52 #47 Review

The Revolution has been impressed with the past several issues of 52. The writers have done a great job cranking up the intensity as we are almost at the end of this wonderful series. I just don’t see how it is possible that 52 #47 can be anything other than another good read. There is no way that the writers cough up an average issue this close to the end of 52. Let’s go ahead and hit the review.

Creative Team
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid
Pencils: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks: Lorenzo Ruggiero

Art Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: Week 47, Day 1: We start in Nanda Parbat. Tim Drake is sitting outside of a cave that has a giant rock being pushed into place to cover the cave’s entrance. One of the monks tells Tim that Bruce’s soul has been weighed down by experience and that if Bruce survives the Thorgal Ordeal, then he will be changed. Bruce will spend the next seven days in darkness. Tim tells the Monk that he will use those days to practice his meditation techniques.

Week 47, Day 2: We shift to Wonder Woman talking with Tim. Wonder Woman comments on all the darkness and how they all lost their way and became more like the evil they set out to fight. Tim tells Wonder Woman how some weird cult had cut out Bruce’s personal demons. But, it just made Bruce worse, like the demons were all he had to protect him. So, they decided to come here to Nanda Parbat so Bruce could undergo an ordeal of spiritual purification. We cut to Bruce in the cave with an insane look on his face.

We zip to Gotham City. We see Whisper performing a human sacrifice. Whisper then reports to Bruno Mannheim and tells him that the sacrifice didn’t work. Bruno says that everything is ready but this last piece. That Intergang must have the twice-named daughter’s heart to rekindle his holy flames. Whisper responds that the Book of Crime cannot be wrong. That the prophecy is true and that they are simply interpreting the prophecy incorrectly. Bruno and Abbot then get into an argument blaming each other for Intergang’s problems catching Batwoman.

Suddenly, Whisper yells for them to shut up because she just figured out the prophecy. The twice-named daughter of Cain. One name is Batwoman and the other is Cain. That all they have to do is find a woman with the name of Cain living in Gotham.

Week 47, Day 3: We hop over to Oolong Island and see Dr. Magnus listening to the horrible screams from Black Adam as Sivana performs his experiments on Black Adam. Magnus sits in front of the large android he created. Magnus comments that he has made something horrible again. Magnus turns on the response-meter of the android and the android says “Crush. Raze. Trample.” Suddenly, miniature versions of Mercury and Tin pop out of Magnus’ lab coat’s pockets and tell him to turn off the android. Magnus switched it off.

Week 47, Day 4: We shift to outer space where the two yellow aliens are watching Animal Man. They comment that they have upgraded Animal Man’s powers. That Animal Man can use the Sun-Eater’s abilities to get home in an instant. Animal Man flies toward the two aliens and suddenly, Buddy reaches the outer edge of Space B. It is a blank white dimension with a small black orb containing our entire universe inside of it. The two aliens tell Buddy that from here he can access any point in space or time in his universe. This is how the Sun-Eater travels the universe.

Buddy says he just wants to get home to his wife. Buddy looks into the orb containing the universe and sees his wide one month ahead of his personal timeline. He sees Ellen with another man. The man comments that he is glad Ellen put her grief behind her. The Aliens tell Animal Man that their work is done and that they will return Buddy to his story.

Week 47, Day 5: We cut to Natasha in her new armor flying with Beast Boy. Natasha tells Beast Boy that she is not ready to be a Teen Titan. That she and Steel are putting together a team of their own. That there are a lot of Everyman Project victims who could use their help.

The two heroes land at Steel’s warehouse. Natasha goes inside to tweak her armor. Beast Boy tells Steel that Natasha is turning into quite a young lady. Beast Boy mentions that Natasha told him that she and Steel were starting their own team. Steel then unveils a huge sign on the side of his warehouse that says “Steelworks: Solving problems the old-fashioned way with hard work, ingenuity, and elbow grease.”

Kala from STAR Labs then approaches Steel and tells him that she quit her job with STAR Labs. Kala asks Steel if he is hiring. Kala then plants a huge kiss on Steel.

Week 47, Day 6: We shift to Renee Montoya in Vic Sage’s hat and trench coat. (Urrrp. I just threw up a little bit into my mouth.) She enters Kate Kane’s penthouse. The penthouse has been badly damaged from a massive fight and the window is blown out. Nightwing enters through the missing window and tells Renee that they took Kate and that they are going to get her back.

Week 47, Day 7: We see Wonder Woman appearing before Rama Kushina just like Ralph Dibny did a while back. Rama Kushina comments how when did Wonder Woman ever know guilt before know? Or doubt or regret? Or what it is to fail? When did Wonder Woman in all her perfection ever share the pains that mortals feel each day of their lives? Until Now. Rama Kushina then says “Welcome to the world, Wonder Woman. Here is wisdom.”

