Review: Convergence Justice League #2

Convergence Justice League #2 came out this week, the second part of this brief 2 part story linking the pre-Flashpoint League with the Flashpoint Aquaman.

I'll start off this review by saying, in general, I have enjoyed the second issues of the Convergence mini-series more than the first issues. It seems like the need to establish the story and include the 'dome coming down' scene may have stifled things. Because so far this week, every second issue has been better. Not perfect! Better. And Justice League fits that bill as well.

Writer Frank Tieri ramps up the action in this issue, having the League go and try to rescue the kidnapped Mera. Some of the problems of the first issue, especially the seeming lack of powers and presence in Mera, persist. But this issue is a smoother story, a punch-em-up finale to a quick arc.

Artist Vicente Cifuentes adds a very polished look to the proceedings. The overt cheesecake from the last issue is subdued here, maybe because the characters are in their costumes as opposed to the teeny tiny evening wear they were in last issue as they were out hitting the clubs.

The violence runs a bit extreme here, a staple in DC comics these days. That said, this is the Flashpoint universe we are dealing with. Things are supposed to be dark.

Last issue, the Mera of the pre-Flashpoint universe was snatched by the Atlanteans from the Flashpoint world. That universe's Aquaman is obsessed with getting any version of his queen back.

The League isn't going to stand for that and so invade the waters of the nearby and recently domes Atlantis to find and free their friend. I don't know if these Earths were pitted against each other by Telos (the whole rules of the tournament are extremely loose in all the books) but a brawl will be happening regardless.

I thought this was a nice opening splash page showing the League members underwater and engaged in fighting the Atlantean army and their leader Aquaman.

Now why Mera, with all her strength and water-controlling powers and pride, isn't trying to free herself? I can't answer that.

I do like that she recognizes that Vulko is an upstanding person no matter the universe. She wonders why he would go along with this.

He issues the dreaded 'I am following orders' defense for his actions. You sense he doesn't agree with this kidnapping. But he must obey his King.

In a nice twist, we learn that the 'Aquaman' leading the Atlantean army and summoning monstrous Krakens from a mystical rift is Ocean Master.

Now you would think that a Green Lantern, Flash, and Superman team would not be deterred by infantry and sea monsters. Add Zatanna and this should be a walk in the park. But it isn't so. This is a pretty even fight in the beginning.

Now here is some of that over the top violence of the issue.

You may have noticed that Vixen was not part of the ocean force fighting the army. She, using absorbed abilities from the aquatic animals around her, slips into Atlantis undercover to try to free Mera via espionage and duplicity.

She confronts Aquaman in his throne room and actually holds her own for a short time. However, in a bit of 'comic book science', Aquaman is able to control Vixen since she is tied into the undersea animal web. And he commands her to kill herself ... which she does.

That is simply brutal and gratuitous. Now I know that the Flashpoint world is a dark, bitter, evil world. But we didn't need to see this. And Vixen fans, happy to see her again in this story, must be pretty sad to see her go out this way.

I will say that I love Supergirl in this issue. She definitely plays the muscle in this group. There isn't much space for characterization or subtlety. She basically is the tank here.

But she is a glorious tank.

The rest of the League is defeated by a huge kaiju and ultimately captured. So Kara comes streaking in for the rescue. She bashes her way into the throne room and we get several pages of her kicking the snot out of Aquaman.

I mean it looks like this is going to be a short fight.

But take a close look at this Supergirl.

I am a huge advocate of the red skirt for the Supergirl costume. So even though the skirt color is wrong continuity-wise, I love it.

And look closer!

There they are!

Bike shorts under the skirt!!!

It is hard to believe that we are going back 6 years when bike shorts was the hot topic for some corners of Supergirl fandom.

I love the bike shorts!

Somewhere Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle are smiling and nodding slowly like Mr. Miyagi at the end of Karate Kid.

Of course, nothing is that easy.

Aquaman has been studying this League and noticed Supergirl had attributes similar to some rocks on the ocean floor. He has fashioned a Kryptonite trident for just such an occasion!

This is the one part of the plot that stymies me. When did Aquaman have time to do all this research? The dome was impenetrable prior to being dropped. That was just a couple days ago at most. So he has somehow, from a distance, linked Kara to Kryptonite, forged for it and found enough in the limited water from the dome to find enough and make a trident?

I suppose if I can buy undersea kingdoms, flying aliens, green women, and even the concept of the city of planets, I have to just accept this part.

Just as Aquaman is poised to kill Supergirl, Mera decides to use her feminine wiles to get close to him. She lures him in with words of love and a kiss. But once in close, she guts him like a fish, stabbing him in the abdomen. She leaves him to die, bleeding to death on his throne.

So the portrayal of Mera in this book is the weak link. She should have her powers back and should be using them. I doubt she would be docile with her abductors. And this use of fake romance to move in for the kill feels pretty cliched.

Add to that the relatively ease with which Zatanna, Jade, and Jessie are caught as well as the humiliating death of Vixen and this book isn't without its warts.

But I love the Supergirl in this book. She was the red skirted, bike short wearing, muscle of the team! That alone lifts this book up a couple of notches.

Overall grade: B

Review: Convergence Justice League #1

The Convergence event started in earnest this week with Convergence #1 and a bunch of the Convergence mini-series being released. I have been trying to wrap my head around this whole event for some time. The cynic in me thinks it is a simple money grab, a way to deal with the physical move of offices, and a way for DC to try to showcase some of its history to older fans while snubbing those same fans by bringing back the 'New 52' universe when its over.

