The Official "52" Thread

[Justice 0]

Can they really condense Hawkman's origin to a 2 page back-up feature?

 

Do you really want to read a Hawkman origin that is longer than two pages?

[SuperJerk 0]

Only if it makes sense, which I'll admit is not likely.

 

That artwork for issue 25 on the preview page is some of the worst artwork I have seen from this series. Does anyone know who is drawing that issue?

I don't think one artist draws an entire issue. Because of the schedule, there isn't enough time for one person to do all 22 pages of pencils.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Week 25 Recap

 

Week 25, Day 1

Gotham City: Bruno Mannheim says that he wants to make Gotham City the Capitol City of Crime. He claims that “you affiliate with Intergang or you die. You swear on The Crime Bible or you die.” ***The Crime Bible is said to be made out of the stone that Cain used to murder his brother Able*** Mirage says “A stone book, very artsy” which infuriates Bruno. Bruno in return smashes Mirage’s head into the book and then orders Mirage’s body to the kitchen as “Building an Empire is hungry work”. Bruno then turns to a table of eight bad guys and breaks the neck of a pimp looking guy telling the remaining survivors “You crime bosses work for me or we make you extinct”. You see that two others have been killed, one with a sword in his back and Kite-Man…I assume…with a broken neck.

 

Week 25, Day 3

Boston: Captain Marvel JR. is knocked down by Sabbac who is looking to eat the souls of innocence to begin Neron’s Century of Fire. Mary Marvel flies down to Cap Jr. and tells him that he was to have waited for her. Meanwhile Sabbac has grabbed four kids and are saved by Isis. Osiris flies down and hits Sabbac in the mouth knocking out one of Sabbac’s teeth. Black Adam flies in and gives Sabbac a shot in the gut which sends Sabbac tumbling towards a building. Isis using her powers on a street side tree makes it grow and catch Sabbac before he can crash into the building and hurt other. Black Adam and Osiris then fly into formation and use the Lightning Strike on Sabbac, knocking him out. Black Adam, Osiris and Isis then take off with Sabbac. As they leave Osiris turns to the trick or treaters and says "Happy Halloween, Judeo-Christians". Mary asks Cap Jr. “…who the heck’s that Black Adam, Junior kid”. In which Cap Jr. responds “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out”.

 

Week 25, Day 3

Elsewhere: The Helmet of Fate is taking Ralph through the Realm of the Damned. The Helmet tells Ralph that “This leg of our Journey is nearly finished Ralph Dibny. In our travels you have met many who have been scarred by the arts of the arcane. Before we leave the Realm of the Damned I wish you to see one familiar face.” The first to the Ralph sees he does not recognize and the Helmet explains who they are and then the Helmet brings Ralph to what appears to be a large statue of Felix Faust. The Helmet then gives a arcane history of Faust and how he came to be in the Realm of the Damned. The Helmet then tells Ralph that that is not Faust’s body but his soul and “If you end up here, I promise you that no one will mourn for you. Ever”. And then Faust’s soul turns to dust and blows away.

 

Week 25, Day 3

New York City: Icicle and Tigress are trying to break into a bank during a Halloween parade because Tigress thought that they would blend in with all of the other costumes. Infinity Inc. shows up to stop them. Once Icicle and Tigress are surrounded by Infinity Inc. and don’t appear to want to give up, Infinity Inc’s newest member – Matrix(a really hot redhead) – makes her appearance and captures them by appearing between Icicle and Tigress and knocking their heads together.

Alan Scott who was watching from the crowd turns and walks away until he meets up with Michael Holt. Alan talks to Michael about joining him as his Bishop in the new UN sanctioned Checkmate because "someone needs to keep an eye on the little things before they turn into big ones.. things like Luthor's metagene program".

 

Week 52, Day 4:

Oolong Island: Dr. Morrow attempts to talk Magnus into building a plutonium Robot for Intergang. Magnus said that he had lost his mind when he made the last one which is why he is taking his pills. Morrow thinks that it is interesting that Will is taking his pills to kill his creativity.

Boss Mannheim lands on Oolong Island via helicopter. Mannheim tells Chang Tzu that the visit is not a social call and that he was informed that there is a solution to his problems in Kahndaq. You then get to see Chang Tzu- who is a giant Egg with mechanical legs and arms – who then tells Mannheim “Indeed I do: Weapons so terrible, only one name seemed suitable…we call them the Four Horsemen"

 

 

 

Preview pages for #26

 

 

[SuperJerk 0]

"The Crime Bible." Heh.

[Justice 0]

By the looks of that cover, we are finally going to figure out what happened to Eclipso-Loring. Plus, the missing seconds I've heard about. Interesting.

