*spoilers alert*

Bemis' new account of Moon Knight's origin is a brilliant concept that -- for me -- ultimately fails. because I was unable to mobilize sufficient suspension of disbelief.

So much of the backstory was unlikely. Perhaps a Nazi could escape by posing as a Jew. But could he actually have sustained a role as a Rabbi? If he were able to sustain the role until reaching the U.S., why would he continuing playing the role, when he could just blend into mainstream America? And certainly it's unlikely that he had the knowledge base to sustain the role for any length of time. There has been no indication that Jewish boys are going missing, although he's apparently been doing this for a while, and is it likely that no one would have noticed a large number of unfamiliar boys accompanying the Rabbi into the synagogue but never coming out? The weight of unlikeliness is massive, too heavy a lift for an average suspender of disbelief.

That said, the concept, as I mentioned, is brilliant. I was disconcerted by the discovery that the individual who inspires Marc with good-natured humor as well as piety, an individual who went through hell but survived without giving in to despair, was in actuality a demon of that hell, a demon who's true pleasure came not from good jokes and religious observance, but from torture, hatred, embodying evil. Yet, as uncomfortable as I felt about it, as repulsed as I was, I could see that this was indeed an experience that could trigger Marc's multiple personality disorder. It makes perfect sense. Was it possible that the Rabbi/Demon Ernst/Yitz was also a split personality? Might it be that Ernst/Yitz was not a Nazi playing a role but rather a composite of one personality that reached the ultimate evil nature of which Nazism is capable and another personality that leapt to the opposite extreme of nurturing a Jewish flock. That premise could mitigate some of the unlikeliness of the plot. Did the author intend it?

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Poor Mallah!

There are several very good things in this and prior issues. Although I've complained about how unsubtly we were battered with foreshadowing of Brain abandoning Mallah emotionally, the relationship was otherwise well portrayed. It's not original, but the apparently submissive partner actually having final control over the relationship was convincing.

The interaction of Arsenal and Nightwing was realistic and in character. I'm hoping that Troy has had a real breakthrough and will not be so angsty in future.

Certainly, the highlight was the Titans saving the world despite the opposition of the Justice League. Of course, the very idea of the Justice League imposing a breakup on the non-teen Titans was ludicrous from the get-go. I wish there had been some exploration of the League's envy of the Titans relationship. The League members are friends. In the way you're friends with people at your job. You chat, maybe gossip, perhaps go out for a drink. The Titans, on the other hand are really friends. Like the friends you rely on, the ones with whom you share good times and bad (whether yours or theirs). They have something special and the League will never be able to match it.

There have been problems with this arc. The League playing stern parent was silly. Worst, in my mind, was the question of lineup. Why this set of Titans and not others? If the intent was to highlight different sets of Titans in different adventures, the arc went too long. Post-No-Justice, we'll see if that's a possibility. In the meantime, though, using this smaller group was not an advantage. (And no, I'm not just saying that because I have the hots for Gnaark.)

All in all, though, seeing the League humbled alonside Brain and Mallah was worth the price of admission.

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Yes yes yes. This is the issue I've been waiting for. I knew that if I was patient and gave all these Flashes time to figure out who they are, how they fit with each other, and where they sit on the hero-villian continuum, I would get to be here for this step into the next stage of The Great DC Plot, the Doomsday Clock Revelation, the Creation Story of the New DC Reality. And how brilliantly it was done. We all had that question whether Iris would remember Wally in the way that Barry did. I certainly never expected that she would remember not only him but others as well, much less that her doing so would ignite Wally's recovery of "everything".

This stalrted as a slow issue, which is appropriate after the adrenaline rush of recent issues. It manages a pace that shows both some resolutions and some foreshadowing. The shifts from scene to scene --both artistically and narratively -- are never jarring.

I was shocked to realize that one single panel convinced me to put the Teen Titans Annual on my pull list, which previously I had no intention of doing.

Totally psyched for the next issue. more

I've never been a fan of villian-takes-control-of-hero's-brain-and-makes-hero-be-a-villian stories. So Ulysses is not an attraction for me here. However, I do think the writing creates a compelling image of him as a wacko sicko cray-cray insane bonkers psycho megalomaniac. Tynion has taken him to the point that I really can hear Ulysses' maniacal laugh and it's scary not silly.

I was on a lengthy hiatus and not around when OMACs were a big thing. I can't say they strike me as as interesting villians, though they come across as a credible threat. I wish they would stop screaming in my ear, "Sentinal Rip-Off!"

