Hope.
We reach the climax of this tie-in as Stargirl and Martian Manhunter must fight Despero to stop Firestorm from exploding.
Kindt continues his meshing of past and present and builds it up to a crescendo at the end of this issue.
Martian Manhunter is the old-timer here while Stargirl represents the future. And Kindt lays out how their relation has evolved to the stage that we see them now.
The pencils are alternated between three artists here, but the fluidity remains and I only noticed any difference after reading the credits. Through overall it is good rather than brilliant that we get.
SPOILERS FOLLOW...........
Stargirl is now buried deep in the ocean, but her determination to save her family gets her to rise to the top.
We continue the flashback, as the dark individual apparently made his way to Courtney's home after knocking her out. His face is still darkened so it seems Kindt is keeping him hidden until the last moment.
As Despero attacks a frail Martian Manhunter, Courtney rushes to his side. But she is too late, just like in the flashback.
Apparently, the stranger turned her home upside down and attacked her family. Her stepfather and mother were unharmed, but it seems her brother......
Despero breaks J'onn and leaves him bleeding to death, in which state Stargirl finds him. He tells her to find Firestorm, knowing that his end is near.
Cue Naruto music..........
When Courtney refuses to leave, J'onn tells her a story he heard on Mars that in ancient times, there was a great evil that terrorized the Martians. One of them confronted him and their battle resulted in a deadlock with both beast and warrior bleeding to death. The warrior could have dislodged himself from the beast but then the beast would be free too.He choose to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
As Stargirl leaves, J'onn says the story is not one of sacrifice or heroism, it is one of hope - that future generations would not have to be scarred by the evil that came before.
As J'onn dies in the freezing cold with only a deer as his audience, Stargirl confronts Despero with only moments to go for Firestorm's countdown to end.
But J'onn's last thought is he knows Stargirl will win and all will be right.
Well, they seem to have done it. Killed J'onn. The guy has been the sacrificial lamb in DC events before (see Infinite and Final Crisis) though the build-up was consolation for seeing such a complex and underrated character die. Though I feel death, as usual in the DC verse, is temporary since he's going to be back for JL United (or is that Miss M?).
Stargirl though has evolved from mascot of Waller's JLA to a complex individual dealing with her own scars, similar to Spiderman aka Peter Paker.
SPOILERS END...........
There is some decent character development by Kindt for both main characters, but the story continues to feel uneven and all over the place.
We are nearing the end of Forever Evil, and while Kindt does bring things to a head, the buildup wasn't all that good.
So, I give it 8.0 out of 10
+Some nice character moments
+The flashbacks counter the present well
+The climax is engrossing
-The pacing is still a problem
-Art is nothing to talk about
No comments:
Post a Comment