Review – Mr. Terrific: Year One #1
Mr. Terrific: Year One #1 cover, via DC Comics.
Ray: Mr. Terrific has been at the core of much of what's going on in the DCU, as the self-proclaimed third-smartest man in the world has been key to investigating the Omega energy spread around the world by Darkseid's death and the anomalies it's causing. But even he's running into some dead ends with the mystery, and that causes him to reflect back on the early days of his superhero career – which was the last time he saw something like this. We know the broad strokes of his early days, when he lost his wife and unborn child, but we haven't seen much of him from that period – and it's not a pretty picture. When we meet him, he's spent years in a stupor, sold his company to the shady tech magnate Athena Prescott, and mainly only talks to his AI. The only person still checking in on him is his best friend Dre – and Dre also has some serious concerns about what Prescott is doing to the city. Beyond the veil. Via DC Comics.
Using Holt and Paula's technology, Prescott has built a powerful engine that promises to bring clean energy to Gateway City – but it's causing odd health side effects to everyone around it. Prescott is shutting down any debate and the city is all too willing to roll over for her, so it falls to Dre and his allies to investigate – by breaking into the tower. This leads to a tense escape segment as the assassin Comorant is dispatched to track them down – followed by a tense cliffhanger that leaves Holt with no choice to get back into the field and rediscover the grit and genius that makes him a hero. This first issue has a lot of strong moments, even if the ending does rely on a trope that's all too common in superhero comics. But I'm particularly interested in it because it looks to be one of the most honest portrayals of depression and grief in a superhero comic. Very impressive start by the creative team.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Dad
a day ago
- Geek Dad
Review – Absolute Green Lantern #3: Hunger in the Dark
Absolute Green Lantern #3 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: Al Ewing has turned Green Lantern into a full-fledged horror story, and like every horror story, it has some classic inspirations. Fans of Stephen King will obviously see the influence from Under the Dome here, as the mysterious alien judge Alan Scott has created a green energy field over part of the city – trapping Jo Mullein, Hal Jordan, John Stewart – and John's friend Todd Rice, who enters the story this issue. While the story jumps back and forth in time, we see more this issue of the earlier segment, as the crew tries to figure out the strange new world they find themselves trapped in. It's John who takes the lead here, with his strategic mind discovering that the field reacts a certain way to metal – or anything it perceives as metal – and starts trying to break it down. But this attracts Abin Sur's attention, and the inscrutable alien proceeds to cast his judgement over John. Lockdown. Via DC Comics. We know from the earlier issues that the power will wind up vested with two of these characters – Jo with the Green Lantern ring, and Hal with the Black Hand. What we didn't know until now is that those powers are diametrically opposed, with the Black Hand trying to consume the green automatically – and anyone it's attached to. This is the first take on Green Lantern that portrays these powers not as superpowers, but as something terrifying and bizarre, that would be beyond the average person's ability to comprehend. Al Ewing has worked a lot with cosmic powers before, and his books are often deeply haunting, but part of the credit here goes to the great Jahnoy Lindsay. Their art is deeply unsettling in places, creating a sense of just how powerful these elements are. This is the most mysterious of the Absolute line so far, and it has me incredibly intrigued by what comes next. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
a day ago
- Geek Dad
Review – Absolute Superman #8: Showdown in Smallville
Absolute Superman #8 cover, via DC Comics Ray: For the last few issues, we've been teased about what happened in Smallville. One emotional issue showed us the few weeks Kal-El spent in the small town, being found by Jonathan and Martha Kent when he was a teenager. You could see that they would have shown him the same love they did if they found him as a baby – but then Lazarus Corp came, hunting him, and Kal was forced to flee. And all these years later, that's still the only place he ever felt safe. But this isn't the Smallville he left. The town has been fully taken over by the shadowy corporation, turning the farmers into modern serfs. Jonathan Kent is long gone, and Martha Kent languishes in a memory care center. Kal tries to visit, but she doesn't recognize him. And so he prowls the streets of Smallville – along with Lois Lane, and Omega Man Jimmy Olsen. Put to the test. Via DC Comics. The three main players have been in opposition from the start, with Lois not sure she can fully turn her back on her father's army yet and Jimmy not trusting anyone associated with them. And Superman, of course, stuck in the middle. But now, the Peacemakers are about to enter the fray, led by the mad and cybernetically-enhanced Agent Smith, turned into a raging monster. The action in this issue is intense, but as usual with the Absolute Universe, there's a great emotional underpinning to every issue. And then there's the main villain, Ra's Al Ghul. Whether he's the true big bad of this series or Brainiac is, it's hard to tell. But after last issue's spotlight for Brainiac, what we see of Ra's here is no less terrifying. Here more a mad warlord than the utopian we often see him as, he's further gone – and plays a key role in introducing Kryptonite to the world of Superman, raising the stakes even higher. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
a day ago
- Geek Dad
Review – Secret Six #4: Cats and Shots
Secret Six #4 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: So far, most of Secret Six has been dedicated to the story of the trio of young heroes who were ripped apart by Absolute Power – Jon Kent, Jay Nakamura, and Nia Nal. But now they're separated, with Nia captured by Checkmate along with Deadshot and Black Alice, and Jay using his intangibility to stay one step ahead of them and infiltrate the base where they're being taken. As for Jon, he made the tricky decision to escape with Catman last issue – and now the two unlikely allies have to make their way back to their friends. The main threat at the start of the issue is Jeanette, probably the most obscure member of the Secret Six but a character Maines obviously likes. She's a banshee, whose inhuman form is like something out of a horror movie. And her wail has a lot more to it than just sound – it's essentially a pained song of grief about her horrific execution centuries ago. Close shave. Via DC Comics. But the heart of this issue is between Catman and the young Superman, as they try to stay under the radar and get back to the base before it's too late. Catman's always been a great character ever since Gail Simone got her hands on him way back when, and his snarky, gruff nature makes him a perfect fit for Jon's more optimistic personality. We knew that there was some sort of nasty falling-out with his mate Deadshot before this series began, and the issue finally lets us in on that secret – and people who felt there might be something more going on between these two than we thought will be very happy to read this issue. Catman's been one of the DCU's more UTR queer characters for a while, although he did have a great Pride story in one of the previous anthologies. Overall, this title hits on the same thing that made the first Secret Six run work so well – the oddball mix of personalities. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
