Action Comics #889 - DC

Ok . . so Vohc the Destroyer has created his own version of Rao . . the Kryptonian God. He's also powered the beast by giving him a heart that's made up of an unstable sun. So as Rao gains power, he also gains mass. Eventually he'll get to the point where he'll overload his 'heart', and the sun will implode. Thereby collapsing in upon itself taking all of Earth with it. Yes it will also kill Vohc, but . . he's abated himself in the knowledge that it'll also take his love, Flamebird with it. However, when he sent Chris to the Phantom Zone last issue . . that still needs to be explained because I thought it was destroyed . . while in the Phantom Zone Chris comes into contact with, and discovers Nightwing. And since Nightwing controls the Phantom Zone, it's nothing for him to escape and come to his love's aid. Long story short, Rao is defeated and Chris and Thara . . Nightwing & Flamebird, escape before General Lane and the rest of the military show up. But there's something going on as one of the General's workers seems to be trying to gather up as many of Rao's pieces as possible. The General does not need this thing in his arsenal. I thought it was an interesting issue. Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann provided an entertaining story. But like so many of these stories it left more questions than answers. I liked it, but . . I wasn't thrilled with it. Also, Pere Perez' art was ok. In the back-up Captain Comet's story is wrapped up. Last issue Miribai was beaten. This issue Aggaro reveals himself to be Mordru. He was in hiding so that he didn't have to fight Miribai directly. He was waiting for everything else to play out. So now he can go back to being the leader of Sorcerers World. And Captain Atom comes back to Earth and begins the path towards being a 'real American hero' once again. I don't really understand everything that happened here, but . . it all worked out for the best in the end. I guess. From here Captain Atom goes to the JLI: Generation Lost series. This part of the story was by James Robinson and Cafu. Overall I thought it was an ok book. But I am glad that this whole Rao storyline is finished. At least for now.

Action Comics #887 - DC

Seeing as Chris and Thara are Nightwing and Flamebird . . so to is Jax-Ur Vohc, the destroyer. Remember, we learned about this whole Kryptonian mythology thing last issue. Anyways, as we saw there, Vohc would make his creations, and then Flamebird would come along and destroy them. Supposedly this is how they were instructed to interact by their god, Rao. Well now Jax-Ur, or rather Vohc has built his greatest creation . . he's built the new god Rao. And he's daring Flamebird to try and destroy him. He also uses Chris' own powers to banish him back into the Phantom Zone. However, since the Zone is supposed to be destroyed, I'm guessing that Vohc has built that again also. Anyways, all of this is going on in some base in Iraq. So Lois is using her clout to try to get out there and see what's going on. First she talks General Latham into having her dropped in Iraq. Then she has Simon Stagg transport her over the Iran/Iraq border. And from there Chris and Thara give her a lift to follow the False Rao towards India. Basically, Jax-Ur used the god energy from Chris and Thara to create this. That's the part of them that taps into the Nightwing and Flamebird essences. But it would take even more energy to make him bigger. To make him a true entity. Which is where this stroll that it's taking from Iraq towards India comes in. Everything that this governments are throwing at it is being absorbed. And when they try to nuke it . . it looks like creation itself. Apparently Jax-Ur's plan is to increase Rao's power, and then, on Earth, remake the world according to his vision, not Rao's. After this last boost is when Jax-Ur destroys Chris by banishing him to the shadows. Then . . Thara is despondent. She doesn't see the point in proceeding any furthur. She knows that she'd never be able to beat Rao on her own. To which Lois responds . .'Alone? Hardly! Let me make a few calls . . . ' This was like part 2 of the history lesson that we started last issue. Except this time we learn how the mythic figures are affecting our current reality. And right now . . it doesn't look good. I thought that Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann did a good job with this story. I also like the way they had it framed around Lois' correspondence back to the Planet. She's trying to show the world that not all Kryptonians are bad. And that her father, General Lane, is lying. Pere Perez did the art again. I think this guy gets a little better with every issue. Overall I really enjoyed the story. In the back-up, Captain Atom crosses Skartaris to Sorcerer's World to confront Mirabai. He arrives just before the resistance is about to attack her castle with their newly formed army. His arrival and assistance has really helped to boost the moral of the ranks. The only problem is . . Mirabai knows that Nathaniel is here, and it's almost as if she's counting on it. Either he's being played, or . . he's doing exactly what she wants him to. We'll have to wait until next issue to find out which it is. I'm enjoying this story by James Robinson, and I think Cafu is doing a terrific job with the art.

