Justice Society of America #39 - Marvel

I like this story. I think it's an interesting premise. But . . I am concerned about a few things. We find out this issue that this whole 'darkness engine' thing . . the instrument that the Fatherland is using to negate the 'supers' powers, is actually Obsidian. They collapsed him until he had an unstable black hole at his core. I was an original follower of Infinity Inc, and I really enjoy these 2nd generation heroes. But, it seems like ever since Obsidian's first appearance somebody has been using him, or his powers, for some nefarious plan. But, it's never really been defined as to what is so special about him, or his powers, that he would be the target of so many schemes. He's just one of those characters that always seems to be dumped on. So anyways, in trying to stop this time-line from occurring, Michael figured that since black holes affect the time-space continuum, if he could calculate the right coordinates, he could send a message back to himself . . or some other JSA member. The problem there is . . as we find out at the end of this issue, the time he sends the message back is almost immediately after Kid Karnevil had killed him. Which is where my next concern lies. Remember a story-arc or 2 back when Bill Willingham took over this series? Well almost immediately they were bringing in new members, and that's when the whole debacle where the All-American Kid, or whatever, went rogue. Later they find out that he's actually Kid Karnevil. Well, in order to stop this whole Fatherland future from occurring, he really needs to go back and warn them about the shifty kid before he even sets foot in their ranks. Plus, they had that whole attack where they were locked in the Brownstone, only to find out later that they were actually after Obsidian. Anyways . . that's all going to have to be undone. I know that's a common plot trick that often used in comics, to undo some 'evil future' or character change, but . . to me, it's frustrating. I think it's a cheap way out. To me it just seems like a way, after changing a character or giving us some 'surprise' development . . they can go back to the way everything was before, and just say 'Oops! It never really happened!' We don't get that 'out' in life. Right? If we make a mistake we're stuck with it. And yes I know it's just a 'comic-book', but . . life is change. That's really the only constant. So if this medium is a reflection of life, then at it's very essence it should be all about change. Anyways . . I'm starting to get off on a tangent here. I actually did like this issue, and am enjoying the story-line. My concerns and problems go way deeper than this issue, or Bill Willingham's writing. So I guess I'll save that 'rant' for another day. On a positive note, I thought that Jesus Merino's art looked fantastic. And, for better or worse, this story-line will be wrapped up next issue.