Week three continues and if Watson actually read comic books anymore he’s be losing his cookies that we get to meet our THIRD Aquaman in as many weeks. Watson, man, get in here. There was even a Wally West Flash story in week one and I know you loves some Wally West Flash.
Be sure to catch up on all the Convergence happenings with coverage of:
Week Three:Part One
Read on for Week Three spoilers after the break for Green Lantern Corps #1, Hawkman #1, Justice League America #1, New Teen Titans #1, Swamp Thing #1 and The Flash #1.
Convergence Justice League America #1
One of the few (only?) issues to open after the dome has already fallen. Ralph Dibny is getting the old Justice League Detroit gang back together since they all just happened to be in Gotham pre-Crisis. A correctly hair colored Jim Gordon makes a cameo to let Ralph know that the GCPD has men deployed all over the city and there have been no sign of any attacks from the outside.
Meanwhile Watson bromance partner Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Gypsy are patrolling the borders of the city. Aquaman takes a minute to go for a swim as he has just recovered his ability to breath underwater again. Since the other incarnations of Aquaman never lost this skill, I’ll chalk this up to differences in his pre-Crisis origin.
With no indications of any attacks, the Leaguers reach out to Zatanna. She is in the midst of informing them that there is no attack coming on the ectotheric plane when the city is rocked by an explosion. (Which you know from reading all the other books right? No? Consistency!) The warehouse where Dibny and the rest of the League had been training has been destroyed. Aquaman and the remaining Leaguers arrive to investigate. They are attacked shortly after by the Secret Six of the Tangent Universe.
The Secret Six seem to have the edge until Dibny and the rest of the League rise from under the rubble alive and well.
Convergence The Flash #1
Just another day under the dome for depowered Flash Barry Allen. He is depressed that he is stuck alone in Gotham under the dome and not with his love Iris West in the 30th Century. Barry, relax, it could be worse. You could be about to die and stay that way for 23 years in real time.
Barry is working in the Crime Lab at the GCPD and trying his best to ignore the advances of his attractive chief assistant Josie Leighton. He might be thousands of years away and under a dome on an alien planet, but he’s married dammit!
So instead of getting coffee with someone who is soft and smells great, he instead grabs a cup of joe with Bruce Wayne. And in what’s surely a flip of the script, Barry gets a pep talk from Bruce.
As Barry gives Bruce’s words some consideration, the dome drops. And the fastest man alive is back! Barry quickly dons his uniform and races to the top of a high rise to get a better perspective outside the dome. He sees that they are no longer on Earth and can see the other cities in the distance. While Barry observes, he is approached by his opponent from the Tangent Universe.
“The domes have only just opened. I have been without my strengths for a long time. I have been without the full measure of my mind. But it is returning now. It is being restored to optimum. And I think…I think…that I am the Superman.”
Convergence Green Lantern Corps #1
I’m not 100% sure on the sequence of events around Guy Gardner’s mysterious awakening from a coma and the events in Crisis. From what I can see from the issues I have and the interwebs it might just make sense here, but since I’m not taking this seriously, it doesn’t matter.
So this is a Guy Gardner heavy issue. Guy has been out of his coma for about a year, but suffers panic attacks at the mere mention of the name Sinestro. (Sinestro being the reason Guy was in a coma to begin with.) Guy also blames his troubles on Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
The majority of the issue has Gardner trying to hunt Jordan down. Hal has been mostly MIA since the dome appeared. He first talks to Hal’s fiance Carol Ferris, who doesn’t know Hal’s whereabouts. She directs him towards John Stewart, whom Gardner has never met. Stewart initially denies knowing where Hal is, but eventually confesses that he and Jordan had been working on a means to recharge their power rings. While Stewart gave up and moved on, Jordan continued, obsessed.
With the information from Stewart, Gardner tracks Hal down to his lab…and begins rearranging the place with a baseball bat. “You destroyed my life! I deserve a shot at yours!”
During the melee, the dome drops and Green Lantern’s, uh, lantern regains the ability to recharge their rings. When Gardner tries to charge his, Jordan tags him with a right cross. “You nearly died because of me. I won’t let it happen again.” With Jordan and the lantern gone, Guy hopes aboard a motorcycle with a handful of “toys” from Jordan’s lab and heads out of Gotham City for “Party time!”
