’m thinking it’s “Hush” who is talking to Bruce in Issue #1. Maybe I’m wrong.  I suppose there is no resolution to the Nano-Virus problem.  (This keeps being brought up, but we don’t really see how bad of a problem it must be.)  Catwoman is becoming “Selena the Lion.”  Spoiler is dropping hints to Batman.  Ok, Stephanie Brown must just happen to be a natural, like Tim Drake.

What are my other thoughts?  In playing Final Fantasy VII again…(This game has been going for over a year and a half.  I rarely play,)…anyways I am at the part of the game where you breed the chocobos.  Whenever I complete this game I am going to hunt down FFX again, and maybe even FFX-2.

(But maybe I should nurture my Destiny game instead)

And then there’s the big Christmas looming ahead.  I shouldn’t be so selfish, and feel guilty as such.  But I really want the new Battle Ram with Man-At-Arms, Snake Armor two pack, Duel Deck anthology, and maybe a Fantasy Crate subscription.

TALL ORDER!

(And I need a new phone 😦   )

Probably all of this won’t happen. (HO HO HO!)

 

SpartanNerd Blog…AMAZING NEWS! He-Man: The Eternity War

by

1

Of course I could’t let this go without comment!

Details about the picture…

The Snake-Men appear to continue to be aligned with the good guys.

She-Ra is the central hero(ine) in this cover photo!

Orko is back to normal!

The only masters that remain alive, as far as we know in the current comic, are He-Man,  Moss Man, Man-At-Arms, and Stratos.  Teela has of course ascended to Green Goddess status as the new sorceress.

Skeletor is back with his regular skull face…(This might be related to Orko being normal again.)

Does Skeletor now have a power sword?  We notice that the Havoc Staff is missing.  In the story, Dark Orko fused Skeletor with his staff after He-Man broke his jaw and defeated him.  The Havoc Staff’s power apparently made him a huge hulk of a skeleton warrior.

Also, we haven’t seen too much of Panthor lately.

Hordak doesn’t appear as a god.  It has been established that he cannot go to Eternia because of his curse in banishment to Despondos.

It’s good to see Scorpia (is that her name?)

Skeletor seems to have all of his main bad guys, except for Whiplash.  Has he even made an appearance in the current comics?

Castle Grayskull is back intact!

Last of all…Is that Loo-Kee?  (I don’t even care.)

We all know that the comic book cover might not even matter.  But still, it is fun to speculate!

This event is apparently a continuation of the comic rather than a re-boot.  I think they want to have a “#1” on the shelves again.  I will be sure to get all of the variant covers I can!