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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 4, 2015 0:25:38 GMT -5
Aztek, The Ultimate Man #2 Morrison-Millar/Harris  Rating 3/5 Plot: Major Force turns up in Vanity, and wants to talk to the crime bosses... but he's supposed to be dead. Kyle drops in on the Vanity police, and finds out an unknown guy is working with him. Turns out the unknown guy is out titular hero (who hasn't come up with a name yet)... in true Morrison fashion, he's brand new pet project hero punks Kyle pretty badly.. he turns invisible to get Kyle to let him out of a ring-generated bubble, then steals the ring off his finger... but then they team up. It turns out it's not really Major Force, but a shape shifting bad guy named Synth, that goes from being a genius to being dumb at noon every day, and vise versa. They stop him, but Synth drops the 'disguise' and shoots his hostage before the police wrap him up. Kyle Stuff: This time we get Kyle with a skater hair cut (shaved on the sides), but at least with a reasonable build. For some reason, Morrison (who should know better) refers to the ring constructs as 'Plasma'.. or should I say, has Kyle refer to them that way in his thoughts. Overlooking that, though, there's some good character building here... Kyle makes his peace with revenge, and gets to inspire a new hero, which makes him happy. Aztek gets 10 issues (beat Takion by 3)... during which he goes from being Bat-related to being Superman related. Neither get any sales, so Morrison puts him in the JLA briefly, and tries to make him a big deal. When that failed, he kills him off in his last JLA arc, so no one else plays with his toy. (Can you tell I'm not a huge Morrison fan?) |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Jan 4, 2015 9:21:49 GMT -5
I wasn't even aware the Aztek: The Ultimate Man series existed! (Can you tell I'm not a huge Morrison fan?) Preach that truth, brother! |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 4, 2015 12:10:34 GMT -5
I wasn't even aware the Aztek: The Ultimate Man series existed! (Can you tell I'm not a huge Morrison fan?) Preach that truth, brother! It actually could have been decent, if it wasn't set in the DCU... he was too Batman-like to make sense in the DCU... but as an indy property that could have developed a good supporting cast and the city itself (called Vanity in extremely ironic fashion), it might have been good. Connecting it first to Thomas Wayne, then Luthor, not so much. |
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Post by dupersuper on Jan 6, 2015 4:43:22 GMT -5
Aztek gets 10 issues (beat Takion by 3)... during which he goes from being Bat-related to being Superman related. How was he ever related to either? The Luthor thing in 1 JLA page? |
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Post by dupersuper on Jan 6, 2015 4:43:36 GMT -5
(Can you tell I'm not a huge Morrison fan?) Yes, yes we can. |
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Post by dupersuper on Jan 6, 2015 4:49:05 GMT -5
I wasn't even aware the Aztek: The Ultimate Man series existed! Preach that truth, brother! It actually could have been decent, if it wasn't set in the DCU... he was too Batman-like to make sense in the DCU The guy with the 4-D helmet raised and trained by a secret society to thwart an ancient prophecy? We're reading different Batman books. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 6, 2015 9:27:40 GMT -5
Aztek gets 10 issues (beat Takion by 3)... during which he goes from being Bat-related to being Superman related. How was he ever related to either? The Luthor thing in 1 JLA page? According to Comic Vine... issue 9 established that the corporation that he got his powers from was funded by Luthor... I remember the JLA page, so I have no reason to think that's incorrect... especially since the cover of said issue has Parasite whomping him with the Daily Planet, er, Planet. I assume this was meant to be a what the next arc would have been if the book didn't get cancelled. He crossover over with Batman for a fight with the Joker, and I remember at the time people being upset that Thomas Wayne was involved with his origin, but I don't recall how exactly. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 6, 2015 9:32:57 GMT -5
It actually could have been decent, if it wasn't set in the DCU... he was too Batman-like to make sense in the DCU The guy with the 4-D helmet raised and trained by a secret society to thwart an ancient prophecy? We're reading different Batman books. LOL. I don't mean he's a knock off or anything, I mean the book in general... the setting, the vibe, etc. He's a mysterious street-level fighter, who has a spiffy suit that lets him do cool stuff. Substitute 'Utility Belt' for 4-D helmet, and the Court of Owls New 52 storyline is actually pretty similar. Granted, I only read the first 2 issues and the JLA appearances, so perhaps they differentiate him some after that. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 12, 2015 22:35:49 GMT -5
Green Lantern #80 'Light in Darkness' (Final Night Tie-in)
(no luck finding a small version of the cover, but it's not very good, so no loss)
Marz/JH Williams/Gray/Rambo/Eliopoulous
Rating 3.5/5
Plot: Kyle returns to his apartment to find Doctor Light, who has apparently been in there for years. (since Green Lantern #36). He wants Hal, but will happily destroy Kyle to get respect and show off his new power. Kyle gets him out of his apartment, then realizes perhaps a guy with light powers could help with the Sun Eater and re-start the sun. Light defeats him. and Kyle does his sales pitch. After brave words, Light gets scared and leaves, apparently for some other planet.