Action Comics #886 - DC

This issue we learn the true origin, and story of Nightwing and Flamebird. It was entertaining. My only complaint was that while reading the book it seemed like we were being given a history lesson. Which we were . . kind of. However, Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann were giving us a whole lot of information this issue, so . . I'm not sure that there was any other way that they could've effective done it. Not in 22 pages of story and art. Although, I would've thought this type of story better fitting for an Annual, or Special or something. But . . we got it here, so . . it is what it is. Anyways, Chris is starting to doubt that he's the real Nightwing. He feels like it's just a name that Thara gave him. So she gives him a crystal that shows him the whole story. I won't go through the whole story, but basically . . he sees the creation of Rao. Maybe 'awareness' is more the right word. He was always there, he just decided to make himself manifest. Anyways, shortly after he created Krypton as well as Flamebird and Vohc, the builder. It seems that in Rao's quest to mold Krypton into the crown jewel of his creation, he tasked Vohc with building things, to which the chaos energy of Flamebird would destroy. It was a cycle so that every time Vohc built something it would be more magnificent than that which came before. Rao had also created Nightwing at the time, but it was quite a while before Vohc took notice of him. He lived in the shadows, and it took Vohc a while to figure it out. Nightwing was Rao's eyes in the night. His task was to . . ' . seek out evil and corruption that hides in the shadows, to pursue and destroy it.' Anyways, it was Vohc that introduce Nightwing to Flamebird. And sensing the loneliness within Nightwing, Flamebird immediately became enamored with him. So . . long story short, Vohc became jealous and when Flamebird destroyed his greatest creation he became filled with a new emotion . . boundless sorrow and the seeds of madness. That's when he created the Phantom Zone and trapped Nightwing in it. Even Flamebird couldn't destroy that. So they were separated forever. And Vohc the builder became Vohc the destroyer. And although the Phantom Zone is no more, it seems that Nightwing is still trapped . . somewhere. Which I think is what Jax-Ur offered Thara when he helped to cure Chris, as Dr Pillings. But I'm thinking that Jax-Ur is actually Vohc. And now he wants Flamebird to help him as he seems to be trying to reach out to God . . Rao. On the final page Jax-Ur has some type of machine that looks like it has the 'hand of God' reaching out through it. I'm not sure that this story has ever been told before. We've gotten bits and pieces of it over the years through various Superman stories. But I don't believe that it's ever been laid out like this. I thought it was interesting. A bit long-winded, but . . interesting. Greg and Eric did a good job with what they had to work with. And I think Pere Perez' art gets better and better with every issue. Now we just have to find out what Jax-Ur is up to, where Nightwing really is, and how this is all connected to the Earth/Krypton war that's looming. In Captain Atom's story, we see that he's enlisted the aid of Shadowact to try to help him get back to Mirabai's realm. We find out that it's actually Sorcerer's World. And that all of the DC Universe's magical realms are connected through it. Of course we've heard of Sorcerer's world in various Legion stories. But I think this is the first time that it's been connected to the regular DC Universe. Adam wants to get back there so that he can help the people that Mirabai used him to hurt. The problem is . . he's a man of science. He can't enter the realm through any of the normal magical portals because . . well, he just wouldn't fit. He'd be repelled . . like polar opposites. But there is a door that they know of. He just has to find, and enter . . Skartaris. To me . . this story just got a whole lot more interesting. I can't wait to see what Captain Atom does here. This story is brought to us by James Robinson and Cafu. I thought they both did a terrific job.

