52 #9 Review

52 #9 should be pretty interesting. We last left our team in space captured by some giant alien; Natasha decided to undergo Lex’s metagene therapy treatment and Super Nova made his first appearance. Plenty of interesting storylines left dangling and ready to be continued in this issue. DC has done a masterful job on 52 and I see no reason why this issue is going to be any different. Let’s hit the review.

Creative Team
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid
Penciler: Shawn Moll
Inker: Tom Nguyen

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 9, Day 1: This issue starts with Lex having a large 4th of July cocktail party at LexCorp to celebrate his new metagene therapy program. Suddenly, Steel marches in and grabs Lex by the throat demanding to know where Natasha is. Lex’s bodyguards shoot at Steel, but the bullets bounce of his new steel skin. Steel is now steel from head to toe. Steel also has the ability to shoot hot liquid metal. Suddenly, Lex’s new super team appears all dressed in purple and green outfits. (Nice touch.) Natasha tells Steel to back off her boss, Lex. Natasha and Steel then get in a huge braaaaawwwl! Natasha is super strong, can fly and is invulnerable. During the brawl, Natasha tells Steel that his ideals don’t work in the real world and that she is going to take what she can, when she can. Steel realizes that this battle is pointless and asks Natasha to give up her powers, leave Lex and come home with him. Natasha response is a super punch that launches Steel though the air and into the harbor.

We then shift to our team of heroes lost in space. We find out that the giant who captured our heroes is Devilance the Pursuer who is one of the New Gods. Devilance informs Adam Strange that the heroes saw something during Infinite Crisis that they were not supposed to see. That such knowledge belongs only to the Gods. Now, the members of the space team have a contract out on them and that they are going to have every bounty hunter in the known universe on their tails. (And intro Lobo?) Animal Man and Starfire then break loose and take out Devilance. They free Adam Strange. Strange then says that Devilance’s lance is the perfect power source for their ship. They take the lance and head to their ship. We then see Devilance regain consciousness.

Week 9, Night 1: We cut to Renee Montoya in a lesbian bar. A guy in a baseball hat walks in and sits down next to her. We find out that it is the question. (This scene has some pretty entertaining dialogue.) They leave the bar and the Question shows Renee how he changes his face and costume with the binary gas in his belt buckle. The Question then tells Renee that what they stumbled upon in the warehouse a while back was proof that Gotham is being targeted and that they found was the groundwork for an invasion by Intergang. We see Batwoman listening in on the conversation from the top of a building. End of story.

Of course, we are also “treated” to a back up store on the History of the DCU. It recounts the events of Identity Crisis. End of issue.

Comments:
The Good: 52 #9 was another solid issue in this series. We finally got to see Lex’s new super group. I like that they are all wearing costumes of purple and green. I’m very interested to learn more about this group. This storyline should provide for some good entertainment down the road.

I like that Natasha has completely split with Steel. Steel is the old school hero and Natasha is the modern “me first” hero that Lex is going to try and capitalize on. I like this new version of Steel. And I’m curious to see what Steel does now that his own niece has turned her back on him and aligned herself with his arch nemesis, Lex Luthor.

The scene with the stranded heroes in space was well done. We find out that the entire planet is nothing but an elaborate trap for Devilance the Pursuer to catch unknowing victims. I was wondering when we would see someone from the New Gods and it finally has happened. The revelation that the space team during Infinite Crisis saw something from the “other side” that is only reserved for the Gods definitely got my attention. I know that DC has big plans for the New Gods over the next year, and this must be the laying of the foundation for those plans. I dig the New Gods and am very interested in this storyline. This could have serious implications on the DC universe in the future. Plus, having every bounty hunter on the tail of the space team heroes definitely means that we are going to be seeing Lobo pretty soon. I have never really been impressed with Lobo’s character. I am curious to see how the 52 writers handle his character in this title.

The scene with Montoya and the Question revealed yet another bomb. Intergang is planning an invasion of Gotham. We know that Superman has been battling Intergang in Metropolis in the pages of his comic books. Now, Intergang continues to expand. DC is building Intergang up to be an imposing threat. I thought the dialogue between Renee and the Question was pretty good. Actually, since the start, I have thought that Renee and the Question have the best chemistry out of all the characters in this series. They just work so well together. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t really find Montoya that interesting at all.

52 #9 unloaded three bombs on the reader. First, Natasha has turned on her uncle and joined Lex. Second, that the space team from Infinite Crisis saw something they shouldn’t have and now a contract has been placed on them. Evidently, the New Gods are less than happy. Third, Intergang is getting ready to take over Gotham. I like the direction of all the aforementioned storylines. It is going to be fun watching where the writers go from this point.

The writers of 52 continue to impress me. They are doing such an excellent job cranking one solid read after another. The storylines are moving at the perfect pace. Not to fast and not too slow. 52 #9 was probably the fast read of this series. The storylines are developing organically and with each issue, we receive a little bit more information to some of our questions. And each answer automatically sprouts another question or mystery. That is the sign of a very well plotted and structured storyline. Excellent job DC.

I am not familiar with Shawn Moll at all. However, I do like his art. It is very solid and does a nice job complimenting a strong storyline.

The Bad: The Steel versus Natasha fight did not need to be as long as it was. With so many characters and different storylines going on in 52, I don’t think that the writers had to spend this much time on their brawl.

At this point, Intergang doesn’t really excite me. Maybe we will learn more about this group and the writers will find a reason for me to find them interesting. At this point, Intergang is nothing more than some generic underground association of paramilitary wackos. You see them in comics all the time. AIM, Hydra, the Maggia, etc. I hope there is more to Intergang than being just another typical multi-national crime syndicate.

Once again, I thought that the DCU back up story was pretty useless. Identity Crisis wasn’t that long ago so I didn’t need a 4 page refresher on that mini-series. I cannot wait for these back up stories to become an interesting read and tackle some of the changes on this New Earth.

Overall: DC continues to deliver solid reads with this title. 52 #9 was fast paced and full of interesting little surprises. And by the end of the issue, I was already eager for 52 #10. 52 is as addictive as crack. That is due to the writers on this title really putting forth an impressive effort in delivering a well thought out and well coordinated storyline. For me, DC may have whiffed on Infinite Crisis, but they are more than making up for it with 52.