Corrupted.
We are introduced to another member of the occult DC
Universe – Ragman. Taylor
uses him in interesting ways, but I cannot say the same for his treatment of
the Spectre.
The artwork is a drop from previous chapters, but still
holds up well enough. Constantine’s
face through needs some care, it’s so inconsistent it’s distracting.
SPOILERS FOLLOW………….
Apparently, a cat disturbing the seal lets Raven out of her
trap, as she astrally travels to Superman. It is seen though that it’s Teeki,
Klarion’s familiar and they have a plan to trap Superman.
Admiring his handiwork, Superman and the Spectre are
intercepted by Raven’s astral form in space. It leads Superman back to the
cathedral in Gotham where she was being held,
but instead of Raven – it is Ragman, who traps Superman in his bandages.
Ragman struggles to absorb him into his suit of souls, and
Superman is able to get a signal out to the Justice League – specifically
Shazam, a magic based Superhero. Which is a little too much of an oversight for someone like Constantine.
Billy is able to penetrate the protection of the cathedral,
and one lightning shout later, brings in the cavalry of the Spectre, Sinestro
and Hal Jordan.
Ragman is killed by the Spectre despite Billy’s
protestations, while Superman sets his sights on John Constantine.
There was a lot to think about in this issue. Mainly the
contrast between the Spectre and Ragman.
First, a little background information on Rory Reagan, aka
Ragman. His costume is made up of corrupted souls, whom he traps and when
they’ve helped enough, Rory lets them move on to heaven. The fact that he was
able to trap Superman at all is an indictment that Heaven itself deems Superman
as ‘evil’, even through the Spectre might swing the opposite way.
Now the Spectre is in an unusual position. His devotion to
Superman feels unnatural, and even more his standalone judgement of who to
punish. The suit recognizes Billy as an innocent and is thus unable to protect
Rory from him, but the Spectre was about to kill Shazam an issue ago.
Infact, I can go far enough to state outright that his actions
feel contrary to his assigned duty towards Heaven. I wonder where God is right
now, and whether this rash attitude will be the Spectre’s downfall at the end.
I liked how Taylor
used Rory in this issue. Superman is damned and by all account ‘evil’, but
Rags’ undoing is that there are people who really are innocent following his
lead. Any of the other followers of Superman would have been an easier challenge for Rags due to their corruption,
but ten year old Billy isn’t among them.
The Billy unsure of Superman’s actions has been a secondary
plot during this year, and his importance is magnified due to the magical
assault on the League. Through we know how this particular arc will end
(atleast those who played the game), it’s still refreshing to see that not
everyone is fully convinced by Superman.
SPOILERS END………….
Taylor’s
handling of the DC Dark characters have been mixed, and this issue really
highlighted that through his use of two very diverse characters.
The artwork could have been better, and was on a few panels,
but overall it’s pretty serviceable.
So, I give it 7.5 out of 10.
+A good con
+Taylor’s
handling of the issue guest star
+Some good visuals
-Overall mediocre artwork
-Spectre is still a sore thumb
-Contrived escape
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