[Vampiro69 0]

I wonder if the Loring story will give the explanation on Ray Palmer not being the Atom anymore. If it has be explained why he is not being the Atom anymore then my bad.

[SuperJerk 0]

I wonder if the Loring story will give the explanation on Ray Palmer not being the Atom anymore. If it has be explained why he is not being the Atom anymore then my bad.

I just assumed it was because of "Identity Crisis."

[Vampiro69 0]

I wonder if the Loring story will give the explanation on Ray Palmer not being the Atom anymore. If it has be explained why he is not being the Atom anymore then my bad.

I just assumed it was because of "Identity Crisis."

 

That was kind of my thought too. I thought that since it was one year later he would have returned.

[Justice 0]

I hope he returns. Ray deserves more of a "Barry Allen" sendoff rather than a "Hal Jordan" sendoff.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

If Ray is going to show up soon this might be the book-

 

 

Justice League of America #4

 

"Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes continue their best-selling saga of the "Tornado's Path" as the true mastermind behind the latest threat to the League is finally revealed! And an old friend reappears."

 

Note: Ray does appear (or at least I think it was him) covered by a shadow in Brave New World #1, telling himself he picked the right person to be his successor in the "All New Atom" preview.

[Justice 0]

You know, I never noticed that.

 

I'd like to point out something as well: In the Ambush Bug's appearance in Week 24, there are two images in his eyes when he takes away the phone from Firestorm. One looks to be a skull in a fedora, and the other kinda looks like Fate's Helmet. Anyone else notice this?

[SuperJerk 0]

Ray does appear (or at least I think it was him) covered by a shadow in Brave New World #1, telling himself he picked the right person to be his successor in the "All New Atom" preview.

To bad DC didn't pick the right person to be the writer of "All New Atom".

[ZGangsta 0]

Ray does appear (or at least I think it was him) covered by a shadow in Brave New World #1, telling himself he picked the right person to be his successor in the "All New Atom" preview.

To bad DC didn't pick the right person to be the writer of "All New Atom".

Yeah I didn't like what I read of that series.

 

So I just caught up on the last 2 weeks of 53. Does anyone else think this Ralph Dibny magic quest is going to end really badly for poorl ol' Ralph?

I liked J'onn carving out the shrine to all the dead Justice Leaguers.

And hey what's the deal with discovering Nightwing was not supposed to survive the Crisis? I stopped reading Nightwing so when they mentioned that in the Origin of Nightwing section I was pretty surprised.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Ray does appear (or at least I think it was him) covered by a shadow in Brave New World #1, telling himself he picked the right person to be his successor in the "All New Atom" preview.

To bad DC didn't pick the right person to be the writer of "All New Atom".

Yeah I didn't like what I read of that series.

 

So I just caught up on the last 2 weeks of 53. Does anyone else think this Ralph Dibny magic quest is going to end really badly for poorl ol' Ralph?

I liked J'onn carving out the shrine to all the dead Justice Leaguers.

And hey what's the deal with discovering Nightwing was not supposed to survive the Crisis? I stopped reading Nightwing so when they mentioned that in the Origin of Nightwing section I was pretty surprised.

 

The story with Nightwing is based on the real life editorial decision made at DC.

 

Dan Didio said kill him because he felt that no other death would have had such an impact on the rest of the heroes since Dick Grayson was linked to practically the whole DCU.

 

However Geoff Johns and others fought hard to convince Didio to change his mind and he finally did.

[Lightning Flik 0]

You know, it might've been better served to kill off Nightwing. I can't stand him character wise.

[SuperJerk 0]

If Dick Grayson had been killed during Infinite Crisis, DC would already have elaborate scheme to resurrect him in place.

[Lightning Flik 0]

...touche. Why can't comics keep people who die, die. And elevate someone new?

 

I mean no one stays dead. Good reason why I started hating comics.

[Justice 0]

Meh. If they had killed Dick Grayson, they would have killed one of hallmarks of the 'Generational' theme of DC. Dick Grayson was perhaps the only sidekick (Or at the very least, the first) who was successfully able to set themselves away from their mentor.

 

I'm glad he survived, and I'm glad they are at least showing that his survival was very, very odd. But him dying... that would have been out of left-field if it had happened.

[ZGangsta 0]

I never liked the idea of killing off Dick Grayson, and I think him going down in IC wouldn't really have made any sense. So then would they have killed Nightwing AS WELL as Superboy?

It's interesting too that there was lots of speculation that Dick was the killer in Identity Crisis back when it was coming out.

