Crisis Time! - Final Crisis #2

Hello and hello. I’m back with the second issue of Final Crisis. I don’t have any tie-ins for this post. The creative team is still the same for this issue. As for the covers, There’s not really much to say about them. All of the covers to the event look good in my opinion. The cover to issue 2 is a bit spoiler-ish if you know who that really is. Let’s just say that it isn’t Jay Garrick. The variant is also really spoiler-heavy. With that said, let’s go to Japan!

Final Crisis #2

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: J.G. Jones
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Rob Leigh

We start out in Japan at a dance club. It’s here where we meet the Super Young Team. We got Superbat,  Atomic Lantern Boy, and a couple of other young heroes. They’re sitting around living it up while watching the big screen. Suddenly, a man named Sonny Sumo walks in. The team’s starstruck by the guy. A guy called Megayakuza attacks Sumo, so Sumo retaliates by straight-up killing him. When Sumo heads into the bathroom to clean up, a well-dressed man follows him in. His name is Shilo Norman and he is Mister Miracle or at least the new one. Norman heals Sumo with his Motherboxxx and they talk as the Super Young Team spy on them. Norman tells Sumo that there was a cosmic war that he needs help in building a team to face the evil ones.

Well, he's dead.

Elsewhere, we catch up with the young man from last issue. He heads to his job and reads the dictionary on his journey. He tells his co-workers about his dreams and that he’s looking for a way home. They, of course, look at him like he’s nuts and I can’t blame them. Do you see his hair-do? Anyway, it’s revealed that he is Nix Uotan as we see him drawing Monitors and other stuff. We then flash forward to Gotham City where Dan Turpin is beating the stuffing out of the Mad Hatter. He’s still looking for the kids who went missing but he doesn’t remember his encounter from last issue. He realizes that something’s wrong with him since he’s being really violent with the Hatter and his features are looking off. Eventually, The Hatter tells Turpin that that the kids are in Bludhaven. Turpin heads toward the bus station to get a ticket to the ravaged city.

We end up getting a quick recap of the Martian Manhunter’s funeral on Mars. Superman gives a quick eulogy. At Libra’s hideout, the villains still wonder if Libra has the juice to take out heroes. Some are for Libra, but Lex Luthor is still not a believer. Libra does hint that he can find a way to hurt Superman and that gets Luthor to shut up. Outside, the villains discuss about Libra’s intentions. Luthor is still against him but Vandal Savage is all for the guy if he can end his boredom. Human Flame tells Libra that he owes him big time and vice-versa.

At the Hall of Justice, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman study Orion’s body. Batman realizes that a bullet killed Orion. Hal brings in Kraken, an Alpha Lantern who’s dealt with matters like this. Kraken’s pretty hostile to Batman and the rest by saying that Orion couldn’t have been killed by a bullet.  We also find out that John Stewart is at the crime scene looking for evidence. After some heated discussion, the Alpha Lantern leaves. At the crime scene, John finds a bullet buried under the concrete. Suddenly, he gets attacked by a hooded Lantern.

Hal somehow ends up getting blamed for attacking John and killing Orion. The heroes don’t believe it, but the Alpha Lanterns have a bit more authority over them. Superman leaves Batman at the Hall to go to his other job. Batman talks it over with Kraken and it’s revealed that she was the one who attacked John. She falls out of some trance and tries to warn Batman that she’s not herself. Unfortunately, the entity known Granny Goodness takes over Kraken again and knocks out Batman. She opens a Boom Tube and takes Batman with her.

Man, I don't know if I can imagine Ed Asner's voice coming out of her.

Turpin finally makes it to Bludhaven. It’s still in ruins from Chemo’s attack in Infinite Crisis. He runs into Reverend Good, a minister who’s trying to get the city rebuilt. They head into Command D which is revealed to be a factory for evil! Humans are being enslaved and experimented on. We even see a kid who looks like Kamandi locked up. Rev. Good (whom I’m guessing if Glorious Godfrey) reveals to Turpin that the gods of Apokalips are here in human bodies trying to end humanity. Turpin also feels someone inside him. We end up seeing Batman being locked into some machine. At the Daily Planet, a disguised Clayface blows up the main office and Lois gets seriously injured.

In Central City, the Flashes (Jay Garrick and Wally West) meet up at what’s also Libra’s hideout. It’s also where Jay first met Barry Allen, the second Flash. Batman believed this was where J’onn died. The Flashes find Martian blood and a “Crime Bible.” they also find a replica of Metron’s Mobius Chair. Batman also believed that the bullet that killed Orion was actually shot back through time in order to kill him and that this was where it started. The Chair was basically used as a gun to do it. Suddenly, the chair starts up and opens a portal. The issue shockingly ends as Barry Allen comes out chasing the bullet with the Black Racer on pursuit.

Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh... Flash!

.............................................

This was another good issue. More pieces get added to the chess board. The mystery of Orion’s killer takes a weird turn. I mean, it’s a comic written by Grant Morrison. I don’t expect less weirdness. While it’s not really action-heavy, major things are being set up. It looks like most of the main heroes may be taken off the board for a while. We also get an idea of how the gods of Apokalips are doing what they’re doing. The reveal of the Kirby creations was pretty effective.

Then, there’s the ending. It’s a resurrection that most probably saw coming but that’s how comics work sometimes. The artwork is as good as usual. Jones does his best to make everyone look good. The action is also quite nice and I also like the little references to things that eventually happen. The colors and inks are still looking good from before. There may be a couple of weird images, but it’s all still good.

Is there anything I don’t like about it? Not really. I will say that the Super Young Team isn’t that interesting. They may get more interesting as the event goes on, but it’s not there yet. Other than that and a couple of weird choices for dialogue, I like this issue. Well, I think it’s time to stop here for today. Next time will be Final Crisis #3. Peace, God Bless, and don’t annoy giant Japanese dudes. They’ll mess you up.

NEXT TIME: THE INTERNET DESTROYS THE WORLD, MARY MARVEL, AND STUFF HAPPENS!!!