Comic Book Review: Countdown #47

Countdown is quickly becoming one of The Revolution’s favorite titles on the market. I certainly find the various plotlines in Countdown to be far more entertaining and engaging than Marvel’s various plotlines from The Initiative. There is no doubt in my mind that Countdown #47 will be another good read. Let’s do this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Paul Dini and Sean McKeever
Penciler: Tom Derenick
Inkers: Andrew Pepoy, Jack Purcell and John Stanisci

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Lightray telling Jimmy Olsen to open his eyes. Jimmy opens his eyes and finds himself grafted to a huge wall in outer space. The wall is made up of all sorts of different aliens. Jimmy then wakes up in bed. It was a horrible nightmare. Jimmy wonders what is happening to him.

We then cut to Holly Robinson, the new Catwoman, arriving in Metropolis. She sees a Gotham City newspaper with her picture on it and the headline “Cop Killer Still At Large!” Holly is then propositioned by a dude who evidently is a pimp. Holly drops him with just one kick.

Holly picks up her cell and we see Bruce, Dick, Selina and Karon’s numbers on the screen. Holly then decides that she cannot contact any of them. That she has to be strong. That this is a fresh start.

We shift to Black Adam telling Mary that he thinks she purposely came looking for him in order to ask him to grant her some of his power. Black Adam says Mary stands before him desperate, empty and alone. That if they are two of a kind then Mary should accept that there is nothing left for her but to let go and fall into the abyss. Mary retorts that there is still hope. Black Adam grabs Mary by the throat and slams her into the wall and angrily says that hope is a sick delusion.

We cut to the Multiversal Nexus where the Monitors are meeting. The one Monitor makes his argument to the assembled group of Monitors that killing world jumpers is not necessary. That it only makes them monsters. That there job is to rectify the error and to restore the integrity of the Multiverse and not commit cold-blooded murder. The Monitor says that they are at the precipice of another Crisis. This one a Crisis of Conscience.

The other Monitor then gives his speech that the Monitors need to strike down world jumpers without mercy. To make their deaths serve as deterrents to others. The Monitor says that there is a Crisis upon them. That is comes in the form of a virus poised to infect the Multiverse irrevocably. That Donna Troy, Jason Todd and Kyle Rayner are the source of this virus.

That if they take preventative measures instead of passive ones, then they can ensure that the virus will be destroyed. The Monitor asks who is with him. All the assembled Monitors cheer “Yes!” The other Monitor is stunned that his brothers have turned against him.

We cut to the Rogues partying with some paid for ladies. We see Trickster and Pied Piper on the balcony alone. Trickster tells Pied Piper that he returned to the Rogues because he was tired of sitting behind a desk with the FBI. That it was boring. That the Rogues are relatively harmless since they never succeed. This way Trickster gets to keep his criminal cred and if the FBI ever finds out then he can claim he is undercover as far as they are concerned.

The Piper answers that he doesn’t like any of the Rogues, but with Wally and Linda West and with the Piper’s parents dead, that he no longer has any family. So, the Rogues are will have to do.

We hop back over to Black Adam asking Mary if she wants to die. Mary says that she just wants her old life back. Black Adam says that that is impossible. However, Black Adam can ease her loneliness. Black Adam says the word “Shazam.”

A lightning bolt comes crashing down and turns Black Adam back into Teth-Adam and we see Mary in a Black Adam styles costume. Teth-Adam tells Mary that he gave her all of his power. Teth-Adam says that he has lived a long time with enough burden. Teth-Adam tells Mary that if she sees her brother to tell him “I’m sorry.” Teth-Adam then leaves.

We then cut to the Amazons attacking Washington, D.C. End of story.

We get another History of the Multiverse backup story. We see the history of The Crime Syndicate of America on Earth-Three. We see the JLA and JSA team up to stop the Crime Syndicate. This is when the JLA and JSA learned that other multiple Earths were not so similar to their own Earths.

We see the JLA and JSA team up to stop the Anti-Matter Man from causing Earth-One and Earth-Two from moving closer to the same vibrational plane. The Atom helped the Spectre survive an explosion that returned the worlds to their pooper planes. This Crisis was by far the most dangerous one to date. It was assumed to be the ultimate Crisis. They were wrong. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Countdown #47 was another good read. Dini and McKeever deliver a well done issue. Countdown #47 was a well paced issue. I like the way that the writers cut back and forth between the various main plotlines. Each scene is kept short and to the point which makes this issue seem quick paced without seeming rushed.