 

So in the latest issue of ION, it shows that Kyle also got a visit from the old Monitor telling him he wasn't supposed to be around as well.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Recap of issue #26

 

Week 26, Day 1

Himalayas: The Black Marvel Family drops off the Question and Renee in the Himalayas per their request. Both are thanked by the BMF and told that they are always welcome in Kahndaq. Isis tells Renee that she hopes that she finds the answers she is looking for. When Renee replies that the only answer she wants is how to keep Intergang out of Gotham, Isis tells her that perhaps she is asking “the wrong question. Who are you Renee Montoya?” and then creates a rose and hands it to Renee. After the BMF leave, Renee and Charlie are met by Tot and Richard Dragon(who will now be Montoya's trainer).

 

Week 26, Day 2

Metropolis: Jack Ryder is going off on the bloodbath that took place in Metropolis two week’s ago with the new Justice League. Jack’s first guest is Steel who blames the whole thing on Lex Luthor for giving out powers to anybody who wants them. Jack then brings out a surprise guest, Natasha Irons. Natasha is pro-Everyman Project and states why she approves of the project. Natasha then leaves quickly when she is told through her earpiece that there is an explosion at Hob’s Bay.

 

Week 26, Day 4

Sivana House: Junior and Georgia are using their fathers Suspendium Globe to go back in time. Junior wants to go back to the first grade and stop himself from wetting his pants and Georgia wants to go back in to second grade and tell herself to get braces. Waverider then appears in the globe and says “I know why.” And then the globe goes “BOOOM”! The two are then called up-stairs for a dinner party. When they leave you see a crocodile creature in the shadows. Venus goes to the door to greet the BMF. Venus tells the BMF about Thaddeus Sivana’s disappearance. Black Adam tells her that he made it clear that they were not friends. Venus then tells Adam and Isis that she donated $20 Million to Kahndaq’s Children’s Hospital and to consider helping her family.

 

Oolong Island: More fun with Baron Bug having a malfunctioning mechanical bug, Manitchine…a giant robot praying mantis. The scientists find out that a female scientist has just arrived. The female is Doctor Veronica Cale who is there to help with the DNA problem they are having with the Four Horsemen Project. When she asks if any of them have a spare Restructive Enzyme Sequencer, the scientists start toss her theirs and offering her their workspace.

 

Sivana House: During the dinner Osiris gets upset that they are being bought by a donation to find somebody that they should be fighting. He says that he needs friends and flies out the door. Once he leaves the crocodile figure you see jump out and onto the table.The crocodile busts through some walls and leaves. Osiris is shown sitting in the Sivana’s garden and the crocodile figure shows up and tells Osiris not to hurt him. The crocodile mentions that he was taken from the Nile River and kept in the dungeon where Sivana experimented on him causing him to grow hands and start walking upright. Osiris asks him if he has a name and when he is told he doesn’t Osiris asks if he wants one.

 

Preview page from #27

 

Cover for #28

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

The second half of 52 starts out with a bang

 

Week 27 Day 1

Elsewhere: Ralph tells Fate that here is a change up. “This time I’ll drive. And guess who were stopping in on?” And as the fog moves away you see Ralph standing on the hand of the Spectre. Ralph tells the Spectre that he knows that the boundary between life and death can not be breached without a price and he is willing to pay it. The Spectre looks down at Ralph and then gets a devilish grin on his face. The Spectre then closes his fist and takes Ralph and Fate into deep space and shows then Jean Loring. The Spectre says that he can not punish without a host and offers Ralph his power and in return the Spectre with bring back Sue. Jean wakes up and turns into Eclipso and lunges at Ralph. Ralph fights back to which Jean replies “You’re going to fight back? That’s a nice change of pace! God knows your wife didn’t”. Ralph grabs Jean and tells her that he will show her Hell and they disappear.

 

Week 27, Day 2

It’s About Time clock store: Waverider is sitting on the floor with his knees brought up to his chest as time tics by.

5:25:18AM

5:25:19AM

5:25:20AM

When an hour glass with Time Commander in it appears. Time Commander tells Waverider that they were supposed to be the new Time Masters and that Rip Hunter was to give all of the time stealers a reprieve if they joined his fight. Time Commander then turns to sand and disappears which is flowed by Skeets arrival. Skeets is looking for Rip Hunter but Waverider won’t help him and tells Skeets that Rip Hunter’s real name is even secret to him. Skeets then asks Waverider “Do you know where the golden metal that makes my body impervious to the ravages of time portals comes from? Do you know from whose corpse it was burned off? Discovered in a deep grave five hundred years from now? Take a guess”. At that point a number of gadgets come of out Skeets and he starts zapping Waverider.