Action Comics #885 - DC

Well, it appears that everything with General Lane and project 7734 are about to come to a head. I think the war between New Krypton and Earth may be happening any time now. In the last few issues, when Chris and Thara went to STAR Labs to try to fix Chris' aging problem, we found out that Jax-Ur, one of Zod's sleeper agents, was actually Dr Pillings. He's the one that Dr Light takes them to for help. This issue, we find out that another agent is inside of the Science Police. Officer Romundi is actually Car-Vex. So that accounts for all of the sleepers, since Chris and Thara have already taken out 3 of them, except for Quex-Ul. I don't think we've even seen who he is yet. But, another point of note is that these agents of Zod, also appear to be helping General Lane's cause. I think it was Car-Vex that actually alerted the General that the Kryptonians were at STAR Labs. So, either they're helping him on purpose, perpetuating this war with New Krypton, or . . a war with Earth is also what General Zod wants. It seems that with every issue, more and more people are starting to realize that what General Lane's plans and motivations are . . and that they may not be entirely altruistic. Unfortunately, it's only a couple of people each time . . the Guardian, and a few Science Police officers. Sure Lane's trying to protect Earth. That's his job. Right? But I think he's also got alterior motives that we don't even have a clue of yet. Even Lois is amazed by the deceptiveness of her father. But the issue ends when, in trying to capture Chris and Thara, a bomb that Car-Vex has planted goes off taking the top half of the Science Police headquarters with it. It was a great story by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann. With art by Pere Perez. Overall I thought this was a good issue, and it moved the story along quite nicely. In the back-up, Captain Atom is trying plead his innocence to the JLA. But they're in a hit first and ask questions later type of mood right now. When they do finally calm down, Nathaniel tells them his story. They seem to believe him. But now he feels like he needs to get back to Mirabai's world. He's got some things he needs to fix there. However, with Zatanna AWOL right now, they need to find another way to get there. Which segues into the arrival of Detective Chimp and Shadowpact. This was also another great chapter by Greg Robinson and Cafu. This is another title that's approaching a landmark issue . . #900. And again . . I don't think the Action is going to slow down until we get there.

Action Comics #884 - DC

Lois Lane is wanted by the government! Lois wrote up the story on Flamebird and Nightwing. She wants to expose the government, and her father, for their conspiracy to fake Mon-Els's death. And the attempts to fan the flames of hatred by generating anti-Kryptonian hysteria. Then she gave it to Perry. He loves the story, but . . someone leaked it, and now the government, or specifically General Lane, her father want to bring her in for questioning. It'll be interesting to see how he found out about it because the only people that have read it are Perry, and Lana. But there was something screwy going on with Lana. Right? It seems like the General just wanted to bring Lois in to let her know that he's had his eye on her. 'You're my daughter, and believe it or not, I love you. But my planet will always come first. Remember that!' He lets her go, but now she knows that her every move is being watched. Anyways, while all of this is going on, Thara and Chris have gone to Star Labs to ask for Dr Hoshi . . the new Doctor Light . . and Dr Pillings for help. Chris made another age jump and this time he's become a senior citizen. It isn't until later, when Thara switches into her Flamebird identity, and starts talking to Dr Pillings in Kryptonese that she realizes that he's actually Jax-Ur. They accomplish the cure, sending Chris back to a more approximate age . . probably early 20's. However, I'm thinking that the whole thing may have been a scheme of Jax-Ur's. It seems that all he really wanted was a DNA sample of Flamebird. He doesn't know that Chris is actually Nightwing also. He thinks they're just lovers, or something. Hell, before Thara transformed, he wasn't even sure that the Flamebird sightings were real. They are the stuff of legend and lore afterall. But now he has it. The question is . . what does he want it for? I thought this was an interesting chapter by Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann and Pere Perez. It looks like things are looming closer and closer to a war between the planets. In the backup, Major Force is trying to bring in Captain Atom for the General, but Mon El has shown up. With his help they leave the Major in the dust and head up to the JLA satellite. Mon El and Kory seem rather friendly, but then the gang from Cry for Justice show up. The Captain is telling Mon El and Kory that his memories are fragmented. He remembers bits and pieces, but nothing of his time as Monarch. 'I wish we could say we didn't remember, Captain . . but we do! You're a danger to the world . . a fugitive from the US military. And in dire need of Justice.' They look rather menacing, so we don't really know if they're here to judge, or to help. We'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out. I'm just glad that James Robinson and Cafu are finally getting us caught up on what's going on with this character. I think Captain Atom is a great character, but . . he's been relegated to the shadows for the last few years. Or . . he's been a scape-goat. Hopefully this will get him back into the mainstream, and on one of DC's various teams . . JLA, or Outsiders . . maybe?

