Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By Sam Christopher

(THE REVIEWS BELOW CONTAIN SPOILERS)

First things first. Ricardo Montalban, star of Fantasy Island and the single greatest villain from Star Trek The Original Series, Khan, and Patrick McGoohan, the creator and star of The Prisoner, both died today, at 88 and 80 years of age respectively. Both of these men were fine actors and, by all accounts, great people who will be missed by their families and generations of fans. The only common thread they share that I know of is that both appeared as guest murderers on Columbo, McGoohan several times through the years. I would just like to extend my best wishes and sympathy to their loved ones, and also to the loved ones of Majel Barrett Roddenberry whose passing was somehow left out of this column a couple weeks ago.

On to the comics…

Action Comics #873 brings us the final chap in the New Krypton storyline. This being the end of a ten part set up to something else, I guess I should have expected to be left feeling unsatisfied. I don’t understand anyone, even an obvious nut like General Lane, trusting Lex Luthor with lab equipment no matter how much surveillance they think they have; I don’t understand Superman’s too neat explanation of Alura’s behavior being caused by grief over the death of her husband when it was her deviousness that got him killed in the first place; I don’t understand why the editor of The Daily Planet can’t curb Cat Grant’s obviously personal vendetta against Supergirl. I loved what they did with Kandor but don’t understand where all the extra mass came from. Or why, given the Kryptonians’ long-standing societal xenophobia, they didn’t do it earlier. The mystery of Superwoman is shaping up just fine, but I hope the last scene with her doesn’t mean for the newly reintroduced Guardian what it seems to. Also, this is a Faces of Evil ish, with Luthor’s name overwriting the Action Comics logo and yet he’s a very minor character in the story here—an anonymous lab tech could have performed Lex’s function in this story.

Next we have Amazing Spidergirl #28, just a couple issues away from the proposed ending to the saga in #30. I am still hopeful, as Marvel has threatened to cancel the series before, only to restart it with a new #1. In this ish, Mayday’s “spirit guide”, May (and, yes, I’m pretty sure it’s the May you may be thinking it is, especially after her reaction to the sight of the rest of the Parker family in this story, but I’ve never seen that May like this) becomes a nag. The “Brand New May”, I now believe, apparently owes more to an old discarded origin for Spiderwoman than The Clone Saga—unless they’re repeating the storyline from Spiderman #100; we’ll see. Meanwhile, our Spidergirl battles her own father, Peter Parker: The Spectacular New Green Goblin!

Final Crisis #6 is the issue that supposedly brings us—say it with me now in your deepest voice—“The Final Fate of the Batman!” Batman faces down Darkseid and breaks his oldest, most sacred vows (Y’know, I once pointed out to someone how dumb it is for Batman not to carry a gun and was told that “If your parents were killed by a gun…” To which I laughed and pointed out that, aside from the fact that line of reasoning absolves Joe Chill of any guilt in the death of the Waynes, it’s a really good thing the Waynes weren’t run over by a car, or shocked to death by an electrical trap). The end is all very shocking, all very “OMG! They really did it!!!” You will, of course, say just what I said: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, when are you going to reveal who was really wearing the cape and cowl?” Because I don’t believe for a second it’s really the DCU Bruce Wayne.

Other comics:

Booster Gold #16- Overwritten with the Enemy Ace, this FOE tie-in finds Booster stuck in WWI-era Germany and is a better story than we’ve had from this title of late.

The Cleaners #2- Meh. Probably explains why CSI never really appealed to me.

FOE: Prometheus One-Shot- Never cared much for this character. Always seemed to me to be a poor man’s Taskmaster stuck in an even less believable storyline. This clown can stand up to the entire Justice League? Not to mention the fact that in this ish we’re asked to believe he’s been in what amounts to a coma for around two years, muscles atrophying from disuse, and a couple days later he takes out a super-team in a tooth and nail confrontation almost without trying.

FOE: Solomon Grundy One-Shot – Solomon Grundy may have been born on a Monday but he became a cross between The Hulk and Ghost Rider this Wednesday. Not terrible, but nothing special.

Green Lantern Corps #32- With all due respect to Star Sapphire and her Zamaron mistresses, love most certainly is a battlefield. Pat Benatar said so.

Solomon Kane #4- Slam-Bang Action Issue! Kane thinks he has it figured out. I think next ish’s conclusion will have a twist in store for us, and him as well.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Last Generation #3- Nice to see that even in this alternate future Guinan can still get on my nerves and I still hate Wesley Crusher. O’Brien surprises me here, though, as I thought the Miles of any timeline would have more smarts than to follow Wesley. Especially against Picard.