As trying-to-change-the-bad-future-turns-out-to-be-just-what-causes-the-bad-future stories go, this hasn't been bad. Assuming (anyone going to question this?) that it all ends up resolved with Tim saved from Ulysses, it will also save him from the darkness that is Future Tim/Savior. Thus, it will turn out to be actually a trying-to-change-the-bad-future-seems-to-be-just-what-causes-the-bad-future-but-really-it-prevents-it story.

Even if it has that much of a "happy" ending, though, I anticipate that Tim's relationships with Stephanie and others will never be the same, and that has potential for drama, as well as plot devices.

Moving out from Tim, though, we need to remember that the title is supposed to focus on Bat Family, not just Tim. The interaction between Batman and Batwoman promises that it will be complicated in future. I don't see any indication that General Kane will ever have any positive impact on anyone. If this title does continue the Bat Family theme, although the big question remains what the situation will be with Batwing and Azrael, as well as Batwoman, it will be interesting to see how the loss of Clayface has more subtle repercussions than we've seen to date.

A solid well-written, well-drawn issue that lays out an interesting path for both the Tim Drake story and the Killing Clayface story.
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The dynamics between Metamorpho, Sapphire, her father, and Java are the most cliched, superficial, and boring in comics, perhaps in all of literature in the history of the world. ("Hyperbole": look it up.). If this title manages to bring that mess to a point that is vaguely realistic, authentic, and interesting, it will have accomplished an outstanding feat.

The nexus, however, is the 4-member Terrifics team. And the issue does a rather good job of suggesting the potential to be an effective team even as they make their disinclination loud and clear. And the lineup is brilliant. This combination is certain to produce exciting action and interesting plots.

And I gotta cheer a comic that has a monster speaking in hieroglyphs.
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*Spoiler alert*

"Duke, I am your father."
Really? Nobody used that line yet for this issue?

Note to DC: It doesn't take a mini-series to tell us "metahuman's father isn't really his father and his real father is a mysterious unidentified metahuman."

The big reveal was a dud. Maybe once they've spent some time developing Gnoman as a villain, it would have packed some punch, but at this point my reaction is "Meh".

I like Duke. I like his team. In the previous 2 issues, the relationships had been pictured with too much "drama", but in this one they've toned it down. I'm hoping that in time they will develop more sophisticated dynamics. The potential is certainly there.

I like the concept of Day Bat. There's a little too much repetition of saying it, and it's rather outlandish the way it portrays the action as being in "shifts".

The test of time will be whether the concept of a metahuman with the mindset of the Bat family is an is one that opens up an astounding array of interesting plots and interactions grounded in a dialectic relevant to the entire industry, or it is a dead end that is a tangled mess of two fundamentally different concepts that neither meld nor partner.

That question is way more interesting than Duke's origin. more

Ms. Marvel always delivers, but even with that standard this is an exceptional issue. The miracle of G. Willow Wilson's writing is that there is absolutely no distinction between the superhero and the person. Not only is Kamala so very much the same person whether in costume or not, in every way the pacing, strength, action, thoughtfulness, interest, tension, and every other emotional note weaves together a whole in which there is no disjoint. Unlike pretty much every other superhero comic, there' are no sharp boundaries of either "switch gears now, we're going to have some panels of personal life" or "switch gears now, we're going to have superhero action". This is the smoothest title I've ever known.

In this issue, the return of Bruno is handled beautifully and realistically. Bringing a friend with him was a great idea. Ms. Marvel's kiss with Red Dagger was lovely, and while it may seem like a cliche that that happens to be the moment that Bruno sees them, the narrative moves so well that the potential corniness never materializes. Kamala's imam is becoming a fully-formed character who is an asset to the title and to the superhero. I am so so hoping that we get an arc in which the imam and Naftali get to have a side-adventure of their own together.

What skill to be able to write an issue that is so fulfilling in and of itself, yet sets up some awesome possibilities. The new "mean girl" is really interesting, and the potential subplot of Zoe's crush is very engaging, while also being an interesting counterpoint to Kamala's grappling with love.

There are a number of titles, such as "Squirrel Girl", that I like a lot but don't follow because they just don't speak to me as an adult far from that stage of life. I took a break from Ms. Marvel and only came back for the Naftali arc. But I've been pulled in again. The writing really is good enough to be worthwhile regardless of my life stage.

