Op/Ed: Titans in the Justice League

In case you haven't heard, the League is undergoing a shift into a new era and a new roster.

This time, it's some of the next generation stepping up to the premier team in the DCU in the absence of the Trinity. In particular, several former Titans have joined the roster for this new era. Now, I'm an easy mark for the Titans - yeah, yeah, I know the franchise has hit hard times in recent years and I agree; I still like the team and several of the characters - so I'll admit right up that my interest in the League book has shot up.

It seems everyone has an opinion on this roster. Many seem to be positive about it, but there are some detractors; most of the latter take issue with some of the characters on the roster they deem "unsuitable" for the team. The former Titans in particular seem to be a focus of this type of discussion; most seem to be in complete agreement that Dick Grayson (currently Batman) and Cyborg should have been on the League a long time ago, but Starfire and especially Donna Troy seem to be targets. I think those folks are missing the point.

It was time; this sort of roster was truly a long time coming.

I'll run down the roster in particular and give my general thoughts on it. Before I do that, however, I'd just like to mention that I like the general conceit of the key three members here. The Trinity are off the board, so it seems like the center of this roster is a new "Trinity" comprised of characters heavily tied to the original Trinity; Mon-El for Superman, Dick Grayson for Batman and Donna Troy for Wonder Woman. It's an interesting twist on that League dynamic and helps keep the marketable star power of DC's three most recognizable characters suitably visible.

Anyways, my thoughts on the roster are as follows.

*****

Congorilla: I have to admit right up that if there's a choice on this roster that baffles me, it's Congorilla. Aside from the admitted awesome of gorillas, what purpose does he serve? I didn't even know who the character was before James Robinson dredged him up. I'm willing to give James Robinson the benefit of the doubt here - he did wonders with Starman, so he certainly deserves it - but of all his choices this is the one I'm least certain about.

Mon-El: Some of my friends were wondering just who the hell this guy was. It's not an unfair question; unless you're familiar with the Legion of Superheroes or have been reading Superman recently this guy is going to baffle you. The long and short of it is that Daxamites are very similar to Kryptonians, only lead is lethal to them. As you probably guessed, Mon-El is a Daxamite. He's also currently associated rather heavily with Superman. Add on to this the fact that James Robinson has been writing him a while now and seems comfortable with the character, and you can see why he might end up being a perfect addition to this new League.

Donna Troy: Obviously the representative for Wonder Woman. She's the only one of the Titan additions I'm not sure about; in the past she's been one of those characters who was just there. I understand why she's on the roster, but I hope James Robinson knows what to do with her. I also hope he does not even remotely bother with the mess that is her origins. She needs a new direction and story not tied to that ungodly mess. The character has been so tied to the story of clearing up her origins that she has never gone anywhere else as a character.

Dick Grayson (Batman): This one probably should have happened a long time ago. Sure, Dick has been a Justice League reservist for a long time and he served in the replacement Justice League while the real deal was in the past once, but he hasn't ever been an official, active member. Many say that he should have been the first to move up; while I'm not quite so sure about that, he definitely should have before now. He belongs on the League and I hope Robinson has a good idea of what to do with him. There's no way he's going to be Batman forever - or even that long, arguably - but hopefully when Bruce Wayne returns he decides to focus on Gotham and leaves the Bat position on the League to Dick. Actually, the same goes for all the replacement Trinity; it would make appearances by the real Trinity special by reserving them for only the biggest threats.

Green Arrow: I've got to be honest here. Ollie's not a bad character. I have no problem with him. But I've very disappointed that he's basically replacing Roy Harper as the teams archer. Ollie is always going to have his own title. DC is always going to try with him. Roy, on the other hand, really needed the exposure and time in the limelight. Of course, who knows how Blackest Night may shake out if Roy is actually involved; my complaint may end up being entirely moot depending on how things shake out there and depending on his own role in things. But still, I'm not fond of this change, at all. Especially with much of this team lineup being a "next generation takes the reins" sort of thing, replacing Roy with Ollie just seems odd and kind of dumb.

Doctor Light: I'm not entirely familiar with the Japanese, heroic female Doctor Light. What I've seen hasn't exactly endeared me to her either; she comes off so hopelessly arrogant and grating that you just want somebody to backhand her. I'm willing to give the character the benefit of the doubt and give James Robinson the opportunity to sell me on the character. I'm not going to dismiss the character outright just because she seems to be a total douche in what little I've seen.