5:25:21AM

 

Week 27, Day 5

Nanda Parbat: While Richard Dragon is teaching Renee fighting moves, Tot is deciphering the Bible of Crime. After training Renee find Charlie coughing and asks him when did he quit to which he responds “Not soon enough”. Renee asks Charlie how long he has and he says “not long. Tot says it’s metastasized”. Renee asks “Why me Charlie? Eight Billion people, why me?” to which he replies “That’s the Question isn’t it?” Afterwards Renee and Charlie meet up with Tot whom has deciphered some of the Crime Bible where we find out that there was a village called Gatham which is where the name Gotham comes from. And that “…absent its knight-protector, the apostle stakes his bloody claim devouring the heart of the twice named Daughter of Cain”. Upon looking at the picture in the bible Renee realizes that it is not Cain but Kane as the woman in the picture resembles Batwoman.

 

Week -84, Day -2:

The Dibny House: Ralph and Eclipso appear in the Dibny Home. Ralph using the powers of the Spectre takes away Jean’s dark side so that she can witness what she did to Sue with the knowledge of right and wrong. Ralph’s vengeance on Jean is to leave her in a time loop so that she can witness what she did over and over for all eternity. When Sue is about to pick up the telephone Ralph screams unable to go through with it and he appears back in space with Jean Loring/Eclipso back in her suspended status as the Shadowpact had left her. Ralph then tells Fate to get him out of here and to go to Nanda Parbat.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

The 52 editor teases the last half of the book

 

"All right, gang, we've passed the halfway mark, and things are about to really heat up. Characters will find their situations getting a lot worse before they can get better. Here's just a few of the things you can look forward to:

 

We've revealed that Evil Skeets--who, at this point, is only missing a goatee--has killed a Linear Man, but what did Waverider really tell him before he died, and who is next on the mad machine's hit list? Here's a hint: he's after more than one person.

 

We've seen that Batwoman is supposed to die, and that the Question is dying. Will Montoya be able to save either of them?

 

We've seen Ralph go to Hell and back to reunite with Sue, but just how far is he willing to go, and just what--or who--will he sacrifice in order to be with his wife once more?

 

Infinity Incorporated is the golden team of Lex Luthor's Everyman project. They will soon take on a new member and then take on an old team. But if Luthor controls a team of superpowered individuals, what will he really use them for?

 

Starfire, Animal Man and Adam Strange--aided by a bounty hunter who has given up violence--are stranded out in space and are facing off against a woman with the power to destroy galaxies. One of them will not return.

 

The Rain is coming.

 

Supernova's true identity will be revealed.

 

Multiple characters will die.

 

The truth is out there."

 

 

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

February Solicitations

 

 

52: WEEKS 40-43

Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid

Breakdowns by Keith Giffen

Art by Chris Batista & Rodney Ramos, Pat Olliffe & Drew Geraci, Joe Bennett and others

Backup features by Waid and various

Covers by J.G. Jones

The month begins with one of the main players in 52 having everything — and everyone — taken away from him, and ends with messages from beyond the grave that will have a lasting impact on several DC heroes. Also, Ralph Dibny’s fate — or is that Fate? — is at last revealed as he solves the greatest mystery of all. Plus, more Origins of the DCU!

52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman…but not a year without heroes.

Week 40 on sale February 7 • Week 41 on sale February 14

Week 42 on sale February 21 • Week 43 on sale February 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.50 US

[Zorin Industries 0]

 

Well thats my background

[Vampiro69 0]

That is an awesome cover. So far that is my favorite out of the 52 series.

[SuperJerk 0]

So the JSA disbanded, but was back together by the time OYL started? Makes that post-OYL story in JSA seem even shittier.

[Zorin Industries 0]

The Gentleman Ghost one? It was pretty awful, I don't usually miss an issue, but I let it go till that arc was over

[SuperJerk 0]

Yeah. If it hadn't been for the big "One Year Later" logo on the cover, you'd have thought the story took place before the Crisis. Ther was no reference to anything that happened in Infinite Crisis or the preceding year.

[Vampiro69 0]

Yeah, that was easily the worst JSA arc that occured. Strange how two books that Geoff Johns worked on and left were taken over for the last arc and totally sucked. I know Paul Levitz worked on the JSA arc but I don't remember who penned the horrible Flash story that had him battling a cult that worshipped Vandal Savage.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Yeah, that was easily the worst JSA arc that occured. Strange how two books that Geoff Johns worked on and left were taken over for the last arc and totally sucked. I know Paul Levitz worked on the JSA arc but I don't remember who penned the horrible Flash story that had him battling a cult that worshipped Vandal Savage.

 

Well the Flash one was understandable. Darwyn Cooke was going to do an arc on Flash but then he was given The Spirit series. So they had to come up with something.