I've neglected here the great art, but will remedy th more

Because it's still rated T for Teen, I'll give this issue a benefit of the doubt and assume the arc isn't simply "Dorno learns not to be reckless".
I've anticipated this issue because the Birdman story was compelling while the Mightor story was dull.
I wish there were more background on why it's always robots that invade Amzot. (Other than killing them produces no blood or guts or gore.)
The characters are well drawn and in particular the art captures their emotions convincingly. I am not a fan of the inking of backgrounds; too monochromatic for my tastes.
The conflict between Dorno and Zandar is very realistic. I'm hoping that the genie -- oops I mean Animan -- will be revealed to be a more complex character than he currently appears to be.
All in all, I have some reservations, but am definitely willing to hang in and give it a chance to win me over. And not just because Grown-up Dorno is a total hottie. more

The only thing I don't like about Super Sons is that Midtown Comics and others alphabetize it after Superman even though there's a space between Super and Sons, so it should precede Superman alphabetically.
Theirs is a perfect pairing. Damian mitigates Jon's goody-two-shoes persona while highlighting his best qualities. Jon gives Damian plenty of room for the entertaining good-natured curmudgeonliness, while tethering him to the core principles that unite them.

My two criticisms in this issue were 1. shouldn't we be exploring more villians for this world's finest duo before bringing back Kid Amazo (even though it seems there's no longer any Kid in Amazo)? and 2. the last panel seemed jarringly unlikely (really? the entire League was so quickly rendered impotent?).

On the up side, the Amazo suit without the kid is artistically and narratively brilliant.

I also love the idea of someone in the Watchtower keeping an eye on the boys. Cyborg is a good third for them, but I'm totally looking forward to them running Jessica in a circle, slithering around Diana's lasso, etc.

As mentioned by others, I'm eager for the next iteration of this title. more

Pride goeth before a fall, Batman. Ha! Once in a while it's good for the greatest detective to be reminded that he is not infallible.
I'm still bothered by the premise that the League could just walk in and say, Go home, you can't be a team anymore. The whole point of this title is supposed to be that these aren't teens anymore and they're not sidekicks.
I am enjoying the Brotherhood, especially Mallah, but the potential conflict has been hammered without any subtlety. We get it, duh.
It was absurd for Troy to be so unobservant and so unaware of the character of Arsenal that she makes the assumption about Cheshire being killed. But they're a cute couple.
Looking forward to the League eating a big helping of crow. Yet, as much as I've liked The Arsenal Show, this has not been a team story, and that is a very basic flaw.

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A well-written solid feel-good issue. A bit overboard on the fatherly advice, but not maudlin like the lamentable feel-good #39.

Everyone loves a dystopia. Not. It gives me no thrill to see a Dick Grayson with an A rating from the NRA. I liked Booster in the recent -- very recent -- Krypton story. But a little Booster goes a long way and this is simply too soon to bring him back. It also seemed like the humor was forced. It was a stand-up monologue by a rather desperate comic. [Did you see what I did there?]
Someone else already mentioned how appalling and unfunny was Booster's response to Hal's death.
The one seriously positive thing was that it did get me interested in how Booster will get this fixed.
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A promising concept has a disapointing ending. The culmination of the series feels rushed. The resolution was fairly predictable and compared to the drama of George's heroic action the Deus ex machina was a bland too-easy close.

The pace of this issue was good, something that's been uneventful in the past. The writing is strong and the art compelling. The excellence of both is reflected in my readily setting aside the fundamental question of whether the nature of these Hanna Barbera animal characters actually justfy using them to tell such a depressing story.

I almost think I shouldn't rate this issue until I see what follows. But if, as I expect, it's a stand-alone, I have to praise its originality. The "Bat and Cat through the Ages" was so engagingly creative. Given that their engagement also inspired really thoughtful and interesting things in the Super-friends arc, I have to say that however it turns out for these two it's been good for the readers. more

My high rating may be influenced by my overall interest in this amazing and weird combination of Outlaws. I was relieved that there's real movement on Bizarro's situation which was beginning to stagnate. The last page lifted the whole issue up a notch with brilliant setups for next issue.

Some of those rating points are for Grodd, because I'm a Grodd fan. I would have preferred the Gorilla City contingent to get more to do.
The letter to Iris was very well done, both for the text and for what it portends.
I am hoping that some serious time will be given to an Iris and the Wallys arc.
I'm too through with the 25th century. Reverse, Negative, or Upside Down Flash, they all need to take a nice long hiatus. For maybe 4 centuries.
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Everything about this arc has been confusing: the plot, the dialogue, the art, ...
And then, on top of that, they stoop to the most desperate device there is to convince readers that this is powerful or meaningful or serious. They destroy a planet. It was pathetic when the ST franchise did it, and it's pathetic here (and yes I get the literary reference to Kal-El rocketing away from Krypton). As others have said, they've reduced Bizarro to a selfish coward. It's all particularly sad because Boyzarro has real potential to be an interesting character with a complex emotional life. Hopefully he'll be fortunate beenough to get a different team to tell his stories.
I acknowledge that nowhere did Superman or Superboy do anything weird or out of character. Hence 2.5 instead of 0.
Edit: I raised my rating to 3.5, because they do deserve credit for the Boyzarro character. more