Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #1 – Review

By: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Scott Clark (penciller), Dave Beaty (inker), Nei Ruffino (colorist)

The Story: Now, you guys are absolutely positive this isn’t a shotgun wedding?

The Review: Of course, one of the most impacting changes in the Flashpoint world is Wonder Woman and Aquaman’s fierce enmity, which has led to countless deaths and the devastation of an entire continent.  Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #1 danced around the origins of this intense hatred, noting the near-marriage between the two young royals and the enraging deaths of Queens Hippolyta and Mera, but we’ve still yet to see the nitty-gritty of these past events.

In Flashpoint: Knight of Vengeance #1, I mentioned how the real point of change came more from a subtle alteration in Thomas Wayne’s behavior, which led to drastic changes to the night of his family’s mugging.  In the same way, Diana’s more pronounced impulsiveness leads to her setting sail from Themyscira (prior to the tourney that traditionally marks her departure for the outside world), thus setting the stage for her fateful encounter with Arthur.

DnA deliver the goods with fine form, making the plot so accessible this issue could effectively work as a new series debut.  You don’t actually need much familiarity with the characters or their original conceptions to get engaged with this story. It wastes no time taking us through the major scenes: the first meeting of the Amazonians and Atlanteans, the unexpected announcement to both peoples of their rulers’ coming union, and the eventful day of the union itself.

Young Justice Episode 8 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (writer)

The Story: They say lost Atlantis holds many secrets.  No one says anything about Starros.

The Review: When the producers of Young Justice let on their show takes place on a parallel Earth, they opened up literally a whole new world of story possibilities.  They have the double-benefit of using DC canon for their source material, but molding it to their imagination.  It’s been fun exploring this universe little by little through the team’s missions, but the more you see, the more eager you get to really tramp about its locales to see what’s familiar and what’s all-new.

Aqualad’s sabbatical to Atlantis could not be a more ideal locale for seeing just how much creativity the writers will put into their world-building.  Hopps gives us everything you expect in Atlantis: the exotic, almost extraterrestrial marine life, the neo-classical architecture, the melding of ancient magic and advanced science, even its own Tolkienish language—the show’s brilliant animation brings it all to life, jumping an even higher bar of quality than it already has.

The reimagining of the Aqua-family is also stellar.  Some people wondered at the choice of Kaldur’ahm as Aqualad, but Hopps cleverly shows both Garth and Tula having chosen the Atlantean conservatory of magic as their vocations.  Guest stars include Aquaman’s wife Mera, half-brother Orm (kudos for making him actually look Inupiat), and royal science advisor Vulko.  Even Lagoon Boy and Letifos make cameos.  If you’re an Aqua-fan, this episode is practically catered to you.

Easter egg fun aside, Hopps writes an altogether sound episode, opening right in the middle of a mission gone awry, and Batman chalking it to Kaldur’s homesickness.  It’s not great we don’t see how Kaldur is supposedly responsible for the whole deal, but the scene itself works (note Bruce Greenwood’s excellent voice work as Batman) and the trade-off is we get to Atlantis that much sooner.  Kaldur’s interactions with his ocean friends and family give him some much needed personality, but I think we all just have to accept he’s the strong-and-silent type of the team.

Hopps also brings plenty of underwater action with Black Manta and his forces facing off against the Atlanteans and the Aqua-family (minus Arthur).  The melding of blaster guns, hydro-kinesis, and spell-slinging makes for visually and physically spectacular fight sequences.  It’s also good to see that writers are really embracing the tough broad Mera that’s popularized in Brightest Day. Manta comes off smart and formidable sparring versus both Aqualads, and his quest for Starro is marred only by the fact that we don’t get to see the alien starfish in action—not yet, anyway.