Saturday, March 6, 2010

Review: Adventure Comics #8


The other big book out this week was Adventure Comics #8, a prologue of The Last Stand of New Krypton. Comprised of three short stories written by Sterling Gates, James Robinson and Eric Trautmann, the issue does a good job of aligning some of the disparate parts we have seen floating through the super-titles, getting the pieces in the right place for this arc.

One thing that I have harped on in my reviews of Superman and the other super-titles has been the lack of follow-up on what seemed to be innumerable plot lines. I wondered if someone was keeping track of all of them. This issue made me think that the big picture has always been there. The events have finally made some of these threads of plots start to weave together. All this was wrapped in what is basically a Legion of Super-Heroes book. Put plot progression together with the Legion and you have a winner.

And it was all wrapped up in an Aaron Lopresti cover. I am going to miss Lopresti on Wonder Woman. His art is so slick. Everything about that Lightning Lass is perfect ... the hair, the face, the body language. That is Ayla Ranzz.

The first part of the book, written by Sterling Gates and drawn by Travis Moore, takes place in the future as the LSH deals with some chronal rifts ripped into space.

Some back story of Brainiac 5 is given, including the history around the title 'Brainiac'. Seem Brainiac was vilified even among the Coluans. The term Brainiac became one associated with evil. The Dox family began to use the term Brainiac again as a way to reclaim it, make it associated with good instead. It is a nice little nugget of history that fleshes out Brainiac 5.

I liked this shot of a young Dox researching his ancestor. Look at the list of planets Brainiac destroyed in the past! Imsk (Shrinking Violet)! Rimbor (Ultra Boy)! Lexor (the planet Luthor ruled over in the Silver Age)! I assumed that some cities Kal freed from Brainiac's ship would end up being replanted on a planet, recreating them. I guess this seals that deal.

But Lexor! Does that mean sometime in the future Lexor comes back into continuity only to be destroyed by Brainiac??

The chronal rifts are continuing to grow and the Legion can't contain them. Things look grim. Soon the rifts will swallow the whole universe.

The origin of these anomalies seems to be from the past.


Somehow Brainiac, while in our time, is trying to change history by killing Superman. If the Legion doesn't stop this plot, the universe is doomed.

It's a nice panel with Brainiac looming over an impaled Superman.

So, at least now we know the threat which has brought so many Legionnaires to the past. It also looks like we are going to get a Brainiac vs. Brainiac 5 encounter.

I am really looking forward to seeing Brainy meet Supergirl.


The next story picks up the Superboy/Mon-El conversation from last week's Superman title. Superboy brings Mon-El to Smallville to meet all the Espionage Squad members and hear their plea to join the fight.

The Legionnaires talk about how they were each sent back in time by RJ Brande to stop the temporal threat the future Legionnaires are fighting. In hopes of not upsetting the timeline that much, Brande told each of them their small part of the plan but did not share the grand plan with all of them. So Cham alone knew that he had to go to Metropolis and help Mon-El. Element Lad knew to go to Smallville but none of the others did.


But it is clear that there is a threat to the future. Specifically this threat emperils the Legion. Something in the past might stop the Legion from ever being formed.

Mon-El and Superboy eagerly agree to help out. After all, what superhero doesn't want to save the future? The threat is shown to be on New Krypton.

I enjoyed this part of the story as well. The opening scene of this piece is Element Lad revealing himself to Superboy and was executed well. James Robinson showed a good feel for each character with their dialogue. Javier Lopez' art fits right in with the current look of the Superman titles. And, of course, we finally see all the time-displaced Legionnaires in the open.



But my favorite part of the issue was the last story which took a close look at both sleeper agent Car-Vex as well as General Lane. So it gets covered the closest.

I had initially been confused when Car-Vex was revealed to be a sleeper agent in the Science Police as to where her true loyalties lied. That is cleared up immediately when she declares her loyalty to General Zod and her role of chaos bringer on Earth.

And while being in the Science Police would be beneficial to Zod, being in Lane's army would be better. Car-Vex asks Lane if she can join his troops.


We learn of her origins. She is shown in the phantom zone, lamenting her crime of accidentally killing children. Interestingly enough, she is also said to be part of the Labor Guild and had been on stimulants at the time to remain awake. It sounds more like it was her lot in life that was responsible for that tragedy, not malice.

She is brought to General Zod by Jax-Ur and brought into the fold. Throughout the story, you can just feel her loyalty to Zod in her words, how she is proud to help him and how he would be proud to see how far she has come on Earth. I can understand her fidelity to the man. She went from disrespected, underappreciated, and imprisoned slave to suddenly having a purpose in life, having a sense of self, feeling important and proud. After a life of hard labor, those feelings must be intoxicating. Zod knows all the right buttons to push, doesn't he.

