Broken Frontier

Today we get up to speed with what’s been going on for Vixen, the Green Lantern Corps, Superman and others, as well as examining those "Omens and Origins" backups. Check out the links throughout the article for handy dandy suggestions for background trade reading to supplement your enjoyment of this week’s releases. Oh and whatever you do don’t forget our Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix this week and don’t want to read about key story elements.

Superman Family

The pace picks up considerably in Action Comics #874 as Superman has to accept General Zod’s new role on New Krypton, Earth bans all Kryptonians with the exception of Kal-El from the planet and, with the Phantom Zone collapsing in on itself, Mon-El is forced to flee to the material world. Still no word though on what happened to Chris Kent, Zod’s natural offspring and Kal’s adopted son, who was trapped in the Zone at the end of the Last Son storyline.

The "Origins and Omens" feature focuses on Jim Harper who, as the Guardian, is currently leading Metropolis's Science Police. We’re getting used to the feel of these backups now and this one follows the same familiar format. Things to look forward to include Guardian and the Legion of Super-Heroes’ Tellus (they briefly met in the recent Adventure Comics Special) meeting a shadowy figure who could well be the Legion’s Chameleon Kid. It also looks like the Blackhawks plus the new Nightwing & Flamebird will have significant roles in Harper’s life and there could be tragedy on the cards for Guardian’s clone "daughter".

One more point of note. Back in that Adventure Comics Special #1, a few months back, Jimmy Olsen learnt from the Guardian that the military’s anti-Superman conspiracy was mysteriously numbered 7734. It takes the buffoonish Daily Planet sports reporter Steve Lombard to point out to Jimmy that 7734 turned upside down on an old handheld calculator spells "HELL".

What does this say for the future? Well if we take that clue literally, and we really probably shouldn't, it might go a long way to explaining General Lane’s return from the dead. Is the General all he appears to be? Hell’s hierarchy have played their part in the Man of Steel’s life in the past but one would think his frequent demonic nemeses, Lord Satanus and Blaze, have their hands pretty full with the war depicted in Reign In Hell at the moment.

Trinity #37 examines "Earth-Krona’s" version of the sundering and reconciliation of our titular trio. Meanwhile, on the reordered New Earth, Morgaine Le Fey and Enigma are looking for stronger candidates to represent the various Major Arcana and thus control the Chaos Rifts fracturing reality in the absence of the Trinity. Recruiting the ultimate embodiment of the Fool in the DCU may not be the wisest of moves, though, because a loose cannon like the Joker in the ranks can surely only lead to betrayal...

The Stars My Destination

The "Prelude to Blackest Night" begins in Green Lantern Corps #33 with current Sinestro Corps leader Mongul setting up base on the planet Daxam. He’ll face opposition next month from both malcontented "Yellow Lantern" Arkillo and the current Ion, and native Daxamite, Sodam Yat. Kyle Rayner and Soranik Natu’s romantic relationship also blossoms in defiance of the Guardians of the Universe’s recent ban on love between Corps members.

The "Omens and Origins" backup obviously concentrates on foreshadowing the rise of the Black Lanterns. Just check out the spilled paint on the penultimate page flowing into an image of the Black Hand for example. Scar’s narration here takes on a particularly chilling aspect as she becomes consumed by the black itself as it pours out of every facial orifice. And in the teasers for upcoming storylines I would expect to see Jade as a member of the Black Lantern Corps and she’s not going to be too happy about Kyle’s new lover!

R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 is set after the Rann-Thanagar Holy War and sees Vril Dox/Brainiac 2 usurped from the leadership of the interstellar peacekeeping force known as L.E.G.I.O.N. The culprit is, ostensibly, the living computer Silica but I would assume there’s someone much bigger and badder pulling the strings in the background.

For those of us already feeling almost terminally confused by current Legion of Super-Heroes continuity there’s another brain bender coming. Predicting these events, and in order to ensure that the Dox line survives, the Brainiac 5 of the Threeboot Legion sent a message back in time for his ancestor in Supergirl’s mind. The Maid of Might, you may remember, was a member of that version of the LSH when the last run of the Legion's book was temporarily renamed Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes . All well and good bar the obvious sticking point that last week’s Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 established that the Threeboot Legion’s Earth is not Supergirl’s Earth so Brainiac 5’s efforts here are actually completely irrelevant to the future of his Earth...

Showcase ‘09

In Green Arrow/Black Canary #17 new villainess Cupid begins gathering a gallery of Rogues to sic on Ollie. This month it’s evil archer Merlyn but she also has files for Slingshot and Count Vertigo on show. The latter character has been largely reformed in Checkmate of late so I’ll be interested to see what his motivations for joining her could be.

The "Origins and Omens" entry presents us with a whole host of new bad guys coming up as well as a new black costume for Speedy and the implication that Dinah and Ollie’s relationship may be in jeopardy. Most controversial of all, perhaps, is a flashback that shows Dinah as a teenager seriously injuring a friend with her canary cry.

Step aside Mopee  and the Heavenly Helpmates because in Booster Gold #17 we learn the surprise pivotal role Booster had in Barry Allen’s origin as the Flash! That’s almost incidental, though, to the schemes of the mystery villain gathering an Egyptian "time-knife" from various points in its own timeline. DC solicitations appear to give the game away suggesting the bad guy in question is Chronos, whose small-time criminal past self also appears in this issue, and he’s collecting the knife in a plan to alter history. You want some Omens alongside your Origins? Well look for the true identity of the Black Beetle being revealed soon in this book and a team-up between Booster and the Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans.

And, lastly, the impressive Vixen: Return of the Lion miniseries concludes with its fifth issue. Whisper A’Daire and Intergang’s attempt to gain a foothold on the African continent are finally dealt with by Vixen and the JLA. Not before Mari McCabe finally gets to bring Kwesi, her mother’s killer and Intergang collaborator, to justice though. Nice to see Vixen finally getting her own run some 30-plus years after her first series was cancelled pre-publication in the infamous 1970s DC Implosion!

Fanboy Moment of the Week

I’m spoilt for choice this week for a defining moment of all things fannish. The pedantic fan in me is thinking does Aparo Avenue in Nightwing #153 lead onto the Aparo Bridge in Batman #686? While the nostalgic fan says the highlight of the week was briefly seeing Catwoman  back in that green and purple costume I remember so well from the 1970s.

But if I was going to embrace my grumpy inner fanboy I would have to choose the misnumbering of Vixen: Return of the Lion which has been labelled a six-issue miniseries on the cover for the last four months when it was actually a five-issue book. Is DC hiring Bizarro as a proofreader I wonder? Does the "missing" sixth issue exist only in Lucien’s library in The Dreaming? Or do the covers and the interiors of Vixen: Return of the Lion actually take place on separate alternate Earths?

Ultimately, I’m going with the cameo from Morrison Doom Patrol villain, and Brotherhood of Dada leader, Mr. Nobody (right) in Trinity #37. This is simply because I love to see any breaking down of the artificial barrier between the DCU and Vertigo. The return of the DP in Teen Titans, Mari McCabe’s relationship to the Red in Vixen: Return of the Lion, the Invunche in El Diablo, Destiny of the Endless in The Brave and the Bold, Black Orchid in Birds of Prey... those walls are certainly weakening...

Join us again at the weekend for more Origins and Omens coverage. See you in five days and thanks for reading!