We cut to Tim sitting outside of the cave. Suddenly, we see the rock covering the entrance being pushed aside. Bruce steps outside of the cave with a smile on his face. End of story.

We get a two-page backup story on the origin of the Teen Titans. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Huh. I wasn’t expecting such an average issue with 52 #47. Having said that, there were some enjoyable parts to this issue. The writers did a nice job showing how Wonder Woman recovered from her personal crisis that culminated in her killing Maxwell Lord.

The scene with Rama Kushina really highlighted what a massive turning point in Wonder Woman’s character that event truly was. Prior to the events that led up to Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman was the image of perfection. She was so separate from mortals and our world.

For the first time, Wonder Woman finally realizes what it is like to be mortal. And through that Wonder Woman gains wisdom about this mortal world. I really dig how the writers pulled off this revelation in Wonder Woman’s life. It certainly will help make Wonder Woman a more well-rounded character that is easier for readers to relate to in some sort of fashion.

52 #47 also does a good job explaining how the annoying shiny happy Batman that Robinson gave us in his One Year Later storyline came into existence. Batman exiting the cave with a smile on his face explains that annoying new friendly look on life that Robinson’s Batman displayed.

I liked how the writers took Batman’s inner demons and showed how they were actually positive forces in Batman’s mind and helped to serve as protection. This was a great move to show how truly warped Batman is. I dig the twist that Batman’s demons that drive him to maniacally fight crime are actually all that keep Batman from falling apart due to the grief of having lost his parents.

I liked Animal Man’s power upgrade that the two aliens gave him. Buddy is a great character and it is cool to see him get seriously bumped up in power. And you had to feel for poor Buddy when he saw his wife with another man. The only thing that has kept Buddy going through all of 52 has been his family.

I’m still unsure what important role the writers have for Buddy to play in the finale of 52. I just hope that Animal Man makes it out of 52 alive.

The new Steelworks was a good idea. I dig the old-school flavor of Steelworks that they convey in their sign. It is great to see Natasha maturing as a character and finally understanding what her Uncle Johns has been trying to teach her during the events of 52.

The writers have really done a great job using 52 to develop a minor character like Natasha. I was never a fan of either Steel or Natasha prior to 52. However, the excellent handling of both characters has made me quite a fan of both of them. And that is the mark of good writing and is exactly what DC hoped 52 would achieve.

The scene with Will Magnus was interesting. I’m curious to learn more about this ominous android that he has created. I loved seeing the miniature versions of Tin and Mercury hiding out in the pockets of Magnus’s lab coat.

You know that Dr. Magnus is the x-factor in the Oolong Island plotline. Dr. Magnus and his Metal Men have to come through in the end as the true heroes that they are.

The Bad: 52 #47 was a slow and boring issue. Nothing happened in this issue. I’m totally shocked that the writers coughed up such a clunker of an issue so close to the end of this series. With only five issues remaining on 52, now is not the time to throw out a plodding, dull read. 52 #47 has zero pop to it. Nothing about this issue really got me excited. The writers better crank it up again if they are to deliver a satisfactory ending to this series.

Even though I liked the twist about Batman’s demons actually protecting him, for the most part, I found the Batman scenes to be largely useless and uninteresting. The main reason is that we know 52 has little to no impact on Batman.

Yeah, Robinson gave us a pussyfied version of Batman due to the events of 52, but Robinson’s version of Batman was immediately discarded by both Dini and Morrison. Dini gives us the reliable cold and calculating detective genius over in Detective Comics. And Morrison gives us the playboy stud who is simmering with anger at all times and is prone to some serious violent tendencies.

So the scenes involving this “purification” of Bruce’s soul were largely pointless since Batman is still the same Batman that he has always been.
I just could care less about any plotline involving Batwoman, Renee Montoya, and Intergang. Absolutely none of those characters appeal to me at all. I find Intergang to be too goofy to take seriously. And Batwoman is as unimpressive a character as you will find anywhere.

I mean, I don’t like Batgirl, but at least I can understand why readers like Cassandra Cain. I can’t even begin to understand why anyone would like this new Batwoman. And I certainly can’t understand why anyone would dig Renee Montoya as the Question. The only way this plotline resolves itself in a satisfactory manner is if both Batwoman and Renee get killed at the end.

I found the artwork to be rather average. This is no surprise. At no point have I been impressed by the artwork on 52.

Overall: 52 #47 was a disappointing read. Not because it was terrible. No, it was an average issue with as many positives as negatives. It was disappointing because I had such high expectations. 52 has been such a good read over the past several issues and we are so close to the end that I really didn’t expect the writers to deliver such a pedestrian read with 52 #47. I’m sure this is a momentary hic-up and that 52 will return to form with the next issue.