She needs a hook to get Lane to accept her. And so she gives up information on Quex-Ul, one of the remaining sleeper agents on Earth.

She is unbelievably cool and calculating as she basically condemns a fellow Kryptonian, a fellow Zod acolyte. Soldiers have to make sacrifices in war. If Quex-Ul's capture or death puts Car-Vex in deeper that helps the cause. It is that simple for her.

She explains her motivation for joining Lane as a hatred for Kryptonians who have killed SciPo officers. She then asks Lane what his motivations are ... why he hates them.


We haven't heard Lane explain things so plainly. I thought this was a nice personal look at the man, making him less of a 2-dimensional war monger.

Lane talks about how he worried about Superman since his first appearance. It was clear Superman had been living among the people for some time. So, in essence, he was hiding ... hiding something.

Then Lane talks about how he worried about Lois' attachment to Superman, how he had an easy media presence.

But the most telling part was the warped view Lane took on Superman's actions during Invasion! Lane recalls how his regiment was in a firefight with some Khunds soldiers when Superman swooped down and removed the alien army. Rather than being thankful for this rescue, Lane seems to dwell on the fact that as Superman continued on, the infantry lay dying from their wounds. Those men were 'next to nothing' to Superman. In reality, Superman gave these men a chance at life and was probably flying off to give other soldiers the same chance.

That scene really shows just how twisted Lane's mind thinks.


It looks like Car-Vex' little scheme works as she is welcomed by Lane into Project 7734.

She remains as cold a soldier as she can be. But I wonder if Lane isn't on to her.

This close and personal look at two villains, giving them an interesting background and fleshing out their stories, is just the depth I am looking for in comics these days. These are well-rounded characters with motivations and dreams.

Eric Trautmann does a great job here switching emphasis back and forth from the two. And Pier Gallo's art is moody and thick, just what this story needs. His art reminds me a bit of Pete Woods' art and that's a high compliment.

The pieces are on the playing field. Let's get this started!

Overall grade: A

16 comments:

TalOs said...

"The Future is Prologue": talk about good writing from Gates here! I all so geeked out upon seeing 31st Century teen era Brainy 5 reading "Lexor" as apparently being reinstated in to main DCU E-0's continuity (as to how exactly Luthor will play a part in it's very existence leaves me somewhat puzzeled though) which had been anihlated by his ancestor amongst others some time in the 21st Century it seemed. I wonder how Brainiac 1.0 is possibly able to create time rips in the 31st Century where apparently Superman is now destined to die a 2nd time while fighting Briainiac off on New Krypton too? :-/

"The Future is Now": so relieved to see exactly how Kon came to know about the very existence of LSH espionage group existing in the 21st Century and wanting Mon to trust them sub plot was fully dealt with here and I think Starman's claim of being tasked by R.J. Brande to "find THE beauty" (what ever he/she/it is) isn't just more ramblings of a mentally sick man but will actually proove to be true in the end.

"Awake" (part 1 of 3): a very interesting look in to how the mind of a Kryptonian lackey working for Zod on "how to infiltrate the enemy with out them catching on" in this one. However I seem to remember in "Supergirl Annual #1" Lane having devices to detect a Kryptonian in disguise being put in to play so how is it then that THE actual secret government base fails to have one and Car-Vex an actual Kryptonian in their midsts can just prance around with out some warning going off notifying all of the "enemy" being amongst them? Is it due to Car-Vex time spent in the Phantom Zone has altered her to not read as being a Kryptonian or is it more the writer just failing to do his home work being more the case? :-/

Anyway, all in all I just found myself loving this issue of "Adventure". :-D

mathematicscore said...

Yeah, I'm way down.

Gene said...

TalOS wrote:
"However I seem to remember in "Supergirl Annual #1" Lane having devices to detect a Kryptonian in disguise being put in to play so how is it then that THE actual secret government base fails to have one and Car-Vex an actual Kryptonian in their midsts can just prance around with out some warning going off notifying all of the "enemy" being amongst them?"

Perhaps General Lane did not want to share his "Kryptonian Detector" with the Science Police? Or maybe the requisition form got tied up in government red tape? :P

valerie21601 said...

I dearly hope Supergirl #52 is a start to great relationship for Kara and Querl. I dearly want the two to get back together as a couple.


Is it just me but hasn't Brainiac 5 been growing harder, more bitter over the years, and has a growing need for acknowledgment amongst his "collgues" and in society in general of his super-intelligence?

