Blue Beetle #32 - DC

The main part of this story dealt with Polaris, and how Neal Emerson's role and power were usurped by a ruthless corporate suit by the name of John Nichol. The only thing that kind of seems a stretch to me is that John said he became obsessed with Neal's work. So much so that he bought an read all of his books and Cd's. And through that, within six weeks, he began to develop his own powers. Um . . hello? I know sometimes in comics we take a leap in logic, but . . that's like jumping over the Grand Canyon. Then, apparently, when he was strong enough he beat Polaris . . powers vs powers. He claims that Emerson lost because of his insanity . . it made him weak. To me, there's only one explanation . . . John is actually Emerson. His insanity has split off his personality into a divergent life and he doesn't even realize that he and Emerson are one in the same person. Otherwise . . this is to great a leap for even me to swallow. The other part of this story, Blue Beetle traveling to Mexico to find the 3 guys that exhibited magnetic powers . . is kind of anti-climatic. Somehow Traci is drawn in to he and his father's plans, and they find out that the whole ruse was actually a trap set by Polaris. However, when it's sprung, Polaris is involved in something else and thinks that his plans for tomorrow are much more important. I appreciate that Matthew Sturges has taken over the scripts on this book, but . . I think he's attempting to make this book a little to complex to fast. While I enjoy a multi-faceted book . . this one currently has about 4 story-lines flowing around . . I'm not sure that type of book suits this character. Jamie isn't really all that complex of a person. He's a teenager who was saddle with this power, so now he has to learn about it. And, at the same time, try to not let it affect his family or relationships. He really hasn't had a lot of hardship or loss in his life. That's not to say that I don't think this book has a lot of potential. I really think it does. I think Jamie's recent involvement with the Teen Titans helps to illustrate that. But, I think he still has a long way to go. Unfortunately, in the current comic environment, and the economy, I'm not sure how much longer this title will be able to hold out before it's cancelled. Honestly . . I'm surprised it hasn't been already. Sorry!