52 #36 Review

52 has really started to heat up over the past several issues as the writers gear this title up for the dash to the end of this story. It looks like we are going to get plenty of attention given to our heroes in space in 52 #36. I’m sure that 52 #36 is going to be another excellent read. Let’s hit this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid
Pencils: Jimenez and Jurgens
Inks: Lanning and Rapmund

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: Week 36, Day 3: We begin with Starfire and Animal Man in chains and being led by Lobo through the Lady Styx’s throne ship. Lobo gloats that he told them he could get them past Lady Styx’s security.

Lobo presents the captive heroes to the Lady Styx and asks for his bounty. Lady Styx replies that there is no bounty. That she will strip the information she needs directly from their nervous systems. Lady Styx goes on to say that all she has to give is death. Lobo is pissed. He wants his money. All of the Lady Styx soldiers start chanting “Believe in her.” Animal Man panics and tells Lobo that is all going wrong and that they need Lobo’s help. Lobo responds that he can’t fight their fight for them.

The Lady Styx then comments that Lobo can’t fight at all. She calls Lobo a coward and calls the Triple Fish God ministry is a joke and a haven for cowards across the universe. Lobo is enraged and says “Forgive me.” Lobo then breaks his vow of non-violence and starts slaughtering the Lady Styx’ soldiers.

The Lady Styx soldiers continue to chant “Believe in her.” Animal Man yells at the Lady Styx if she wants to know what he believes in. Animal Man shows her a picture of his wife and kids and says this is what he believes in. Animal Man then yells for Adam Strange to attack now. Adam Strange blasts out one of the nearby windows. The Emerald Head of Ekron flies in and smashes into the Lady Styx. The Emerald Head of Ekron then flies the Lady Styx into the heart of a sun-eater that was near the throne ship. Both the Head of Ekron and the Lady Styx are digested by the sun-eater.

We then see Starfire holding Animal Man who was shot by one of the Lady Styx’s soldiers with a necro-toxin. Animal Man hallucinates that the universe is shearing them. Animal Man tells Starfire to promise to not let him come back as a zombie. Then Animal Man dies. (Fuck you, DC).

We shift back to Earth and see Animal Man’s wife suddenly look up at the sky. She begins to cry. Her kids then approach their Mom and ask her what is wrong.

Week 36, Day 5: We cut to Renee by the Question’s hospital bed. The Question gets worse each day as the cancer grows. Tot keeps sending special medicinal flowers from Nanda Parbat; however, they can’t survive outside of Nanda Parbat and always arrive as mere dust.

Week 36, Day 6: We see Renee having the Question loaded into a jet along with his morphine. Batwoman begs Renee not to go. She asks Renee to stay and help her fight Mannheim. She tells Renee that this is a foolish mission that smacks of denial. That she can’t hike a dying man up the Himalayas in t middle of winter. That they could both die.

Renee responds that this isn’t denial. That this is defiance. That the Question pulled Renee out of her self-pity and despair. That she owes him her life. That Renee is willing to die trying to get the Question back to Nanda Parbat if it means it may save his life.

We shift to Kahndaq, where Osiris is reading a newspaper with a picture of him killing one of the members of the Suicide Squad. Osiris tells Sobek that the Teen Titans told him that if he returned to the Titans Tower that they would arrest him. Osiris is sad that everyone in the outside world hates him. Sobek then tells Osiris that he doesn’t hate him.

Week 36, Day 7: We shift to Rip Hunter talking with Supernova. Rip Hunter is having a tough time being able to talk properly when he is linear. Rip Hunter yells that time is broken. That he can’t find the right power source for the Chronosphere.

Supernova responds that he has brought Rip everything he has asked for. The staffs of the Starmen, Luthor’s kryptonite gauntlet, Shadow Thief’s dimensiometer and other items. Supernova tells Rip to calm down and stay focused. Supernova says that he knows Skeets has been searching for Rip. That Skeets knows Rip needs access to this level of technology, but that they are in the last place he’d think to look even if he knows this place exists. That for now they are safe.

We pan back and see that Supernova and Rip Hunter are in the Bottled City of Kandor. We also see Skeets floating menacingly next to the Bottled City of Kandor looking into it. End of story.

We get a two page back up story concerning the origin of Power Girl. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: 52 #36 was one hell of a read! The boys at DC are really cranking up the intensity on this title. The pacing for this issue was nice and brisk. This issue had a nice flow to it and captivated the reader’s attention from start to finish.

