The Great Stygian Passover Comes
What the heck is the great Stygian Passover we’ve been hearing about for the last 30 weeks, and how could it destroy an entire sector in space? We learn the grisly details, and get a major clue into the identity of Supernova.
Captain Comet, who’s been around since the 50s, has made numerous appearances over the last year in the Rann-Thanagar War, and more recently in the Mystery in Space mini-series. Week 31 finds Comet fighting off an army of space zombies on the planet of Vardu. While the inhabitants of Vardu are definitely alien in nature, the world appears to be eerily similar to Victorian/Edwardian era England, which makes the whole invasion seem like it was ripped from the pages of War of the Worlds (1891). This isn’t a bad thing, in fact it makes the whole story that much more spooky and intense. Since Captain Comet is a product of the 50s, I also get the feeling there are references to the War of the Worlds movie (the original, not the Cruise remake), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and several other Red Menace era films.
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The space zombies in question are the foot soldiers of Lady Styx, and their primary purpose is to gather the inhabitants of the worlds they are invading to add to their growing army. Following the gathering, the entire planet is destroyed and the space armada moves on to the next planet. Kind of like a plague of locust, or as has been mentioned in other forums, very much like the Borg from Star Trek. I like this comparison as the zombie drones have no independent thought and all chant the same phrase over and over, “Believe in her”.
Adam Blake (Captain Comet) is quickly overwhelmed by the horde, and when it looks like all hope is lost, two Green Lanterns show up on the scene. Thormon Tox and Xax have arrived on the scene while investigating the disappearance of Green Lantern Vengar. Since I’m not up on my Green Lantern members, I’m not sure if Vengar is another name for Ekron, or if it is another Green Lantern altogether. However, Tox and Xax do know sector 3500 has been completely obliterated and believe this army is responsible.
When Xax contacts Oa, the Guardians of the Universe are uncertain what to do. They believe the Stygian army is from outside space-time, using void technology to control the weapons and infecting the flesh of everyone it encounters, which again seems very Body Snatcher/Borg like. Their only solution is to withdraw all Green Lanterns.
With Captain Comet captured, we get a glimpse into the slaughter house captives are brought to be transformed into members of the army. It isn’t a pretty sight as captives are gutted and injected with the some glowing green serum that re-animates them.
While the two Green Lanterns dig in to help, in what will be a long battle, it gives the reader a chance to check in on what is going on back at Earth. Steel has been trying to get in contact with Starlight to let her in on Luthor’s little secret. Before she can respond, the new Jade enters with a problem. Surprisingly it isn’t the use of the name Jade, but rather Everyman who is creeping her out. She isn’t the only one; Everyman has been using his shape shifting ability to transform into other members of Infinity, Inc. without their knowledge. He’s a weirdo for sure, even impersonating Jake, Starlight’s boyfriend, to get a little kiss action.
We also get another big clue in the identity of Supernova. Ralph is back in Metropolis, first to try and drop a hint to Cassie that the resurrection ceremony by Devem could actually bring people back from the dead, then to confront Supernova for letting Cassie believe he is Conner.
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I’ll admit at this point I am totally lost as to who it is under the mask. At one point I thought it was Mon-El, and then I was convinced it was Rip Hunter and Booster Gold. How did Ralph figure it out?
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Apparently the hints to the secret identity of Supernova can be discovered if you look at all of his appearances in 52 and line up all of the super powers. In an interview at Newsarama, Michael Siglain even goes so far as to hint that it may be more than one person under the hood.
“Ralph is still one of the world’s greatest detectives, so it wasn’t difficult for him to put all the pieces together and determine the identity of person behind the mask. As for you internet sleuths and would-be detectives, if you search back through all of the issues, you should be able to make a fairly educated guess regarding Supernova’s true identity. However, because it’s the Christmastime—which is the season of giving—I’ll give you all a hint: don’t look at just one person’s powers. After all, nobody said that Supernova was one individual.” – Michael Siglain in Newsarama interview.
I’m still going to go with the Rip Hunter/Booster Gold angle … for now. The good thing is we’re going to find out sometime in the next month as DC previews hint the month of January will see the big reveal.
Back in space, the Green Lanterns fall, Vardu is lost, and as Lady Styx’s flagship leaves the rubble, we see Captain Comet strapped to the hull. His last act is to jettison his consciousness to seek a new body.
The destruction of the world has given Lobo, Adam Strange, Animal Man, Starfire, and the Emerald Head of Ekron to catch up. I find it interesting the head is along for the ride. Perhaps they were able to calm Ekron down enough to enlist it into taking Lady Styx down. Seeing how powerful and big the army of Lady Styx is, and knowing she is around one year later in the Mystery in Space mini-series, I have a feeling we are going to see more heroes die soon.
The Good
- “One of us! One of us!” – I mean “Believe in Her! Believe in Her!”
- Tiny Green Lanterns make for good fashion accessories
- Supernova mystery deepens
- The entire invasion
- Artwork is top notch once again
The Bad
- Supernova mystery deepens
- The Everyman side story is kind of lame
As much as I didn’t like the space opera early on, this issue solidified this storyline as one to keep your eye on. Because Captain Comet has been around since the 1950s, readers are going to be surprised that he can jettison his mind to seek a new body again and again. I’m not a big fan of the Guardians of the Universe. They seem too self absorbed in keeping up appearances as the know-all beings, and ignore anything that could shake their belief system. If you are like me, you have your entire 52 issues close by to see if you can figure out who Supernova is.
Another stellar issue from the team, earning this issue a high 4.5 Stars.
Parting Shot
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Discuss this issue in the Major Spoilers 52 forum.
