52 week 3
John Jack
Recap
A body is discovered in Gotham, tentative identification by the GCPD names it as Lex Luthor. Later analysis by John Henry Irons shows it to be a multiversal duplicate or clone, as evidenced by a photo op performed by Luthor himself!
Meanwhile Power Girl chases Terra Man into Khandaq airspace, but is stopped by Black Adam, who tells her superheroics will not be tolerated in his country. In a press conference he shows the world exactly how Khandaq deals with supervillians.
Booster Gold and Skeets fight Shockwave in Metropolis, after the villian is vanquished Booster meets with one of his sponsors. To Boosters shock his sponsor is arrested for tax fraud, directly contradicting Skeets' memory files, which listed them as future titans of industry. With the mechanical component vetted Booster decides to find the next most likely source of these problems, Rip Hunter!
Natasha Irons and her uncle argue once again about priorities. Her schooling reflects the same disinterest in subjects she doesn't like as she has for superhero work she doesn't want to do. He wants her to go to summer school.
Review
Lex Luthor makes a first appearance in the series in a transparent move to clear his name following Villians United/ Infinite Crisis and his insane actions. This is pretty inspired writing as he went from being president to being one of the most reviled villians in the DC universe in a relatively short time during this era and him blaming it all on a doppelganger is brilliant.
The Booster story continues to unfold and the mystery deepens, the addition of Rip Hunter is very exciting and this story leads directly into Booster Golds later solo series by Geoff Johns. I appreciate the threads being dangled but not feeling like I’m being led or having my hand held.
The Steel story feels a bit hamfisted in it’s push to hand us a lesson about doing the right thing even if it isn’t the easy thing. I’m really happy we’re getting some focus on a woman of color but it feels very after school special at this time.
The pacing of this series drags a bit this issue, with some big moments happening but not a lot to sink your teeth into, the plot advances incrementally as a result of the unfocused narrative and it becomes unclear which story is supposed to be moving. With this issue we’re up to 6 or so connected or not so connected distinct plots which is a lot to cover in a single issue. Reading this weekly I’m a bit disappointed not to get more Renee Montoya and Question or Ralph Dibney, especially after last issues cliffhanger.
The art by Kieth Giffen and Joe Bennett is good overall but the Power Girl scene is cringe, with the heroine contorted to force her chest into view in most of the panels she’s in, gross. I really like the fight between Booster and Shockwave and all the Black Adam scenes are great.
There’s just pages of this
The cover is phenomenal, I really love the tone and effect it gives. Best cover yet in my opinion. Lex looks like Harrison Ford which I think is pretty cool.
Final Thoughts
This issue was a bit slow compared to last week but I know it's going to pick up soon.
52 @eek 3: Slowdown
- Writing - 7/107/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 7/107/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10