Action Comics #883 - DC

I thought this was an interesting issue. In it we find that Jax-Ur has been hiding among the humans . . another of Zod's sleeper agents. But Jax-Ur seems to be in the place where he can do the most damage, and access the most technology . . STAR Labs. He been hiding as a Dr Pillings at STAR, while working with Dr Hoshi, Doctor Light. This issue Toronto is attacked by some form, or forms, of Brimstone. Apparently there was some type of seedpod that was triggered and it deployed these Brimstone type characters. They don't know where it came from, or who sent it, but . . it's now in the hands of STAR Labs, and Drs Pillings and Hoshi. Nightwing and Flamebird were on the scene to help save the city, but . . after the attack, everything is blamed on them. And they're still on the search for some of the Kryptonian sleeper agents . . Jax-Ur, Quex-Ul and Car-Vex. There's also something that happens between them. They're talking about their beliefs in the actual Nightwing and Flamebird . . something happens to Chris. It appears that something has triggered in him. He begins to glow and vibrate the building apart. But . . we aren't going to find out what that is until next issue. Meanwhile, Perry has been put on the trail of Jimmy. A recent flame of Jimmy's, Isabel Glenn, has come to the Planet looking for him. He's been missing for quite a while now. Perry listens and ends up in Jimmy's apartment looking for clues. He finds a paper behind a picture that says . .'N/EO JSEO' . . whatever that means. But now Perry's got the scent. You know he's not going to give up until he figures out what's going on. Oh wait . . I finally figured out what the last page means. Dr Hoshi has brought this decrepit old man to Dr Pillings claiming, ' . . before this 18 year old boy dies of old age . . we really need your help.' I didn't understand what it was at first, but . . it's Chris. Apparently he's taken another age leap. This time straight to senior citizenry. I didn't understand that the first time I read it. So Chris and Thara have been delivered straight to Jax-Ur. That can't be good. I thought this was an interesting issue by Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann and Pere Perez. Not one of the best, but . . it does serve to progress the story. In the back-up, we find Captain Atom face to face with Major Force. Apparently Force has been ordered to bring him back. And by bring him back, we mean back to our Earth . . to General Lane and project 7734. Upon return, he's met with an army of men with weapons designed to contain him. But when they try . . someone interferes. It appears that Mon El is back. Also, it appears that Natasha's undercover assignment may have been compromised. Another great chapter by James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Cafu.

