What Intergang Did
The smell of fall is in the air, which can only mean one thing – the second favorite holiday in the US is upon the DCU. And with the little spooks and goblins playing make believe, real evil is vying for control. All this, and my biggest Crackpot Theory to date, inside…
Gotham City has for centuries attracted all manner of evil, and this week it has attracted Bruno Mannheim, the leader of Intergang. Before showing up in Gotham, he was last seen escaping in a Boom Tube from Metropolis. Now, Mannheim and Intergang want to set up their world headquarters in Gotham, presumably because Batman is gone, and he already failed in Metropolis.
A ruthless killer, Mannheim tells the crime bosses of Gotham to join or die.
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Some of the bosses are instantly recognizable, but if you don’t recognize the others, that’s okay (Mirage, Rawson (the pimp), Lamelle, the Squid, Kite-Man and Sewer King), they eventually meet their untimely demise in the Detective Comics One Year Later storyline.
Even worse than an insane crime boss running wild, is a five story demon walking the streets trying to eat little children. Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. attempt to stop Sabbac, but it takes the Black Marvel Family showing up on the scene to take him down for good. Since it was mentioned they were tracking the demon last week, I’m surprised it took a full week for Black Adam, Osiris and Isis to find the giant red monster.
As they fly off, it is apparent the Black Marvel Family’s popularity is infectious.
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Last we saw Ralph Dibny he was learning a valuable lesson on magic from the Great Spirit Manitou. This week, Ralph’s journey continues in the Realm of the Damned, where Dr. Fate’s helmet tells him the tale of Felix Faust. For years, Faust was selling his soul to demon after demon, eventually bargaining it back for less than what it was worth, until eventually, nothing wanted it. Even when Faust tried to double cross Neron, he learned that you can’t cheat the devil.
Thus endeth the lesson. Dibny is now on his way back to the land of the living to make his first bargain on the road to getting his wife back.
I’ve never really been impressed with Neron as a major villain, but as he is mentioned multiple times this issue, he may be making a comeback. Of course it could just be a coincidence that it is Halloween, one of the most popular nights for evil to try and enter this world.
If you are a costumed villain, what better day is there to attempt a bank heist? At least that is what Icicle and Tigress think. Their robbery is foiled by Infinity, Inc. Matrix, a teleporter(?), is the newest member on the team, who is able to take the duo out with a quick knocking of coconuts. Amid the cheers of the crowd it is sad to see how quickly a hero is forgotten, as someone asks, “She’s the new one right!? The one who replaced the dead girl?”
Walking through the crowd is Alan Scott, looking much younger than he ever has before. He finds Michael Holt, playing with neighborhood children, and when they have a moment alone, Alan tells Holt about the rebooting of Checkmate. If you have been reading the Checkmate title, you know Scott was offered the job as the White King. Scott only wants the job if Mr. Terrific will be his Bishop.
NOTE: Scott is eventually ousted as the White King, with Holt serving as the current White King.
Like last week, we are now starting to see the holes being filled for the One Year Later titles.
Speaking of holes being filled, the issue ends where it began, with Bruno Mannheim. He arrives at Oolong Island and we FINALLY get to see Egg Fu.
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Certainly not the awful stereotype he was in the past, but he looks a lot like Humpty Dumpty from the pages of Jack of Fables.
(From Jack of Fables #2)
These weapons of mass destruction Egg Fu mentions; where might they be from? The Egg Fu that appeared in Wonder Woman #128 (second series) was a creation of Darkseid. We’ve seen the signs that the New Gods want what’s left – are they coming? And with Egg Fu’s proclamation the weapons are called The Four Horsemen, one has to wonder how much longer Isis has left before she is killed. (Hint: Week 6 – Rip Hunter’s Lab: The Four Horsemen will end her rain?) All along I’ve been saying Isis will die, and signs point to yes.
Finally, what is to become of Bruno Mannheim? Throughout his numerous appearances over the years, he has always been closely tied with Apokolips, and after his dramatic transformation seen in Superman #654, I wonder if that is his reward for taking care of “my problems in Kahndaq”?
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(From Superman #654)
The Good
- Egg Fu
- Bruno Mannheim
- The Black Marvel Family
The Bad
- Checkmate back story that really goes nowhere. We already know Scott was the White King, we don’t need two pages of exposition stating the obvious.
- Infinity, Inc.
- The way too young looking Alan Scott
CRACKPOT THEORY OF THE WEEK
And while I can, I’ll throw out another of my DCU Crackpot Theories. Earth Two is back, baby! Follow the clues dropped in 52 and other DCU titles and see if you don’t come to the same conclusion. Heck, do a little cypherin’ and you might conclude that E is the fifth letter of the alphabet, thus making 52 – E2, or Earth 2. Crazy? Maybe…only the future will tell.
(From Justice League #0)
Have I blown your mind yet?
lim•i•nal
Pronunciation: ‘lim-&n-&l
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to a sensory threshold
2 : situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible
Each week, 52 continues to move along at a good pace. While the overall story is captivating, some of the side stories become rather distracting after a while. That being said, I’m sure those boring bits we are quickly reading through to get to the good stuff, will come back and bite my backside before the year is out.
If it hadn’t been for the last two pages of the issue, Week Twenty-Five would have been a lot of ho-hum, filling in holes for current continuity.
This week 52 earns a nice 3.5 Stars.
Parting Shot(s)
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