Distraught, Kyle goes home, charges the ring, and has a chat with Donna, which is quite good, as both reflect on the end of the world. Kyle gets an idea, and leaves as Donna goes to be with her son.
Analysis: OK, so some weird continuity stuff here. First, Kyle's battery is not Hal's, so how is Light in there? That implies the batteries are really some sort of inter-dimensional gateway, and always have been, which is just weird. He also acts as if he's been in there for years, when it can't have been that long.. I know he fought the Wolfman/Perez Titans (Donna mentions that, in fact). I guess it's also an inter-dimensional gateway were time passes weird? It bugged me.
Within the story itself, Dr. Light (in a funny moment where he assumes Kyle is vulnerable to yellow), then basically shoots him through the shoulder with a light bullet... the panel shows blood and the bullet passing through, only to then show Kyle is fine later..kinda a bad mistake, IMO.
The second half of the issue is great, though, a far better tie in than most event tie ins... actually looking at the EFFECT of an event. It even made sense.. this is Kyle's biggest crisis to date, and Donna's first with no powers.
Ring constructs: Kyle uses a mirror, then a cool knight, which Dr. Light takes control of and turns into a dragon, which was pretty darn awesome, art-wise. ALMOST makes up for the blood thing, and the fact that Williams totally misses on Kyle's hair.
Extras: The letters page is pretty funny, with a couple asking for team ups, then one asking why there are so many teams ups... the editors answers 'because people keep asking for them'. The ads really took me back, one for Sliders, and one for Sega Saturn.
Also, I don't know the exact time of it, but the next issue box is a pretty huge almost-spoiler... I can't imagine lots of people didn't guess the outcome of Final Night from it.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 13, 2015 23:57:04 GMT -5
Final Night 1-4 Karl Kesel/Stuart Immonen Rating 3/5 Plot: An alien spaceship lands in Metropoils with a dire warning... the Sun Eater is coming, and the world is doomed to die in a few days. The heroes quickly make a plan... Mr. Miracle and the Extreme Justice team try to boom tube the thing away, while every light and heat generating hero there is (including Kyle) try to make a decoy sun... neither works, and the Sun Eater settles over the sun. The Phantom Stranger tries to convince the Spectre to intervene, but he refuses... claiming if it's God's will for the world to die, he has no right to twart it. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor comes rushing back from vacation.. since Superman's powers are quickly waning, he's the man to save the world. While the less cosmic heroes do what they can to keep the world in one piece, Luthor devotes his time and energy to world survival without the sun, until a way to remove the Sun Eater is found. Sadly, there's another problem... the Sun is losing only energy, and this will go nova and destroy the solar system in under a day anyway. Luthor's last ditch effort (using hundreds of Brainiac 5's force fields to contain the blast) fails... luckily Kyle has convinced Parallax to help! Hal seemingly uses up his power to not only destroy the sun eater and restore the sun, but stop the sudden changes from causing global disaster... the day is saved! Kyle's role: While on 3 of the 4 covers, Kyle has a pretty minimal role... he's used as a living probe by Luthor, and is supposed to enact the force field plan, but Hal teleports him away before he can do so. The footnotes say he convinces Hal to help, but that happened in a Parallax special I don't own, so we'll have to take the editor's word for it. Overall, not a bad event, and it redeems Hal nicely, but having a literal Deus ex Machina ending is never a good thing. THe first page of issue 2 is pretty sweet, as is the heroes meeting at the beginning... both splashes make it worth the price of admission.   |
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Post by Action Ace on Feb 14, 2015 21:32:15 GMT -5
I wasn't even aware the Aztek: The Ultimate Man series existed! (Can you tell I'm not a huge Morrison fan?) Preach that truth, brother! Aztek was my first Grant Morrison and Mark Millar series. I thought it was good. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 15, 2015 0:35:53 GMT -5
I admit I never gave Aztek much of a chance... while visually interesting, the story just didn't grab me. Maybe some day.  Green Lantern #81 'Funeral for a Hero' Marz/Banks/Tanghal/Rambo/Elipoulous Backup: Marz/Kane Rating 4/5 Plot: The funeral for Hal Jordan, and the creation/dedication of a memorial in his honor on the former site of Coast City. There's also a backup that has a new story of Hal fighting the Qwardians, that includes a flashback with his origin. The funeral itself is about what one expects from a Superhero funeral... lots of fun picking out who's in the crowd, lots of sappy dialogue. Interesting bits: Kyle gets formally introduced to Dick Grayson, who tells him to be good to Donna.. kinda a cool moment. John Stewart and Guy Gardner re-connect, IIRC, Stewart ends up being a semi-regular in that book as well. My favorite exchange is Kyle talking to Jack Knight.. they talk old artists, and Jack invites him to his story to pick up some clips. Strange that Roy Harper's not there (at least not shown)... no Hawks either, but I'm not sure if they were alive at that point or not. Loved Constantine and Deadman hanging around... a bit of hinting at things to come, perhaps. Really, the best part is seeing Banks draw the entire DCU. |
