Final Crisis #3
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: J.G. Jones
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Rob Leigh
"Know Evil"
We start out in Gotham City. An organization called SHADE
busts into the Dark Side Club. Frankenstein (I’m not kidding) and SHADE
operatives find the Question (Renee Montoya) over the mummified remains of Boss
Dark Side. After a little banter, the Question escapes the building and changes
back into her civilian clothes. As SHADE investigates the remains, they mention
that Bludhaven is getting worse. Suddenly, something falls out of the sky. Renee is one of the first to
find a blond woman wearing some sort of military garb at the center of the
crater. She’s also speaking German. Before Renee can do anything else, SHADE operatives
find her and take her away. Elsewhere, Nix Uotan gets fired from his job for
being nuts. On the street feeling dejected, he sees a news report about Metron’s
symbol. Unbeknownst to him, a Monitor watches him from across the street.
Frankenstein (The Monster) is a character in the DC Universe. Figures.
We then catch back up with Jay Garrick. He’s at Linda West’s
(Wally’s wife) house along with her kids, Joan Garrick (his wife), and Iris
Allen (Barry’s wife). He recounts his story about what happened. Wally and Jay ran
into the portal where Barry and the Black Racer were. Barry tried to chase down
the bullet that killed Orion, but he couldn’t stop it. We see Orion get hit and
the scene of Turpin finding the New God at the beginning of the event. The
Black Racer then sets his sights on Barry on the account that he’s “dead.”
Wally chases after Barry, but Jay’s knee gives out and he has to stop. After
Jay tells the wives that Barry is still out there, Iris is overjoyed.
It's alright, Barry, I'd be running from a black guy on skis too,
We then move to the Legion of Doom headquarters which is now
Libra’s new hideout. Libra gives Human Flame new equipment as well as a helmet.
When Human Flame puts on the helmet, it chants the Anti-Life Equation and makes
him a slave to Libra’s master. Suddenly Lex shows up with some bodyguards. Lex
is impressed by Libra’s takedown of Superman but he’s here to make sure that
Libra doesn’t threaten him. Libra surprises Lex with guards of his own and
they’re wearing the same type of helmet that Human Flame is wearing. Libra
gives Lex an ultimatum: either give up his free will and serve Libra’s master
of evil or get a helmet forced on his bald head.
At Metropolis Hospital, Clark and Jimmy watch over Lois.
Lois was badly injured and has some shrapnel close to her heart. Clark blames
himself for not being fast enough and is using his heat vision to somehow help
Lois. After Jimmy leaves, the Monitor from earlier enters the room. It’s
eventually revealed to be Zillo Valla. She knows that Clark is Superman and
tells him that Lois can be saved if he comes with her.
At the Hall of Justice, the Alpha Lanterns put Hal in
chains. He’s being arrested for killing Orion and attacking John. Even though
there is no evidence to corroborate this, Kraken (still possessed by Granny Goodness)
pushes the issue. There’s also the fact that Hal can’t remember where he was
during those events. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern Allan Scott, and Black
Lightning protest but to no avail. They leave with Hal. With Superman, Batman,
and both Earth-based Green Lanterns sidelined, the others decide on what to do
next. Since the threat of the evil gods is still out there, Alan Scott informs
Wonder Woman of an old superhero drafting method called Article X. They, along
with Oracle, use this to gather up all of the heroes into one place.
I know this is supposed to be cool and all, but all I can
think about is how weird some of the coloring is.
In Japan, Shilo and Sonny Sumo head to Shilo’s plane. As
they talk, the plane blows up and they get attacked by men where the same masks
Human Flame was wearing. The two face their attackers when the Super Young Team
shows up in their pretty cool car. They wanted an autograph and it looks like
they’ll be getting more than that. The two men jump into the car and the car
turns into a hover vehicle and flies away from the madness.
Wonder Woman shows up in Bludhaven to get to the bottom of
it all. She’s accompanied by the Atomic Knights, another creation from Jack
Kirby. When they find the remains of a dead SHADE agent, they are attacked by a
corrupted hero who seen better days: Mary Marvel. She tears through the Knights
and Diana. She reveals to Wonder Woman what we already know: The New Gods of
Apokalips have been hiding in human bodies and are ready to start their take.
Mary Marvel then infects Wonder Woman with the Anti-Life Equation which will be
used to infect other heroes.
Oh man... Mary, what happened?
At Command D, Mokkari sends out an email that contains the
Anti-Life Equation in order to enslave the world. Oracle and Mr. Terrific are
the first to see it going through the Internet like a virus. Oracle does her
best to stop it when everything suddenly goes dark. Later, Barry and Wally come
out of the portal in Central City. They notice that a few weeks have passed
since they took their trip in the time stream. While Wally is glad to see his
uncle back, Barry wonders what has happened. It’s gotten eerie and the skies
are red. The issue ends as a possessed Wonder Woman and three other people who
look like Batwoman, Catwoman and Giganta confront them ready to kill.
So, the Internet destroys civilization? Figures.
………………………………………….
As usual, this was a nice issue. This is what the last two
issues have been building up to. It’s definitely more action-oriented than what
we’ve had before. It’s also where we finally get the heroes assembled for what
will be happening. It’s looking bleak with weird stuff happening. You got the
skies turning red, white people falling out the sky, and Mary Marvel in the
latest dominatrix outfit. That should tell you it’s getting pretty dark. We
also get confirmation on what the New Gods of Apokalips are doing. Even though
we’ve seen things beforehand, we finally get confirmation on what’s happening.
It’s really beginning to feel like a Crisis event.
We also got Barry Allen back. It’s not clear on how he’s
back, but these are comics after all. While the ending is pretty dark and
foreboding, it seems like there’s a little hope now that we have a dead man
running around. I also liked seeing other heroes like Captain Marvel (Freddy at
this time) and Supergirl get a little spotlight in this overcrowded event. It
also looks like Superman is going to be doing something with a Monitor. You’ll
find out more about that next time.
The artwork is good for the most part. The action is pretty
nice and not confusing at all. I especially liked Jones’s Wonder Woman. She was
one-part princess and one-part warrior. Even though I like the art here, there
was something off with the coloring. It’s like people’s faces were on “bright
mode” or something. The page where the heroes are gathered is one example.
Another example would be the scene where Jay is telling the wives about Barry.
It was just pretty jarring. Another thing to throw in the dislike section is
Mary Marvel’s costume though that might had been the point.
Overall, this was a good read. Now, it has gotten serious.
What will the Earth look like with the hoards of Darksied in charge? Find out some
other time because we’re going on an adventure with the Man of Steel in Final
Crisis: Superman Beyond … in 3D! (Echoes)
NEXT TIME: AND NOW… TIME FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
THAT INVOLVES SUPERMAN, A BIG BOOK, VAMPIRES, AND THE
GREATEST EVIL THE MULTIVERSE HAS EVER KNOWN!
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