Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Convergence: Week Four Part Two

Well, I’m officially behind on Convergence.  We’re already into Week Five and I still haven’t finished Week Four.  Things aren’t going to get any better any time soon as Secret Wars kicks into gear and I’m off on special assignment for a week starting Sunday to investigate the non-geeky phenomenon known as golfing where it is warm because Canada and go frack yourself winter.  So hang in there with me, I’ll get all this stuff covered eventually…

Be sure to catch up on all the Convergence happenings with coverage of:

Week One: Part One, Part Two
Week Two: Part One, Part Two
Week Three:Part One, Part Two
Week Four:Part One

Read on for Week Four spoilers after break for Convergence Crime Syndicate #1,  Convergence Infinity Inc #1, Convergence Justice Society Of America #1, Convergence Plastic Man And The Freedom Fighters #1 and Convergence World’s Finest Comics #1

Convergence Crime Syndicate #1

Superwoman narrates our story as she sits on death row of pre-Crisis Earth-Three Metropolis.  She writes in her journal that the Crime Syndicate ain’t so bad.  They are just a bunch of misunderstood supervillians who loved to steal and never intended to hurt anyone.  A far cry from the maniacs of the New 52 Earth-Three that tried to take over our favorite heroes Earth in Forever Evil.  I don’t know much about the pre-Crisis Crime Syndicate, but I get the feeling the truth is somewhere in between.

The depowered Crime Syndicate are attempting to break into the prison holding Superwoman to prevent her execution.  They appear to fail as Captain Cold and the Rogue Hunters finally capture the rest of the Syndicate.  (Being Earth-Three where up is down and black is white, Captain Cold and his gang are the heroes here.)

Meanwhile, in the 853rd century, the stars of DC One Million are fighting amongst themselves over the death of Owlwoman.  Superman preaches that lethal force is not an option agaist their villians the Luthorians, while Batman believes that Lincoln Luthor must die.  (A Batman that kills?  Oh my!)  The conversation doesn’t last long as their headquarters is blown to kingdom come and Atom is killed.  In the confusion, Batman sneaks off to attack Luthor.  Superman finds him and we have the beginnings of Batsoup One Million.

As per usual for these plots to advance, Telos arrives and the domes go down.  As the Syndicate get their powers back they are about to make the Rogue Hunters pay for the death of Superwoman when they are teleported to the 853rd Century.  The battle begins when Ultraman takes out an unsuspecting Superman.

Convergence Justice Society Of America #1

There’s really not much that happens in this issue as we follow life under the dome for the pre-Crisis Justice Society of America.  And unless you enjoy your comics about senior citizens complaining about their knees and arthritis and bad backs, this is probably not the book for you.  You see, once the dome appeared over Earth-Two Metropolis, our JSA heroes aged very quickly without their powers.

It’s really not until the dome comes down and the city is attacked by a robot from the city of Qward from the Anti-Matter universe, that anything of significance happens.  Dr. Fate informs the JSA that he has the power to de-age them to battle the robot, but once they are triumphant their collective deaths will follow quickly afterwards and it will not be pleasant.  Ever the heroes, the JSA agree to go out in a blaze of glory.

Convergence Infinity Inc #1

While Justice Society of America is the tale of the old folks of Earth-Two under the dome, Infinity Inc gives us the tale of the young.  While it’s not all “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” and “who needs a little blue pill?” like JSA, the majority of the issue just follows our heroes around as they deal with being powerless.

When the dome does come down the team gathers and then heads to Atlanta, Georgia to face a post-apocolyptic Jonah Hex.  I’m not sure what time period this is from, but Hex and his crew are quick to strike.  As the Star-Spangled Kid tries to reason with Hex and get them all to band together, the Centurion shoots them out of the sky and they move in for the kill.

Convergence Plastic Man And The Freedom Fighters #1

Let’s travel to the New York City of Earth-X.  A world where the Nazi’s won World War II.  It’s been a year since the dome appeared and Plastic Man and the rest of the Freedom Fighters (minus Uncle Sam) are imprisoned and awaiting execution.

Without powers and without jobs, the Freedom Fighters would turn to petty theft to get by.  Stealing cans of food from the local grocery.  One by one the Freedom Fighters are rounded up and sentenced to death.  As the gallows are being built for their hanging the next day, the dome drops and the Freedom Fighters escape with ease as their powers return.

As odd as it is, the final page is really just a one page ad for issue 2 and features what appears to be a giant robotic Batman.  (Not the Robotic Batman that is set to appear in the current DCU.)  And while it looks nothing like anything that appeared in Future’s End, ad copy tells us that is where it is from.

Convergence World’s Finest Comics #1

The final issue of Week Four (Thank Jeebus!) centers around the Seven Soldiers of Victory from Pre-Crisis Earth-Two.  After some backstory for the Seven Soldiers we arrive in the midsts of Crisis on Infinite Earths.  The skies are red and “time and space began to collapse”.  Terradactyls fly off with our narrator Scribbly Jibbet (yes, that’s his name) and Green Arrow and Speedy are killed trying to rescue him.  He is eventually saved by former knight of the round table Sir Justin and his winged horse Victory.

As the pair fly off, Metropolis is destroyed below them by a massive tidal wave.  Shortly after they find themselves being teleported.  Suddenly they are under a dome and below them Metropolis, no longer destroyed.  Similar to the folks over in JSA, once the power dampening of the dome kicks in, Sir Justin ages rapidly.

It’s an interesting sequence as it is really one of the only books to show how I would think the capturing of these cities would occur.  Right at the point of their destruction.  It does make you wonder how the city was perfectly preserved when it had obviously just been destroyed?  And also, if Telos/Brainiac have this teleportation technology, why did Brainiac-Prime have to personally go to Earth in Future’s End?  As I’ve mentioned previously, it is a massive ordeal for Brainiac to enclose the city and launch it into the atmosphere.  Giving the superheroes of the time lots of time to mount a defensive.  But I digress…

The rest of the issue focuses on how people attempt to adapt under the dome, until Telos shows up a year later and informs everyone that they are no longer on Earth and their champions will need to fight for the survival of their city.  Unlike other books, Telos lends a hand, literally, to get Sir Justin and Jibbet to where they are intended to battle.  And I say literally, because Telos appears as a giant and picks up the heroes, walks over to their destination and places them down.  It’s a little confusing where Telos actually takes them, but I’m sure we’ll find out next issue as they attacked as soon as they arrive.

And that’s Week Four.  Week Five will bring us full circle and give us the second issues to the stories that began in Week One.  Look for that on Gabbing Geek…in a couple of weeks…