Morning Ramble 392

I finally got back to my rambling self after so much Comic-Con craziness and today I take a look at some comics and a little Secret World.

Justice League of America (2015) #1

Power and Glory: Part One
By Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, and Alex Sinclair

What does a room full of dead Supermen, a giant Parasite eating Wonder Woman, and the descent of Rao on New York all have in common? They’re all part of the jam packed Justice League of America (2015) #1 . Starting ominously enough with a Superman unable to stop the destruction of his world, he is transported to the Infinity Corporation where Earth’s Superman is told that a room full of dead Supermen are him from various timelines. This Infinity Corporation is up to something though as they also release Parasite from the MAW super max prison and call the Justice League to take him down. Why? Not sure yet, but it’s obviously a distraction to let them talk with Superman alone and they seem to have a plan for further mischief.

Green Lantern, Flash, Batman and Wonder Woman all take turns trying to stop Parasite but they only manage to increase his power and he soon grows beyond their solo ability to control. Soon they realize they’re a team and when Superman shows up, the team is able to get Parasite under control and take him down with Cyborg’s help. So, when they’re all together, there’s not much that can stand up to them. But Parasite was just a distraction – when Batman, Cyborg, and Superman show back up in New York to investigate the Infinity Corporation further, they’re gone – completely. Instead, the god Rao shows up.

This is my first exposure to Parasite, Rao, and the Infinity Corporation and they all seem to be things sufficient to require the Justice League’s involvement. Parasite seems pretty powerful being able to absorb energy and he really caused trouble for Green Lantern and Flash but the other team members were able to slow and finally stop him. Rao, I am pretty sure is the god of Krypton, but everything is ok since he says he’s come to save everyone. The Infinity Corporation, however, seems to be a bit more nefarious. They show off the room of dead Supermen, make claims of pulling people from different timelines, and they say they are trying to stop the end of everything…but then they vanish. I kinda get the feeling this organization may be the real problem the Justice League needs to be worried about, but dealing with a god may be a bit more urgent for now.

The art in this issue is pretty cool as scenes from the destruction of the ‘other’ Superman’s world, to the room of dead Supermen, to the growth of Parasite, I was really digging the different settings. The panel layout provides for good pacing and the panel diversity highlights scenes within scenes which I think really makes the story easy to follow. as the start of a new story arc and a new title, I give this issues a A-. I enjoyed it and am interested in reading further to see what happens.

This issue is part of my DC Rebirth reading that hasn’t even gotten to the primary DC Rebirth issue so far, but I’m getting a good feel for the DCU prior to that issue. Next up is Justice League of America (2015) #2.

Runaways #9

Teenage Wasteland: Chapter Three
By Brian K. Vaughn, Adrian Alphona, and Craig Yeung

At this point we have 7 Runaways – the 6 original, Alex, Arsenic, Lucy in the Sky, Talkback, Bruiser, and Sister Grimm – and the new ‘recruit’ Topher who has yet to exhibit super powers. He’s just escaped from his evil super powered parents, and he’s making out with Sister Grimm when Alex goes all peeping tom on them. This pisses off Sister Grimm when she finds out and she uses her magic to vanish – definite love triangle for the teens. This Topher also draws the affections of Lucy, he kisses her and Grimm sees – all hell breaks loose. Grimm and Lucy throw spells and alien energy at each other and Arsenic has to break them apart with her raptor, Old Lace, threatening to get physical. As Sister Grimm takes off out of the Hostel to get away from the situation, Topher follows and…shows his true self – he’s a vampire. And he’s looking to take a bite outta Sister Grimm.

Secret World Legends

With all the activity around Comic-Con I haven’t had much time to do much gaming. Work, comics, the con, and exhaustion have conspired to keep me in MOBAs instead of games where I need to think about a questline, and Secret World Legends requires you to think to figure things out. It’s part of the enjoyment I get outta the game. Instead, I just took a couple of screenshots that I’ll put here to remind myself I am heading back to this game soon…