Action Comics #882 - DC

Something is up with Lana, but . . we don't know what it is yet. Somehow she's informing on her friends to Squad K. That, or they're tracking her somehow. Anyways, General Lane puts Reactron on the Squad K team this issue. Much to the dismay of Colonel Hazard, the Squad's leader. But before they can argue about it to much, the Squad is called into action because Lois has shaken her surveillance. So the General thinks she's up to something. Actually, she's meeting with Chris and Lana. Like I said, I think they're tracking Lana somehow. When the Squad's ship arrives in Metropolis, they seem to know the general area where they're meeting, but no specifics. Unfortunately, Chris doesn't want to see either of them hurt so he rushes out to distract them. Kara and Thara also saw the ship, but it passed the apartment without even slowing down. So I'm guessing, since that's where Lana lives, she's there most of the time and that's not considered a target. I guess they don't even suspect that she would allow them to live in her home. Anyways, before Chris has a chance to engage them, Kara and Thara show up. They're all trying to be a little more restrained this time because they don't want to destroy Metropolis, like what was done in Paris. But that may be out of there hands because . . remember? Reactron is with them. They start to go after them, but before things can get to heated Chris gives up. I think he figures that if they go in quietly at least their story will be heard. Which it is, and Hazard is starting to wonder about Reactron. But before he can do anything Reactron fries him and kills him. Supposedly per the General's orders. All 3 of them are contained by red-sun chains, and the issue ends with Kara in Reactron's grip as he's getting ready to kill her. The conclusion is next week in Supergirl #46. I can't wait. Greg Rucka and Sterling Gates wrote this issue, with Pere Perez on the art. In the back-up, we find out that Natasha Irons is in Mirabai's land. She's been undercover with the Army trying to make contact with Captain Atom. Which she does this issue. She tries to fill him in on what's going on, both here, and back in the real world with General Lane. But the Captain has done a lot of terrible stuff under Mirabai's control, so the villagers don't see him as a patriot. One of them wants to kill him, and that's when Major Force shows up. That should make for an interesting story next issue. This part of the book was by James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Cafu. This was a nice action packed issue. The story moved rather quickly, and I'm glad we're getting near the end. But it's not necessarily the end of the World Against Superman story-line. No it's just the end of this chapter, the Hunt for Reactron. I have a feeling that General Lane's story, the story of Project 7734, is far from over. But it's keeping all the Superman books linked, which is a great way to move the story along. Personally, I think the Superman titles are best when they do that. Now we only have to wait a week for the next part of the story.

Action Comics #881 - DC

In our World Against Superman story-line here, we start a new chapter with the Hunt for Reactron. First of all, Kara, Chris and Thara are being set up by General Lane. Right now the whole world thinks that they killed Mon El. We know that it was actually Mirabai, the witch or mystic that's working for Lane. She had Reactron and Metallo cloaked so they looked like Nightwing and Flamebird, and then they taped the fight between them and Mon El. We don't actually know that Mon El is dead, yet, but . . he hasn't been seen since the explosion occurred underground. So that's the assumption. Anyways, Kara pieces it together this issue that somehow Reactron was involved, because he's the only one capable of using Gold K on them . . which temporarily took away their powers. So this time she's decided that whenever she finds him, she's taking him back to New Krypton to face justice . . rather than trying to put him in a jail on Earth. The problem is, Kara, Chris and Thara keep fighting amongst themselves and drawing attention to them. On the final page of the issue, after hiding in Paris, they break out into another fight and find themselves facing Squad K. Overall I thought it was a decent story by Greg Rucka, Sterling Gates and Pere Perez. Although, I have to say . . I wasn't overly thrilled with Pere's art. It was ok. I just wasn't thrilled with it. Anyways, in the back-up, General Lane's forces are trying to get control of Captain Atom. He appears to be in another dimension, and Lane's forces are somehow mind controlling him. My guess is that they're in Mirabai's dimension. It seems to have a medieval type feel to it, and there's magic being thrown about. But we really don't know what the specifics are . . yet. This story gets more interesting with every issue. It's also by Greg with James Robinson, and Cafu on art. Overall I thought it was a decent book. And we won't have to wait long for the continuation as it rolls over into the next issue of Supergirl.

