Even the truth has lies…..
With both the resistance and the Justice League at the mercy
of a duel of unimaginative proportions between Trigon and Mxzypltk, it’s up to
magic to save the day.
I’m truly disappointed with this year, and this issue caps
it off. Does it have great emotional beats? Yes. Does it have great character
moments? Mostly. But where it fails is doing justice to the setup.
This year promised an all-out war with magic being used
against Superman. But most of the mages are not taken off board by death, but
by plot convenience. Yes, if you’re a fan of Zatanna and Madame Xanadu, this
year arc will leave you furious.
Not only on page, but also in the writing and art duties
there was turbulence. Tom Taylor left after an elseworld-within-elseworld tale
that was probably the only ‘great’ issue this Year, and Brian Buccellato took
over. But both Taylor and Buccellato were guilty of wasting an interesting
premise.
Redondo and Millar also became more part-timers than before
but thankfully were around near the end to cap of this underwhelming year with
some good visuals.
SPOILERS FOLLOW……………….
Trigon’s battle with Mxyztlk is sending the entire
surroundings into hell, and absorbing magic from all sides.
We see that Flash took the two opposite sides to different
‘Houses’ – the Resistance is in the House of Mystery while the League are in
the House of Secrets.
The magical shields protecting the inhabitants of the two
Houses are getting destroyed, forcing Dr Fate to use Shazam’s lightning as a
conduit to see the two celestial beings to the ‘Void’ – a place of nothingness.
Dick Grayson aka Deadman decides to speak with Superman and
co for the plan to work, and escorts Billy outside. There is a moment where
Damian tries to apologize but in the middle of the craziness happening, that is
cut short.
Diana herself decides that handing over Raven to her father
may stop this madness, and even as she leaves the house, the magics keeping
Raven unconscious wear off (as John realizes talking with Batman).
Dr Fate uses Billy’s lightning to send the two celestials
into the Void (with a little help from Trigon getting distracted by her
daughter’s arrival), but is unable to prevent himself getting taken in as well.
Everyone else is knocked out.
Near Northwest Alaska,
Bruce learns that Zatanna took them to a safe house and that everyone except Dr
Fate is accounted for. Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, Superman decides to
take a next step towards making sure of his vision of the world order.
Diana meets up with him in outer space as they share a
tender moment.
Meanwhile Bruce finally learns what John’s endgame was –
taking Trigon off the board so that his soul remains unclaimed. With that
hindrance gone, he can take care of Rose without worries. Even as Batman tries
and fails to stop a disappearing Constantine,
John tells him to look at the bigger picture and understand there are other
ways to success which still elude him.
With that John Constantine shows a figurative middle finger
to Batman, and all Bruce is left with is Rose’s drawing of her ‘happy family’.
John Constantine and Bruce Wayne have a lot in common, but
enough to distinguish them. They’re both underpowered individuals taking on
obstacles bigger than them – using their paranoia and contingencies to keep
themselves and their allies alive.
The thing that differentiates them
is that John is willing to go places Bruce isn’t. Unlike Bruce, John doesn’t
have moral scruples like a pro-life view for all – he does what he can to beat
the odds.
While I liked John’s endgame, it
felt seriously contrived. So, if only Trigon gunning for John? Given his
reputation mentioned this Year, it’s hard to believe. And Rose having magical
powers (as evidenced by Dr Fate, conveniently now off the table as well)
petered out as a non-issue. Why create an original character if you won’t use
her substantially?
The resolution seemed like Deus Ex
Machina. I thought Billy’s lightning came from the Rock of Eternity, definitely
not from the Void. And Bruce mentioning that Billy is transported to another
dimension is suspect given how his interaction with the original Deadman went
when he was possessed for the first time. Lot
of ambiguity in that reasoning.
Finally, the misuse of the magical
cast was a seriously annoyance. Zatanna is mentioned only by name and aids in
rescue work, never coming to the front-lines. While I’m glad Zee lived, she was
severely underused. Even more glaringly, Madame Xanadu’s aspect of revenge for
the death of Jason Blood (one of the prime reasons Etrigan helped Batman) was
left dead on arrival. Swamp Thing’s presence was rushed and snuffed out
hastily.
All in all, not a good year.
SPOILERS END………………….
We come to the end of the Year of
Magic, but this finale was anything but magical – symptomatic of the entire
year. A potentially great aspect of the DC world, with some eclectic cast
members, were badly handled – especially popular ones like Zatanna.
While the artwork of the finale
was great, this issue was peppered with rushed resolutions and open-ended threads
that may never be resolved.
Hoping for a better Year up next.
So, I give it 6.0 out of 10.
+The artwork
+Some great emotional beats
-Underused characters
-Glaring logical leaps in
story-telling
-Too many open-ended threads
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