This was another good book in this series. Although I don't think it was as special as the Kingdom Come: Superman book. This issue basically gives us the rest of the story on Lance Corporal David Reid. He's the recent JSA member whom Gog changed into his protege . . Magog. Which really has the Kingdom Come Superman worried because, to him, it seems like this world is becoming more and more like his own. That's not a comforting feeling because he knows how his world ended. He's afraid that this one is going to share the same fate. Anyways, to me, this issue illustrates that although David comes from a long and distinguished military background, and his grandfather, Franklin D Roosevelt, was instrumental in the formation of the Society . . . he's really not the same type of hero as the rest of it's members. He's been a soldier for quite a while. And in that time he's taken a lot of lives. In fact his last squad, Epsilon, was . . " . . an elite black ops unit that would always be in the thick of it." So I'm sure some of their missions were questionable at best. Anyways, this issue, as he's following Gog down the river, he overhears a transmission that his old squad is in trouble. So because of his honor and loyalty to his brothers in arms, he feels it necessary to go and at least try to help them. As he travels through the jungle, one by one he finds them all dead. But the part that gets me is the lack of restraint he uses in taking down the men that are involved in all of this. I understand the turmoil and anguish of seeing your brothers dead, but . . as a member of the society he's supposed to represent a higher ideal. Back at the river, when they come across the people that are polluting it, Amazing Man talks David down when he wants to toss 2 of them into the river of death that they've created. So in the jungle, when he's alone, there's no one to act as his conscious and he takes out all of the men. It just seems to me that somewhere along the line, he or someone else in the society is going to realize that his knowledge and training don't align themselves very well with the ideals of the Society. I'm not questioning his ability to be a hero . . I just don't think he's the same type of hero as the rest of them. Sooner or later, that's going to cause a conflict. In the back-up story, we look a little more into Starman's past. Apparently his schizophrenia is something that he was born with. So even though Gog has 'cured' him, he kind of feels lost because it's a part of him that he's always known. In recent issues we've learned that he was sent back to the past on some sort of mission. With the recent Lightning Saga, I think I just assumed that he was a leftover from that. However, here we find out that he was actually sent back during the Legion of 3 Worlds mission. "I joined the Legion . . . that future was so bright until I killed a man. It was self defense, but that didn't matter. I was voted out. Years later, I came back for an adventure I barely remember . . the Legion of 3 Worlds. It's where I got this uniform . . I rejoined the Legion . . and I had good days and bad." He sees himself being worked on by 3 Brainiacs. With his 'cure', Starman is reliving all of these memories that he had forgotten. Part of the reason he was picked for this mission was because of his schizophrenia. Whatever he's supposed to do is something that a normal Legionnaire wouldn't want to. "Something I won't be proud of. It goes against so many things . . and I swore I'd never go against the Legion code again . . but I have to." That's why I put the Crisis label down at the bottom of this . . Starman's stories ties directly into that arc. The JSA part of this story was done by Peter J Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin. I thought they both did a great job with it. The 'Secret Origin of Starman' was done by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. For only being a 6 page story, I thought it was good, and gave us a lot of information. I can't wait to see how this whole Kingdom Come story-line plays itself out. Really, it's an incredible arc.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1 - DC
This was another good book in this series. Although I don't think it was as special as the Kingdom Come: Superman book. This issue basically gives us the rest of the story on Lance Corporal David Reid. He's the recent JSA member whom Gog changed into his protege . . Magog. Which really has the Kingdom Come Superman worried because, to him, it seems like this world is becoming more and more like his own. That's not a comforting feeling because he knows how his world ended. He's afraid that this one is going to share the same fate. Anyways, to me, this issue illustrates that although David comes from a long and distinguished military background, and his grandfather, Franklin D Roosevelt, was instrumental in the formation of the Society . . . he's really not the same type of hero as the rest of it's members. He's been a soldier for quite a while. And in that time he's taken a lot of lives. In fact his last squad, Epsilon, was . . " . . an elite black ops unit that would always be in the thick of it." So I'm sure some of their missions were questionable at best. Anyways, this issue, as he's following Gog down the river, he overhears a transmission that his old squad is in trouble. So because of his honor and loyalty to his brothers in arms, he feels it necessary to go and at least try to help them. As he travels through the jungle, one by one he finds them all dead. But the part that gets me is the lack of restraint he uses in taking down the men that are involved in all of this. I understand the turmoil and anguish of seeing your brothers dead, but . . as a member of the society he's supposed to represent a higher ideal. Back at the river, when they come across the people that are polluting it, Amazing Man talks David down when he wants to toss 2 of them into the river of death that they've created. So in the jungle, when he's alone, there's no one to act as his conscious and he takes out all of the men. It just seems to me that somewhere along the line, he or someone else in the society is going to realize that his knowledge and training don't align themselves very well with the ideals of the Society. I'm not questioning his ability to be a hero . . I just don't think he's the same type of hero as the rest of them. Sooner or later, that's going to cause a conflict. In the back-up story, we look a little more into Starman's past. Apparently his schizophrenia is something that he was born with. So even though Gog has 'cured' him, he kind of feels lost because it's a part of him that he's always known. In recent issues we've learned that he was sent back to the past on some sort of mission. With the recent Lightning Saga, I think I just assumed that he was a leftover from that. However, here we find out that he was actually sent back during the Legion of 3 Worlds mission. "I joined the Legion . . . that future was so bright until I killed a man. It was self defense, but that didn't matter. I was voted out. Years later, I came back for an adventure I barely remember . . the Legion of 3 Worlds. It's where I got this uniform . . I rejoined the Legion . . and I had good days and bad." He sees himself being worked on by 3 Brainiacs. With his 'cure', Starman is reliving all of these memories that he had forgotten. Part of the reason he was picked for this mission was because of his schizophrenia. Whatever he's supposed to do is something that a normal Legionnaire wouldn't want to. "Something I won't be proud of. It goes against so many things . . and I swore I'd never go against the Legion code again . . but I have to." That's why I put the Crisis label down at the bottom of this . . Starman's stories ties directly into that arc. The JSA part of this story was done by Peter J Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin. I thought they both did a great job with it. The 'Secret Origin of Starman' was done by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. For only being a 6 page story, I thought it was good, and gave us a lot of information. I can't wait to see how this whole Kingdom Come story-line plays itself out. Really, it's an incredible arc.
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