And yet, the fan in me is thrilled to see some of these characters again. I have been wanting to see a classic Superman, old/new school Supergirl, and a Steph Brown Batgirl. So how can I not be excited. And Supergirl is a big part of 2 of the series.

Convergence Justice League #1 came out this week and showcases the James Robinson era Justice League, a book and a time that I really enjoyed. This was truly a legacy League. Dick Grayson was Batman. Kara was 'Superman'. Donna Troy was 'Wonder Woman'. Jessie Quick was the 'Flash'. Jade was 'Green Lantern'. Oh, and there was the blue Starman and Congorilla too. It was different and fun and fresh. And even though there was a 'Dark Supergirl' turn, Kara was treated well, in line with the post-New Krypton sensibilities and emotions that Sterling Gates was doing in Kara's main title.

So I was looking forward to this book. I was hoping to love this book. But, like Convergence, I need to wrap my head around it. Because I think it is something of a mixed bag. Writer Frank Tieri brings these characters together and has them square off against the Flashpoint world. And Vicente Cifuentes does the art. There is definitely an Ed Benes feel of cheesecake here.

We start with a nice Supergirl moment as she speeds Jessie to a Gotham hospital. When the Justice League comic was canceled, Jessie was pregnant. Here, she is in active labor and Kara needs to get her to the hospital as quickly as she can.

It is a fun opening scene and it shows how just how much of a friend Supergirl is.

Now she is sporting a pretty tight shirt, a skirt with slits up  the sides to the waist, and her high heels magically become boots in the span of 3 panels. Skimpy outfits is definitely a theme in this book.

But the sentiment is nice.

It turns out that Kara, Zatanna, Jade, and Vixen were all in Gotham to have a baby shower for Jessie when the contractions started. At least we have a reason for all of them being in Gotham when the city is captured and placed in the dome.

Under the dome everyone loses their powers. Jade reverts to a more human skin tone. And suddenly everyone is trapped.

One year later ... one year. Interesting. Even though the city is domed, life has gone on normally. People work, eat, and party despite being trapped. I am surprised that chaos hasn't ensued. Or that people haven't questioned where the water and food comes from.

But our first shot of this world is Kara beating someone up. This guy grabbed her while at a bar and she is defending herself. Despite being powerless, she is able to put him into the wall with one hand.

And even though this was her defending herself, it just smacked a bit too much of the barely clothed, angry, 'punch first' Supergirl that we had moved past when this League was together. I suppose when averaged out with everything else in the issue, I can try to tolerate this moment.

This picture screamed 'Ed Benes' to me. I keep seeing some page from 'Candor' in my mind. Was this a swipe? Do I have to skim 'Candor' to see? I don't want to skim 'Candor'!!

There is a funny moment. The women leaguers are out on the town leaving Congorilla to have to babysit Jessie's son 'Little Johnny'.

Still, if Kara's personality is a bit too edgy and angry, it is still better than Mera who really gets treated pretty badly in this issue.

She was also in Gotham at the time of the doming. (Was she a guest at the shower?)

Mera is depressed because she misses Aquaman soooo much. She is supposed to be having a good time with the rest of the gang but instead she is moping on the balcony of the club. Now I know that this would be a sad time for many. But I hope there is more to Mera than just this sadness.

I was hoping to see some strength or determination in her.

It turns out that the nearby Gotham is the Flashpoint Gotham.

And, as per usual in the Flashpoint world, everyone is gritty, dark, and stabby. And so we see Aquaman torturing and ultimately killing an unnamed man for daring to mention Mera's name.

I forgot just how much I disliked the Flashpoint universe.

So, as in all the Convergence books, Telos arrives and drops the dome. Everyone's powers return. And the concept of a tournament of timelines is established.

Again, I like that Kara's first thoughts here are to make sure that the people of Gotham remain safe. It is suddenly clear that this is one of many Gothams on this planet. They aren't on Earth anymore. And the safety of the people is paramount.

She almost sounds like the leader of this group!

Meanwhile, the Flashpoint Aquaman has used his technology to peek into this Gotham and sees that a Mera lives there. Obsessed, he sends his flunkies who kidnap her, bringing her in a submarine back to the other Gotham's harbor.

To cover the getaway, Aquaman has sent a Kraken. Kara says 'I got this' and basically bashes it away with one punch.

I loved that Supergirl was the 'muscle' of that JLA. So seeing her eliminate the threat quickly was perfect.

But that outfit. Or lack thereof. It reminds me of a line from the old movie 'The Sure Thing'. "She has beautiful skin ... and so much of it!"

And are the boots a call-out for the Earth Angel Supergirl? (That's not this one.) Or some nod to Wonder Woman?

Now over the last decade Mera has been shown to be one of the strongest, steeliest, intelligent leaders in the DCU. She was fierce and independent. So here, seeing her on her knees before Aquaman, squeezed and kissed, responding only with a slap and a 'my friends will save me' is just wrong. This isn't the Mera I am used to seeing. And I can only imagine what hard core Aquaman fans and Mera fans think of this.

Kidnapped in an alley. And then manhandled like this? Terrible.

So what to think of this? I, for the most part, like Supergirl here. Although there is a bit of that edginess from the earliest adventures of this incarnation that rub me the wrong way. I really don't like the treatment of Mera. And the art skews to cheesecake.

I guess that means overall it is something of a mixed bag.

Overall grade: C+