Comic Book Review: Countdown to Final Crisis #18

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think that Countdown to Final Crisis #18 might actually be an enjoyable read. Yeah, I know that sounds like crazy talk. But, the cover of this issue sports a nice splash shot of the one true Atom: Ray Palmer. I’m a huge Ray Palmer fan and have been anxiously awaiting his return. It looks like Countdown to Final Crisis #18 is finally delivering what I have been not so patiently waiting for. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Paul Dini, Sean McKeever & Keith Giffen
Artist: Scott Kolins

Art Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with a flashback to the end of Identity Crisis. Ray has Jean Loring committed into Arkham Asylum. Ray is so distraught over the events of Identity Crisis that he just wants to get away from it all. Ray shrinks down to subatomic size.

We see Ray suddenly waking up in his bed after another nightmare. We see Jean sleeping next to Ray. Ray walks into the bathroom and tells himself that it is time for him to forget the past. Unfortunately, the past is refusing to let go of Ray. Ray thinks that he can’t change what has happened, but he can change the future. We see that Ray is on Earth-51.

We cut to outer space where Black Mary is lying listlessly on some wreckage. Eclipso appears back on the scene and thinks that after being alone for this long in deep space that Mary should be weak enough that Eclipso can take Mary’s power. Mary then reveals that she was just playing possum. Mary attacks Eclipso exclaiming that Eclipso just wanted Mary’s power just like everyone else. Black Mary proceeds to beat the hell out of Eclipso.

We slide back to Earth-51, where Ray is visiting his therapist, Zatanna. Except on this Earth Zatanna is definitely not a hottie at all. Zatanna and Ray talk about how the heroes on Earth-51 suited up for five fun years and battled crime and then their mission was accomplished. They won and crime was eradicated.

Zatanna no longer uses her magic and prefers to use psychiatry to battle Ray’s problems. Zatanna prescribes some more medication for Ray’s “nightmares.” Ray comments that no matter all the good that they have done that he has the feeling that it is so fragile and that everything is going to fall apart.

We cut to a little Christmas Eve party at the Palmer’s house. We see Ralph and Sue Dibny, Barry and Iris Allen and Ray and Jean Palmer all together around the Christmas tree. Ralph tells a funny story about a case he cracked involving Dr. Light. Ralph jokes that he calls it Crisis of Identity.

Ray goes outside to get some firewood. There he sees the silhouette of Bob the Monitor. Ray walks back inside the house accompanied by the Challengers. Ray confesses that he is not the Ray Palmer of Earth-51.

Ray recounts how he disappeared into subatomic space after Identity Crisis. That there he met a mystic who filled him in on the true story of the new Multiverse. Ray learned how to travel between the multiple Earths and then decided to search the Multiverse for the Earth that could bring him peace of mind.

Ralph found it when he arrived at Earth-51. He came across the Ray Palmer of Earth-51who was working on a portal designed to access the multiple Earths. Evidently, Ray of Earth-51 had also learned about the Multiverse. Ray of Earth-51 was killed by an explosion of the portal due to a miscalculation.

Ray also decided to continue Earth-51 Ray’s project. Ray learned that Earth-51 Ray had discovered not just the Multiverse, but a reason for Ray to stay and a reason for Ray to take Earth-51 Ray’s life as his own. That if Ray didn’t continue the research then the entire Multiverse would be doomed.

Ray then discovered that Earth-51’s Ray had not met Jean Loring, yet. Ray and Jean had a blind date scheduled. Jean falls in love with our Ray. Our Ray then fights alongside of the heroes of Earth-51 in their mission to rid the world of crime. Ray and Jean got married. Ray continued Earth-51 Ray’s research on the Multiverse.

Barry Allen and Ralph Dibny are stunned by Ray’s story. Jean is distraught. Donna Troy tells the heroes that Ray’s story is true. Bob then steps forward and says that Ray’s mission is why the Challengers are here. Bob says that his sole purpose as a Monitor is to become aware of and eliminate Multiversal anomalies. Bob then tells Ray to consider himself eliminated. Bob powers up to blast Ray. End of story.