Countdown #47 is also well plotted. And that is of no surprise considering that Dini is in control over the overall direction of this title. The story was focused and moves along with a definite purpose and direction. We got two new plotline introduced in Countdown #47 involving Holly Robinson and the Amazons’ attack on DC. The Mary Marvel plotline also got a serious boost in this issue. It is nice to see the writers slowly mixing in some new plotlines into the story.

Dini and McKeever craft some solid dialogue. I suspect that McKeever is the writer responsible for the actually script in this issue. Each character has a well developed voice and the dialogue has a nice natural flow to it.

There is also plenty of quality character development in Countdown #47. There has been a real commitment to character work on this title. All the main characters are nicely developed and there is some good chemistry between the characters. And this chemistry is a large part of what makes Countdown such an engaging reach.

The Jimmy Olsen scene was short but sweet. This was a great teaser scene. Clearly, there are big thinks in store for Jimmy during the events of Countdown. The wall that Jimmy is a part of appears to be the Source Wall that we saw in Countdown #51. This scene definite piqued my interest and I’m excited to learn more about what is going on with Jimmy.

The Black Adam/Mary Marvel scenes rocked. I love how McKeever handles Black Adam’s character. Black Adam is no longer the killing machine that he was in 52. He is now a worn out shell of a man who can no longer bear the heavy burden of his magical powers.

And I dig the twist of Black Adam giving up all of his cursed powers to Mary. I didn’t see that coming. And as much as I love Black Adam, I like this move. It makes perfect sense that Teth-Adam would be weary of his cursed powers. That Teth-Adam has lived long enough and seen more than enough pain and suffering. I also liked how Teth-Adam cruelly walks away from Mary basically warning her to be careful for what she wishes for because she just got it.

Mary is so consumed with her feelings of loneliness and desperateness due to her missing powers and being shunned by the Marvel Family that she cannot see the curse that Black Adam’s powers carry. It appears that Mary is going to have to learn things the hard way. This scene was the first step in what is going to be a very dark journey for Mary.

I really like this version of Mary. I have never been a Mary Marvel fan and always found her character to be rather boring and vanilla. However, Black Mary is a different story. I find Black Mary to be much more interesting than Mary Marvel. And, Black Mary is smoking hot looking. Nice.

The Monitor scene was also well done. We got a nice debate between the two Monitors that clearly defined their different approaches on how to best police the Multiverse. And it appears that the Monitor advocating killing world jumpers clearly won the debate and the support of their fellow Monitors. That can’t be good for our heroes in this title.

And we also learn about a virus that is a threat to infect the Multiverse. And that Donna Troy, Jason Todd and Kyle Rayner are the sources of that virus. Just what is the deal with these three characters and what is this virus? This scene got me even more interested in this plotline. I am curious to see what is in store for these three characters. I just hope that Donna and Jason make it out of Countdown alive.

I really enjoyed the scene with the Trickster and Piper. This was probably the best written scene of the issue. We got some nice insight into both characters and why they have decided to re-join the Rogues after having reformed from their criminal ways. Trickster’s explanation made sense however; I have a feeling that there is something else going on with the Trickster other than he was bored at the FBI.

Piper’s explanation was perfect. I feel bad for his character. He lost his parents and then he lost Wally West and Linda West. The poor guy has found himself completely alone. And it makes sense that any family no matter how dysfunctional or hate filled is still better than no family.

McKeever also showed a nice touch of humor in this scene with the various gay euphemisms. This was done so that readers unfamiliar with Piper would learn that he is gay. But, it was done in a natural and believable way which is better than trying to shoehorn a blunt explanation that Piper is gay that doesn’t work with the flow of the story.

What I found interesting in the scene with Trickster and Piper was Trickster’s statement how the Rogues never succeed in anything and are pretty much harmless. That is important. I think Dini has something enormous in store for the Rogues that is really going to shake that harmless image that they have. Captain Cold and Inertia must have something huge planned and the Rogues are actually going to be successful in pulling off something truly horrible.

We also got a nice hook ending with the Amazons attacking Washington, DC. This should certainly provide what should be a fun and action packed storyline. We have not seen the Amazons in a while. I’m curious to see what is up with them and why they are going on a rampage.

Tom Derenick provides plenty of solid artwork. It isn’t anything incredible, but it is well done and makes this issue a pleasant looking comic book.

The Bad: I just have no interest in Holly Robinson. To me, there is only one Catwoman and it ain’t Holly. There is nothing about this character that appeals to me. Maybe Dini can get me to change my opinion. We shall see.

Overall: Countdown #47 was another good read and DC keeps the ball rolling on this title. Countdown has been consistently good over these first five issues. It appears that DC has another hit on its hands right on the heels of 52. I definitely recommend giving Countdown a try. It is well worth your money.