The way his character is going I can easily see him dying one day as an bitter, hard, lonely old man with no family nor firends at all. Having been totally consumed by his work and only his work.

valerie21601 said...

BTW have you thought about reviewing the animated JLU series: Far From Home episode? Where Kara decides to stay in the 31st Century with Brainiac 5 and only joins the Legion to be him?

Anj said...

The way his character is going I can easily see him dying one day as an bitter, hard, lonely old man with no family nor firends at all. Having been totally consumed by his work and only his work.

Thanks for the post.

I agree he has this hard edge, an almost condescending attitude. That is better served with Vril Dox rather than Brainy. Maybe interacting with his ancestors will show him that.

Anj said...

BTW have you thought about reviewing the animated JLU series: Far From Home episode? Where Kara decides to stay in the 31st Century with Brainiac 5 and only joins the Legion to be him?

It certainly would fit my retrospective on Supergirl and the Legion.

Thanks for the great idea.

Nikki said...

Val, I wouldn't be surprised if Brainy and Kara meet before Supergirl #52.

TalOs said...

@ Gene: I just thought it odd that Lane is more then willing to show case all top secret high tech government weaponry used against a Kryptonian to Car-Vex yet left out mentioning anything about a "K detector" device itself. Unless he already knew he was dealing with a Kryptonian the whole time. :-/

@ Anj: Isn't she slated to guess star in this title next issue? Isn't that the Supergirl/Brainy 5 themed cover? :-/

valerie21601 said...

I wonder how much the JLU: Far From Home episode influenced Brainy and Supergirl's upcoming reunion?

From the fans I have communicated with in the B5/SG shipper community. The majority of a young age, around 35 and under, say it was that episode alone that got them hooked on Supergirl and on the LoSH stories. Many went to their comic shops looking for current issues about their "new" favorite couple only to find out there were none. Many got hooked on the "Original" LoSH stories, many had so-so to the "Archie" Legion and only a few liked the Three-Boot version.

Gene said...

Interesting that you write that Valerie. Paul Dini who wrote that episode, said on his blog at the time that "Far From Home" was greatly influenced by the classic Brainy/Supergirl team ups.

@Talos: Good point. That Lane sure is a slick fellow.

valerie21601 said...

From my "chats" with the young B5/SG shippers my impression is that many of them are starved mentally and emotionally for romance, even in a fictional setting. The desire that love can conquer almost all problems, heal emotional wounds, cross the barriers of time and space. With a Romeo & Juliet angle of the Capulet's verus the Montague's like background to it. It seems is what attracts many of the young women to this couple.

If DC Comics does this right, they will have a ton of new female fans, who will run out and buy every single issue that has them in it. As well as digging for the old back issues too.

In my case I became a LoSH fan back in the early 1970's during the Superboy and Legion of Super-Heroes days and was a B5/SG fan from way back then.

TalOs said...

@ valerie21601: I too have always been a huge fan of the Supergirl/Brainy 5 pairing and would love to see that come mid 31st Century Kara decides to permenantly reside with her "soul mate" to the point of them siring their Coulan/Kryptonian hybrid daughter Kingdom Come's continuities "Kara Dox/XTC". :-)

Anj said...

From the fans I have communicated with in the B5/SG shipper community. The majority of a young age, around 35 and under, say it was that episode alone that got them hooked on Supergirl and on the LoSH stories. Many went to their comic shops looking for current issues about their "new" favorite couple only to find out there were none.

It'll be interesting to see how this is handled. The Legionnaires as they are portrayed now look more like they are in their late 20s/early 30s. Kara is 17 (or so).

Will that age difference be palatable by DC and readers for a romance? Or is it a wee bit creepy.

We'll see.

TalOs said...

We got to remember Kara is actually older then cuz Kal (regardless of her physical apearance suggesting other wise) so a late 20's-early 30's Brainiac falling for a by Earths measurment in years supposed 18 year old Supergirl doesn't sound too icky I suppose. :-/

valerie21601 said...

I recall that Supergirl is now 18, as her friends in a recent Brave & Bold issue kept teasing her about her age. If B5 is patient he can simply wait it out for Kara to grow-up even more. In the meantime he could be her friend, confidant, get to know her over again and she get more used to him and accept him as his own person separate from Brainiac.

As I recall Coluans can live for several centuries so in a way he has plenty of time to wait for her to mature.

As for the age difference, depends on how it's handled, usually a couple within a 5-12 year age range difference can be compatible together. My own parents had a nearly 15 year age difference and most of the time it worked out.