We then get a two page back-up story about the origin of Dr. Light. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: I almost don’t know what to say. I’m stunned. I actually really enjoyed Countdown to Final Crisis #18! I didn’t think I would ever say that about an issue of Countdown given the horrible reads we have gotten on this title. I will admit my bias up front. I love Ray Palmer. And any issue that sports the dramatic return of Ray Palmer and explains what he has been up to is automatically going to be a good read in my eyes.

Countdown to Final Crisis #18 was a well paced issue. Dini takes his time to unfold Ray Palmer’s story. The reader has been teased with this moment for a long time. We haven’t seen Ray since December of 2004. It has been three long years. Given the long wait and all the build up going on since the beginning of Countdown, I’m glad that Dini didn’t rush his way through this issue.

Dini and McKeever construct some solid dialogue. The characters were also fairly well developed. Of course, since Dini is the writer we simply have to get another version of Zatanna in this issue. Dini’s obsession with Zatanna is beginning to wear thin, but I have to admit that I dig this version of Zatanna. It is cool to see a character that is normally a highly sexual character being re-imagined as a rather non-sexual character. We certainly get a different take on Zatanna in this issue.

The best part of this issue was the excellent job that Dini and McKeever did with Ray Palmer’s character. The two writers gave the reader an excellent look into the mind and soul of Ray Palmer. The reader gets such a great feel for Ray’s raw feelings of pain and loss.

We also see Ray’s undying hope for the future. And there is Ray’s happiness in being able to relive the good times. Being able to fight alongside his friends like Barry Allen and Ralph Dibny and being successful in vanquishing crime. And of course, Ray’s passionate desire to have his loving Jean back once again.

I dig the juxtaposition that Dini fashions between Ray’s quest through the Multiverse and Superman-Prime’s quest through the Multiverse. Both characters have suffered loss and carry great sorrow in their souls. Both characters are desperately searching the Multiverse for an Earth that they can call home that will bring them peace. The difference being that Ray doesn’t “blow shit up” like Superman-Prime does when he doesn’t like an Earth. Also, that Ray is a true hero and is committed to preserving all life across the Multiverse while Superman-Prime is only concerned with preserving life on his Earth.

My favorite scene was definitely the scene at the Palmer residence on Christmas Eve. It was awesome seeing Ralph and Sue Dibny, Barry and Iris Allen and Ray and Jean Palmer all together once again. It was simply fantastic. This scene put a huge smile on my face and gave me the warm fuzzies. For at least a fleeting moment all was right once again.

It was cool to see Ray falling in love with Jean and getting married. It was great to see Ray fighting alongside his friends in their mission to rid the world of crime. With all that Ray has been through with the events of Identity Crisis, it was great to see him finally experiencing some happiness.

Dini teases the reader with the mysterious research of Earth-51’s Ray Palmer that our Ray has continued. Obviously, Ray has discovered whatever leads to the Final Crisis event. I’m certainly looking forward to learning more about what Ray’s research has uncovered.

Dini serves up an excellent hook ending in this issue. I certainly didn’t see this swerve coming with Bob powering up to eliminate Ray Palmer. Was Bob lying to the Challengers from the beginning? It should be interesting to see what happens next.

The Bad: The Mary Marvel scene was simply horrible. I can’t believe we have waited all this time just to finally get to the fact that Eclipso wants Mary’s power. This could have been done the first time that they met and it would have saved the reader time and energy. Instead we have had to slog our way through a terribly slow and purposeless plotline just to arrive at the predictable conflict between Eclipso and Mary. The Mary Marvel plotline has been horribly plotted and paced.

The only downside to Dini bringing Ray into the mix means that Ray is probably slated to be slaughtered in some gruesome fashion. And the only downside to seeing Ralph and Barry once again on Earth-51 is that Superman-Prime will probably appear on the scene and kill Ralph and Barry and then blow up Earth-51.

I found Kolins’ art in this issue to be average at best. This issue has a rather boring and dull look to it. This was the type of generic and unimpressive artwork that dominated 52.

Overall: Countdown to Final Crisis #18 was an enjoyable read if you are a Ray Palmer fan or if you have missed seeing Ralph and Sue Dibny and Barry and Iris Allen. It was also nice to finally have the Challengers find Ray Palmer after having to trudge our way through a brutally slow paced search for Ray. I’m sure that Countdown to Final Crisis #18 is an aberration and just a temporary moment of enjoyment and that this title will rapidly revert back to its normal state of suckiness.