Starfire: Of the "New Teen Titans", she's certainly among the best picks to move on up. Over time, she's grown out of her role as a Titan. Slowly but surely, she became a central part of the Space Team and had adventures outside of the Titans. This is the next step away from perpetuity as a Titan. Dick is already there, which allows them to finally use the two together in a meaningful way again. She's een set up with issues stemming from Final Crisis. She's a great character in general. I'm glad she's there; this is a natural step in her progression away from the Titans.

The Atom (Ray Palmer): You know, I've never really paid much attention to the Atom. The most I've really connected with the character has been in Identity Crisis, where he's a part of the climax of the story and is forced to make what must have been a horribly difficult decision. Maybe I'll see what others do in him. As of right now though, I don't have much of an opinion on him as a Leaguer; I've read some of the old JLA where he was more or less just a reservist and he seemed good in that role. We'll see.

Cyborg: What the hell took so long? Seriously, Cyborg has deserved to be in the Justice League for years now. No, I don't mean just because he has an association that stems from the final seasons of Superfriends; though let's face it, that certainly does help. I mean the fact that he's always been the most grown up and mature of all the Titans and he has the capability to be a major player in things. He's deserved the honor of becoming a Justice Leaguer for a long time now. Of any of the characters on the League, I think he's definitely one of the most deserving of any of them. It's time; it was time for him to step up years ago.

The Guardian: Yeah, this one definitely seems to be a pick more because James Robinson is comfortable writing the character. I mean, he's been handling him along with Mon-El in Superman. For that reason, I suppose he's a good choice; I'm certainly not against Robinson using characters he's grown comfortable in the voices of. Not sure he's League material, but I'm willing to keep an open mind.

Hal Jordan: To be honest, it would be strange to have a Justice League without a Green Lantern. I've never been entirely sure which I'd rather have. I've got a fondness for Kyle Rayner, to be certain, but John Stewart doesn't exactly get the time to shine he deserves half the time so his status as the Leagues Green Lantern was always a good use of the role. Still, Hal has an association with the League that goes straight back to it's inception. It's kind of like coming home in regards to the characters association with the team. While I'd prefer Kyle Rayner, I like Hal Jordan as a character too; all in all, I can live with this as long as Robinson writes him better in the actual League title than he has in Cry for Justice.

*****

The only true oddity of this roster is the lack of a speedster. It's honestly weird to have a League without one. James Robinson says that one is coming, though, so I guess the complaint is moot. I wonder which it might be though. It could honestly go either way; this team is kind of a mix of the old and the new, so Barry Allen would fit in some ways, but Wally West has been the speedster of the League for what seems like forever. Personally, I'm pulling for Wally; Barry looks like he'll be the key speedster under the Flash mantle in the future, so it'd be nice to not completely marginalize Wally by taking his place on the League.

Robinson has also said that this League is going to be a large one, like the old days with Len Wein. Characters will come and go, the focus might shift from time to time. I'm cool with that, honestly. As long as James Robinson stays on for a good long time and has a long run, this has great potential. It would suck royally if he didn't stay long enough to do loads of stories with these new Leaguers.

The start of the new lineup isn't going to crop up until #41 though, so there's still a bit of a gap until the new era truly kicks off. James Robinson starts with #38, but for that and the two succeeding issues he's working with the remnants of the League as it stands. All four of them. I'm not against that. It seems best to springboard the new era proper after the Blackest Night tie-in. Plus January is the first month of a new year, so a new start for the team seems appropriate. Still, it means a bit more waiting for this new era.

But thankfully, while excited, I'm also patient. This new era has a lot of potential. Hopefully James Robinson won't disappoint.

Hitman: A Rage in Arkham (comics)

Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: John McCrea
Collects: The Demon Annual #2, Batman Chronicles #4 and Hitman 1-3

His name is Tommy Monaghan; and he kills super people. For money.

This series had the unfortunate luck to pin out of a godawful crossover named Bloodlines, but what's remarkable is that Hitman was the one concept that actually survived it. Bloodlines had been conceived largely to create an abundance of new superheroes; in a lot of ways, it failed miserably, as almost all of the heroes that came from it were so lame that they were either promptly forgotten or killed off with little fanfare. But Hitman survived and spun from it; and what a series it was.

