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HEAVEN OR HELL! DC Comics win/loss tracker.
- Thread starter Daikaiju
- Start date
NICE.
Oh look it's Lex Luthor being Lex Luthor.
Also, the Zaku/Warhammer 40k vibes of that new suit are very fitting.
Also, the Zaku/Warhammer 40k vibes of that new suit are very fitting.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
All-Star Superman is primarily a Superman story but it ends with Luthor and has a great issue dedicated to him and it's pretty great.
I also really like Up, Up and Away by Kurt Busiek, where Superman returns after a year-long absence (having been depowered and fighting crime as a journalist in his Clark Kent roll) to stop Luthor's latest plan.
52 also has a good Luthor arc but there's also a LOT going on, so it's just one of many, many threads. Frankly, even with that stacked writing team, it's amazing that weekly comic didn't completely crash and burn (which is what the subsequent attempt, Countdown, did).
I also really like Up, Up and Away by Kurt Busiek, where Superman returns after a year-long absence (having been depowered and fighting crime as a journalist in his Clark Kent roll) to stop Luthor's latest plan.
52 also has a good Luthor arc but there's also a LOT going on, so it's just one of many, many threads. Frankly, even with that stacked writing team, it's amazing that weekly comic didn't completely crash and burn (which is what the subsequent attempt, Countdown, did).
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This is basically the same way Daredevil got his secret identity back, except without the finding out kills you part.
I hate giving such a lousy half answer, but I realized my favorite moments with Luthor in the last two decades have almost unanimously been situations where it was revealed in the third act that Luthor was secretly behind everything, and then you get like an issue explaining how he set up all the dominos, and... recommending any of those stories as Luthor stories kind of defeats the purpose. Also, he might be more of a story telling device in those situations than anything.
THAT SAID my absolute favorite Luthor arc is one where he is not strictly a villain, but Action Comics Vol 1 #890 starts The Black Ring arc that spiraled out of Green Lantern: Blackest Night. Basically, Lex Luthor had a power ring for five seconds during that story, and now he is on a universal quest to regain a Lantern power like that again. And this means he deals with heroes and villains across Earth and Space to get there. And, yes, the finale involves his favorite alien. It was a good time, and a quick Google search indicates it is at least available on Kindle.
Also, is Superman Adventures from the 90's still available? Anything that came out of the animated series has a great Luthor.
He isn’t in it much, but Lex is used excellently in Matt Fractions Jimmy Olsen run
So I started reading Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, after having it recommended endlessly, and, for one thing, this is straight up True Grit, with Kara Zor-el instead of Jeff Bridges.
For another thing;
It is friggin’ exceptional
For another thing;
It is friggin’ exceptional
And now I’ve finished reading it.
Absolutely sensational
Absolutely sensational
I need to go back and finish it. I read the first half when it went up on DC Infinite, but never finished.
Tom King is going to destroy the DC Universe, as he keeps writing some of the best stories with DC characters, which are all explicitly out of continuity, but if the best stories are not continuity, what is the point of continuity?
Tom King is going to destroy the DC Universe, as he keeps writing some of the best stories with DC characters, which are all explicitly out of continuity, but if the best stories are not continuity, what is the point of continuity?
Generates trivia questions
Same as it ever was
You know, while the first three episodes of the show was really cute, I was secretly hoping that Lois would figure out Superman's secret identity sooner than later. It never made sense to me that the best investigative journalist on the planet couldn't put 2+2 together right under her nose. I hope it sticks, and there isn't some shenanigans that get in the way
I hope the exact opposite, because I find the shenanigans very enjoyable.
I know they're enjoyable, I like it too, but I like it when Lois is competent at her job lol.
Also they can explore other, fun, dynamics! Like this!
That's novel!
Also they can explore other, fun, dynamics! Like this!
That's novel!
So anyone been following DC KO? The whole concept is the heroes and villains of the DC Universe have to enter a pocket dimension fighting tournament where anything goes and the winner will wrestle The Heart of the Universe from Darkseid and effectively achieve (new) godhood. Unfortunately, despite "fighting tournament" being a remarkably well-established story arc, DC KO has been pretty lackluster. I think it has something to do with the last 30 years of comics all having events with at least one issue given over to "who would win a fight", so Jason Todd vs. Joker for the 67th time just doesn't hit like it used to. And we have already had all sorts of elseworlds and events where even the bad guys ruled the world, so the stakes have never been lower. But! It has now been revealed that the grand finale of DC KO will be a crossover-crossover, and combatants will include (spoiled in case anyone wants to read this years later, but this is revealed in ads in the current comics, so it ain't no secret) Red Sonja, Vampirella, Homelander of The Boys, Sub-Zero and Scorpion (Well well well if it isnt the Blowjob Brothers continuity), murder bear Samantha Strong, Annabelle from the hit (?) 2014 film Annabelle, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It... well... is probably going to be a little more interesting than Swamp Thing vs. Cyborg.
lmao sounds awful
I've been loving it so far
Turns out it is not!
Look, I'm a Mortal Kombat-ologist. I get that that is what I am going to focus on. And, like, they just randomly toss Plastic Man and Black Lightning up against Sub-Zero and Scorpion. And... uh... there isn't much there? Like, it is mostly an excuse for all the MK kharacters to say their catch phrases, and... that's about it? Then it ends? Like I literally have no idea why Plas and Lightning were chosen for this fight, as it could have been anyone standing opposite our favorite ninja, and they just kinda survive the "fight" long enough to keep the plot moving along. It is also MK1 (2023) Sub-Zero and Scorpion, but not MK1 DLC (2024) Sub-Zero and Scorpion, which is a weird choice if you're not going to commit either way to it being "classic" or "current continuity", as, suffice to say, Skeleton-Face Scorpion (not seen here) makes more of an impact.
But, aside from a few cute moments (Lex Luthor has a day), the whole issue of DC KO Boss Fight is basically a rapid fire "guess who is appearing now" kind of story... which is spoiled by the cover. Homelander versus Superman could have at least had a full issue of ideological frustration, and not a few pages...
And this is in the face of the fact that, somehow, this week also gave us:
Disney's Gargoyles / Darkwing Duck (by Greg Weisman) #1
Planet of the Apes vs. Fantastic Four #1
Archie x Army of Darkness #1
Which all got more creative in one issue than whatever was happening in the DC KO Boss Fight. Moose has a really bad survival rate in zombie stories!
Anywho, to say something nice, DC KO Knightfight wrapped up after four issues this week. That one was basically Batman battlin' through alternate realities where different Batman sidekicks had taken over the mantle. It was fun! And poignant! And still had a lot of fights! You can do cool stuff with this DC KO concept, but I'm not seeing it in the main series.
To me, that's both a predictable, and endemic problem of Western cape comics. The format is just inherently hostile to telling a deep, complicated story. Especially during a crossover event. Not saying it's impossible, but that the odds are stacked against it. To me, that's why the best cape comics I've read tend to be more narrower in scope. Even in a big crossover, if it focuses on just a small handful of characters, and the rest are set dressing, that's what works the best. When it tries to go wide, that's when they usually fumble. There just isn't enough pages per publishing window to do deeper explorations.
...they have catch phrases?
I mean, I know Scorpion's got his "C'mere!" and "Get over here!" stuff, but... there's more?
Oh, I forgot this was a thing! I may have to get these, or the trade... have to keep an eye out.
Shang Tsung is just there to be an announcer, and he gets "Fight!" and "Finish Him!" in significant font. Scorpion does get his "Get over here!"
Ah, fair enough!