Way back when . . actually, it was Justice League International #7 . . Kent Nelson, Doctor Fate, had taken the Gray Man to the dimension of the Lords of Order and watched while they stripped him not only of his power, but his very existence. Like a person spreading the ashes of a loved one, he was gone in the bright light and gentle breeze. Until . . he was no more. This gave Kent pause. He found himself contemplating his own worth . . questioning his own existence. I think this was a feeling, and emotion that Doctor Fate was unaccustomed to. Anyways, shortly after he came in contact with Hal Jordan, Green Lantern. Unknown to Hal, Kent hid a small piece of his essence inside of Hal's ring to come out at a later date. His thoughts were, he would see what the future held and determine his place in it, and the events leading to it. So . . many years later, Hal finds himself in an unfortunate situation. He took a chance that he shouldn't have, and found himself alone and backed into a corner. In searching for a nearby power source he finds one hidden in the ring. Next thing he knows, Doctor Fate appears. Now his original mission was to see what the future holds and then return to himself in the past imparting whatever knowledge or insight he had gained. The problem was . . he had 2 choices. Either he could use his power to save Hal, or . . he could use his power to return to himself in the past. But he couldn't do both. The dialogue between these 2 old friends was amazing. Basically they were weighing fate and destiny versus free-will. In the end, Doctor Fate chooses to save his friend, versus giving in to his own personal curiosity . . an exercise in ego, if you will. Although it leave Hal feeling guilty because he worries that maybe this is the little piece of his power that he needed to save himself and Inza in the past. Hal would rather have died in the future if he knew that he was saving his friend in the past. It was a tough decision on both sides of the coin. And, if you really pay attention to the words that J Michael Straczynski wrote here . . it really gave you a lot to think about as far as your own existence and future. In the end, I thought it was a very moving and touching story. It amazed me that JMS could take such as obscure piece of the JLA's past and use it to create this fantastic story. And by the way, Jesus Saiz' art was perfect. All I can say is . . if this is what we can expect month to month from these two . . keep them chained to their desks and cranking out this book because, to me . . this issue was near perfect. There's a new tag-line above the title of this book now . .'Lost stories of yesterday, today and tomorrow'. Actually, now that I think about it, that could be JMS' mission statement. This was an incredible book. I can't wait to read more.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
the Brave and the Bold #30 - DC
Way back when . . actually, it was Justice League International #7 . . Kent Nelson, Doctor Fate, had taken the Gray Man to the dimension of the Lords of Order and watched while they stripped him not only of his power, but his very existence. Like a person spreading the ashes of a loved one, he was gone in the bright light and gentle breeze. Until . . he was no more. This gave Kent pause. He found himself contemplating his own worth . . questioning his own existence. I think this was a feeling, and emotion that Doctor Fate was unaccustomed to. Anyways, shortly after he came in contact with Hal Jordan, Green Lantern. Unknown to Hal, Kent hid a small piece of his essence inside of Hal's ring to come out at a later date. His thoughts were, he would see what the future held and determine his place in it, and the events leading to it. So . . many years later, Hal finds himself in an unfortunate situation. He took a chance that he shouldn't have, and found himself alone and backed into a corner. In searching for a nearby power source he finds one hidden in the ring. Next thing he knows, Doctor Fate appears. Now his original mission was to see what the future holds and then return to himself in the past imparting whatever knowledge or insight he had gained. The problem was . . he had 2 choices. Either he could use his power to save Hal, or . . he could use his power to return to himself in the past. But he couldn't do both. The dialogue between these 2 old friends was amazing. Basically they were weighing fate and destiny versus free-will. In the end, Doctor Fate chooses to save his friend, versus giving in to his own personal curiosity . . an exercise in ego, if you will. Although it leave Hal feeling guilty because he worries that maybe this is the little piece of his power that he needed to save himself and Inza in the past. Hal would rather have died in the future if he knew that he was saving his friend in the past. It was a tough decision on both sides of the coin. And, if you really pay attention to the words that J Michael Straczynski wrote here . . it really gave you a lot to think about as far as your own existence and future. In the end, I thought it was a very moving and touching story. It amazed me that JMS could take such as obscure piece of the JLA's past and use it to create this fantastic story. And by the way, Jesus Saiz' art was perfect. All I can say is . . if this is what we can expect month to month from these two . . keep them chained to their desks and cranking out this book because, to me . . this issue was near perfect. There's a new tag-line above the title of this book now . .'Lost stories of yesterday, today and tomorrow'. Actually, now that I think about it, that could be JMS' mission statement. This was an incredible book. I can't wait to read more.
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excellent issue
ReplyDeletei think jms really excells with the format of the book