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Post by dupersuper on Feb 16, 2015 23:33:48 GMT -5
Final Night 1-4 Karl Kesel/Stuart Immonen Rating 3/5 Plot: An alien spaceship lands in Metropoils with a dire warning... the Sun Eater is coming, and the world is doomed to die in a few days. The heroes quickly make a plan... Mr. Miracle and the Extreme Justice team try to boom tube the thing away, while every light and heat generating hero there is (including Kyle) try to make a decoy sun... neither works, and the Sun Eater settles over the sun. The Phantom Stranger tries to convince the Spectre to intervene, but he refuses... claiming if it's God's will for the world to die, he has no right to twart it. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor comes rushing back from vacation.. since Superman's powers are quickly waning, he's the man to save the world. While the less cosmic heroes do what they can to keep the world in one piece, Luthor devotes his time and energy to world survival without the sun, until a way to remove the Sun Eater is found. Sadly, there's another problem... the Sun is losing only energy, and this will go nova and destroy the solar system in under a day anyway. Luthor's last ditch effort (using hundreds of Brainiac 5's force fields to contain the blast) fails... luckily Kyle has convinced Parallax to help! Hal seemingly uses up his power to not only destroy the sun eater and restore the sun, but stop the sudden changes from causing global disaster... the day is saved! Kyle's role: While on 3 of the 4 covers, Kyle has a pretty minimal role... he's used as a living probe by Luthor, and is supposed to enact the force field plan, but Hal teleports him away before he can do so. The footnotes say he convinces Hal to help, but that happened in a Parallax special I don't own, so we'll have to take the editor's word for it. Overall, not a bad event, and it redeems Hal nicely, but having a literal Deus ex Machina ending is never a good thing. THe first page of issue 2 is pretty sweet, as is the heroes meeting at the beginning... both splashes make it worth the price of admission. I really liked Immonen art back in the day... |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 21, 2015 23:39:53 GMT -5
 One of my favorite non-Banks covers  Green Lantern #82 'Adventures in Babysitting' Rating: 3/5 Plot: We start off with a splash of Hal Jordan... his new statue at Warriors. Kyle is there playing Green Lantern poker with John (who's up and about again), Alan Scott, and Guy. They tell Kyle old GL story until all hours, and talk about Hal.. great stuff. Kyle decides to walk home, and runs across some muggers... the muggee has a suitcase full of... wait for it... emeralds, of course! Kyle saves him, and the guy gives him one. Kyle takes it, pondering how he could skip the commerical work for months by selling it. Cut to the next morning, where Donna turns up with Robert, and forces Kyle to babysit while she goes to court to try to get more visitation rights. Kyle protests, but ends up doing it. They go to the Zoo, where Robert wanders off in search of a pretty stone to give mommy (which is a thing, we learn) and ends up in the tiger cage. Kyle freaks out, but ends up saving him (but not the stone). He tells Robert the adventure was a secret, and give him the emerald to give to Donna. In a Epilogue, we see Colos and Zed the Head (former GL, current Darkstar) talking about their future plans.. they're just about done on Rann. Colos goes to wherever he's staying, and we see Zed get murdered by a mysterious figure...to be continued! Ring Constructs: We get an ugly, sloppy monster with the muggers (Kyle claims he was tired), and lots of jungle themed stuff in the zoo.. a Zulu-y shield and spear, and an elephant... and some vines to swing on. He flies Robert home on a not-Dumbo Flying Elephant, and we see some GL-generated toys at the end. Analysis: The poker game was great.. the rest... not so much. Donna busting into Kyle's apartment to spring baby sitting on him as the first time he's met the kid is massively stupid and irresponsible, and way out of character. The irony that she's doing so on her way to a custody hearing is pretty funny, though. And did I mention she threatens to withhold.. stuff if Kyle says no? That's 30 years out of date right there. Then there's the fact that Donna's drawn to look almost Asian in most of the panels...I thought at first he was cheating with Linda Park or something. Then there's the 3 year old delivering the moral lesson, which was way silly. Extras: A letter column response mentions that Kyle designed Guy Gardner action figures in a Warrior issue! sounds neat, I might have to find that one. Likewise with the Superboy and the Ravers issue that Colos was in. Interestingly, this is listed as the first appearance of Fatality, even though she goes unnamed, and is only seen in silohouette. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 21, 2015 23:40:57 GMT -5
I really liked Immonen art back in the day... Me too.. what ever happened to him? |
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