Convergence Hawkman #1
Hawkman and Hawkwoman star, and lucky for the pre-Crisis Gotham City they are not the Hawk duo from week one that were killing everybody in sight.
Since the Hawks don’t have any powers and their artificial wings and anti-gravity belts still work (are you listening Arsenal?) they continue to fight crime under the dome. Their main adversary in this issue are the Shadow Warriors, fellow Thangarians who had been plotting an invasion of Earth. Most of the issue is spent fighting the Warriors grotesque Manhawks.
When the Hawks finally catch up to the Shadow Warriors, it is discovered that the Warriors have created the most powerful Absorbascon (whatever that is) ever. The Hawks assume it was built to create the dome, but are informed that it is just the opposite. It was built to find a way out of the dome. They have used it thus far to determine that they are no longer on Earth but do not know in what solar system they now reside. They have also seen a glimpse into the future and to what appear to be the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
The issue ends with the dome coming down, but no sign yet of who the Hawks will have to fight.
Convergence New Teen Titans #1
Another of my many DC geek blindspots is the acclaimed Wolfman and Perez run on New Teen Titans. While Jenny may find it hard to believe, the early 80’s belonged to the Teen Titans as their popularity and sales rivaled those of the big wigs, including the likes of Batman. I have this run cued up and ready to read, but with Convergence and Secret Wars and other geek blindspot Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing taking precedence, it might be awhile until I get to it.
Back to this issue. Like many of the heroes trapped under the dome, the Titans continue to fight crime thanks to an array of gadgets provided by non-superpowered and former Robin, Nightwing. In this continuity, Dick Grayson and Starfire have been married about six months. But Dick is not sure if it is going to work out due to his line against killing that Starfire has no issue crossing.
Meanwhile in the Tangent Universe, the Tangent version of the Doom Patrol are having little luck trying to find a way to destroy the dome. Conveniently, it comes down shortly after. They immediately act on a plan to head to Gotham City in search of a power source that will allow them to transport back to their own planet and change the future before billions perish. (Which seems to imply that the Tangent Central City was scooped up by Brainiac in the middle of the Doom Patrol’s first appearance issue. Fittingly, the villain in that book was named Nightwing.)
The two teams do battle in Gotham until the Doom Patrol retreats. Both teams have been holding back, as they realize they are not enemies but put into that role by Telos. During the battle they did discover the energy source they were looking for…the promethium cells that power Cyborg.
As both teams prepare for their next encounter, Tangent Firehawk proves that Telos has the best communication grid in the cosmos as she is able to instant message Nightwing for a little chat.
Convergence Swamp Thing #1
I get the feeling Swamp Thing creator and writer of this issue Len Wein doesn’t think anyone has read any pre-Crisis Swamp Thing. As he spends the first five pages of this book recapping those early adventures. As someone that hasn’t read them (I just started Alan Moore’s run on the book) I appreciated it, but it felt a little odd in comparison to the other books of Convergence so far which have pretty much assumed you had a masters degree in DCU history like Tom Kelly.
Following the recap we join Swamp Thing and Abigail Arcane as the skies have turned red, which was a common sign of the upcoming Crisis. Swamp Thing can’t figure out why the sky has turned so he says if anyone knows it’s Batman. So let’s head to Gotham to find him. Convenient.
Not surprisingly, Swamp Thing and Abby get trapped in Gotham as the dome appears. Most of the rest of the issue has Abby taking odd jobs to try to keep Swamp Thing from deteriorating. After a year, he is in hard shape as there is only so much plant food and fertilizer that she can get her hands on. It looks like Swampy’s days might be numbered when the dome drops and he is energized with the ability to reconnect with the Green.
He’ll need that energy as he and Abby are immediately attacked by a horde of vampires from the Red Rain universe.
Man, writing these summaries every week has become a bit of a laborious exercise. I may need to cut back on how much I write especially with Secret Wars on the horizon. Until then, I’ll just keep on keeping on and we’ll see you in the comic shop tomorrow.
And if I don’t have Week Four Part One out by this weekend, enjoy Age of Ultron and be sure to drop by your local comic shop for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday. Maybe pick up a trade or two while you’re there to support them.
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