Action Comics #880 - DC

Man this was a frustrating issue. Not frustrating from a readers perspective, but frustrating because of what General Lane, and this Project 7734 is putting Superman and the rest of the Kryptonians through. This storyline . . Codename: Patriot, it turns out that the Patriot . . the man willing to give up his own life, and freedom, to save them from the fall-out of a war between New Krypton and Earth . . it turns out the Patriot is actually Ral-Dar. He's the guy who tried to kill General Zod at the end of World of New Krypton #5. It seemed as if he was trying to escape to Earth, with Superman and Supergirl in hot pursuit, but . . it appears that he's actually playing a role . . the role that General Lane has given him to play. Also, we know the Lane has Atlas, Codename:Assassin, Reactron and Metallo in his arsenal. But what we didn't know is that apparently Morgan Edge is also part of this team . . it's media face. When the 3 of them approach Earth, the General notifies Edge, for the media coverage, and then sends up an unarmed squadron of fighter pilots to intercept them. The pictures speak for themselves, and they're pretty damning. The General is trying to sell it as an invasion of Earth. While Superman and Supergirl are trying to do everything in their power to minimize casualties. However, they play it that Mon-el interceded and stopped the loss of life. Also, Thara and Christopher are still looking for Nadira and Az-Rel. I don't think that the General realizes that they're also Kryptonian. As with the rest of the world, I believe he thinks they get their power from their suits. He lays a trap for them with Nadira and Az-Rel. They're actually Reactron and Metallo is disguise, but by their subterfuge they get the drop on Nightwing and Flamebird and take them out of the equation. But before that, Christopher actually shows his affection towards Thara this issue. This story was by Greg Rucka, James Robinson and art by Julian Lopez. All in all I thought it was a great issue. Like I said . . a bit frustrating. But . . it did make a lot of progress on the story-line. In the back-up, Nathaniel is trying to figure out who he is, and where he's at. He appears to be in mid-evil times, but he's in full Captain Atom garb. Of course the people see him as a threat, but really he's just trying to find the pieces of the puzzle. At the end though . . it seems as if he's in someone's sight. On this one, Cafu does the art. It looks fantastic.

Action Comics #879 - DC

What a cool cover by Andrew Robinson. As you can see, this issue is almost entirely about Nightwing & Flamebird. Part of the problem that Thara Ak-Var and Chris have right now is that they don't really know that the beings of Kryptonian legend, Nightwing & Flamebird, are actually part of the psyche and being. They think they're just filling roles, when actually they're filling destinies. However, while pursuing the other Kryptonians, Nadira and Az-Rel, they are ambushed by General Lanes forces. They hold Thara and probe her mind. But when they begin to threaten Chris . . Flamebird comes out and overpowers them all. When she finally catches up to Chris, I don't think she even remembers the incident. However, in the end, Mirabai goes out and captures Nadira and Az-Rel for the General. The issue ends with them in energy cells. And speaking of the General, Lois asks Mon-El for a favor. He verifies for her that the bones in her fathers casket are indeed not his. So now she knows . . her father is alive. And I'm sure soon, she'll be on his trail. Greg Rucka is bringing all of the pieces together slowly. And there's a new book coming out of this storyline . . Codename: Patriot. Diego Olmos also did a pretty decent job with the pencils. His style isn't really one of my favorites, but . . it's ok. Also this issue we start the Captain Atom back-up story. This one was kind of confusing. The good Captain is talking about taking out a military base, but then we see him attacking what looks like a castle from the 14th or 15th century. It's him against hundreds of foot-soldiers, privateers and archers. But then we get a glimpse of him actually standing in front of the JLA. I'm thinking that his conscious may be spread across 2 different dimensions. We don't get a lot of specifics in this issue. But James Robinson, Greg Rucka and Cafu have started us down a new path here. We'll have to wait and see where it leads us. Overall I thought it was a decent issue . . not fantastic, but . . it did move the story forward a bit.

Captain Atom - Armageddon #9 - Wildstorm

Fantastic ending, to a fantastic Mini-Series. They've been working on the problem of Captain Atom having some terminal problem that, when he dies, he'll explode and take the whole Wildstorm Universe with him. Finally the new Void figures out that the trick is to let him die because in the big bang the universe will die, but it will also be reborn again. So basically it will be like a reboot. Which is good, because during the course of this issue, they kill off a lot of good characters. Will Pfeifer did a fantastic job on the scripting chores, and Giuseppe Camuncoli's artwork really grew on me. Now the real kicker is that, according to Jim Lee's editorial at the end, this is going to be the kickstart for the whole Wildstorm Universe. A whole lot of books are coming back (Wildcats, Authority, Gen13, Deathblow, Wetworks, the Midnighter, Stormwatch) and they have a great lineup of talent, both on writing and art, lined up to launch the titles. That'll be awesome!!! But, not to overshadow this story, it was very well done. This was a story that they basically had to do, for the relaunch. But, they had fun with it and did a good job. It's a great story on it's own. Plus it's cool that they used a DC character as the catalyst, or the fuel, for the bang. Can't wait to see the new titles.