I was really impressed with the scenes with Renee and the Question. These two characters seem to steal the spotlight in every issue they appear in. No other characters in 52 can match the incredible chemistry that these two characters have with each other. I’m amazed how the writers continue to get me to like Renee more and more with each issue. And to think that I totally disliked Renee’s character at the beginning of 52.

Renee’s strength and defiance in the face of death made me even more impressed with her character. I love that she appreciates and respects what the Question did for her. And that sometimes you have to be willing to sacrifice your life to help those close to you. Renee totally “manned up” in this issue. Renee may not have a fancy costume like Batwoman, but for my money, Renee is way more a bad-ass than this new Batwoman will ever be.

I’m also hoping that Renee taking the Question back to Nada Parbat is a sign that he may not die after all. And with the death of Animal Man in this issue, I feel that DC owes me one. I’m keeping hope alive that the Question will not die.

I liked the short scene with Osiris and Sobek. I dig Osiris and really feel for him. Osiris is just crushed that the rest of the world now views him as nothing more than a murdered just like Black Adam. The difference is that Black Adam has never wanted to be a hero or to be liked by the rest of the world while Osiris desperately wants to be a hero and to be loved by the rest of the world. I hope that Osiris manages to emerge from 52 as the true hero that he is.

The scene with Rip Hunter and Supernova was fantastic. We finally get to see Rip Hunter. And I’m still sticking with my original guess that Supernova is Booster Gold. This scene definitely gave some much needed attention to this plotline that has gotten little attention over the past several issues. And having Rip Hunter and Supernova hide in the Bottled City of Kandor was a cool touch.

But, the best part of this scene was the final panel where despite Supernova’s belief that they are in a hidden location that Skeets doesn’t even know about we see that evil flying toaster floating right outside of the Bottled City of Kandor. That is a great hook ending that definitely made me anxious for the next issue. Skeets is one evil toaster that you just simply cannot underestimate.

And that leads me to another point. Skeets has always been a silly little sidekick to a rather goofy hero. And yet, when I saw him in the final panel I got chills. It is amazing how the writers have managed to transform a cute and goofy little sidekick into a character that creeps out the reader just by his mere presence.

The Bad: I thought the battled scene between our heroes and the Lady Styx was poorly done and terribly anti-climactic. First, I could care less about Lobo. He was an incredibly lame character back in the 1990’s. And despite DC claims that we were going to be treated with a totally different Lobo, he is basically the same lame character he has always been. Seeing him shed his vows of non-violence did nothing for me.

I thought the battle with Lady Styx was far too short and uneventful. The writers have built up the Lady Styx and her army as one of the universe’s most powerful and unstoppable forces. Yet, our five heroes are able to dispatch of the Lady Styx in just four pages. That is so unbelievable and anti-climactic.

And the writers employ the sun-eater as their deus ex machina to get their heroes out of trouble. Lobo comments that he knew there was a reason he waited for the sun-eaters to start their migration before coming to the Lady Styx’s throne ship. Using the sun-eater to digest Lady Styx was just too convenient.

And now lets get to what is definitely going to be what everyone is talking about with this issue: Animal Man’s death. Seriously, Buddy deserved better than this. Animal Man went out like a bitch in a totally pointless death. Animal Man didn’t go down in a blaze of glory taking as many enemies with him. Animal Man didn’t die saving his teammates from being killed by an enemy. Nope. Animal Man screamed and yelled like a little girl for Lobo to help him. Then he tells Adam Strange and the Head of Ekron to attack. Then he got killed. How lame of a death was that?

The writers did shoehorn the one panel where Animal Man waves a picture of his family and yells to Lady Styx that this is what he believes in. Um, okay. Was that supposed to make Animal Man’s death any more meaningful or dramatic? Because if it was then the writers failed miserably.

Now, I don’t mind if a character that I like is killed off as long as that character’s death is handled well and has a point and purpose. Animal Man’s death failed to satisfy any of those requirements for a “good” death. Animal Man’s death was done for pure shock value. Dan “Death count” Didio just wants to make an event big by killing of some known characters. Animal Man’s death had no point or purpose other than being a character that was artificially pegged for death at the beginning of 52 for pure shock value.

Overall: For the most part, I really enjoyed 52 #36. If only the battle scene with the Lady Styx was handled with a more effort and creativity. Unfortunately, it was not. I thought that the scenes with Renee and the Question, Osiris and Sobek and Rip Hunter and Supernova deserved a score of 10 Night Girls. The Lady Styx battle scene knocked that down to 7 Night Girls. Still, 52 is a great read and is really starting to build in intensity with each and every issue.