This book is easily one of the highlights of the 90's, typically known as the dark ages of comics.

The books premise is simple; an irish hitman named Tommy Monaghan gains superpowers - telepathy and X-ray vision, in particular - and instead of throwing on spandex he uses them in his job. But instead of taking on the regular hits, he decides to change tactics and focus his powers on taking down the supervillain set. Tommy has a strict code of honor; he will not kill anyone he deems to be a "good guy", but he has no problems killing those of ill morals. In fact, he finds the cape and cowl set to be idiots for not killing their villains.

This trade collects the earliest stories that introduced the characters and while some may be a bit rough, things begin to click by the time you get to the first issues of the actual Hitman series. The Demon Annual has Tommy's first appearance and the sequence where he receives his power. The annual is a tie-in to Bloodlines, but thankfully Etrigan and Tommy end up saving it from suckitude. The Batman Chronicles issue is where things start to get into gear; taking place during the events of Contagion, a walking disease bomb wanders into Gotham and Tommy is hired to take him out, which of course leads into conflict with Batman. Then there are the Hitman issues, which comprise the first story of the ongoing series. Tommy Monaghan is hired - unknowingly by demons from hell - to break into Arkham and kill The Joker. The hit turns out to be a ruse - the demons want Tommy as their personal hitman - and things get crazy. Batman is involved, of course, and his appearance leads to one of the funniest moments I've seen in a while; Batman nails Tommy right in the gut and Tommy promptly vomits on Batman.

It's kind of funny to think that Garth Ennis once wrote a series like this, which is firmly set in the DC Universe. He's one of those bitter guys who doesn't like superheroes unless he can make a complete mockery of them in his books; the only characters he seems to have any respect for are Batman and Superman. He's not at Warren Ellis levels - you know, the guy who considers his superhero work to be working bottom of the barrel - but still; the concept of him doing a book set in a superhero universe is so freaking odd. The great part is that he manages to use it to his advantage; Tommy works in a distinctly recognizable Gotham City, complete with the sorts of whacked out occurances that happen almost daily in the DC Universe. Whether he's taking the piss out of event storylines or concocting weird ass storylines, it feels like it's a DC book.

This books strength is easily it's lead character and his supporting cast that is introduced in the Hitman issues. The thing about this book is that simply scenes like Tommy and the boys playing poker at Noonans bar are often as memorable as the scenes when Tommy is out on the job doing what he does best. There's a real sense of comraderie and male bravado here that is simply enticing; many of the people Tommy associates with are either past or present hitmen and each has their own views on things. These men kill for money, but they're not bad people; if anything, they're the sort of men you could imagine having a friendly drink with. Tommy's world is different from the views of the heroes of DC; they see things in black and white, but Tommy's life is colored in many shades of gray. It made this corner of the DC Universe easily among the most compelling.

It's hard not to crack a smile during the scene in Arkham and his reaction upon stumbling upon the real Joker in the midst of his escape; one gets the feeling that if more people were like Tommy in the DC Universe, it would be a safer place to be.

The art is pretty good, but it's not the best you'll see around. John McCrea is rather solid, but one could argue that his storytelling through his art could be better. Also, sometimes the DC heroes will look downright odd; Etrigan, for instance, will shift sometimes from lean-but-solid looking to damn near anorexic. Batman sometimes suffers from this problem as well; some scenes with him seem stiff and Batman comes off too bulky at times. Still, the art works well; if anything, it works the best when the recognizable heroes and villains aren't present.

The Score: Dramatic Thumbs Up

Top to bottom, this trade is solid work that sets up the things to come. The Hitman issues are where things really begin to come together, but that's not to discount the Demon Annual and the Batman Chronicles issues where the character is set up; it may be his debut, but he's still debuting in someone elses show, so there are different subject matter in those to the Hitman issues. Irregardless, the character is set for the future, where things only get better. It's not as good as the things to come, but the first volume is still good stuff. I recommend it wholeheartedly; too few people read this book when it was releasing monthly and you have only yourself to blame if you do not check out the DCU's most underrated series of the 90's this time around in trade.

Justice League of America: The Nail (comics)

Writer/Artist: Alan Davis
Collects: JLA: The Nail 1-3

Elseworlds seem to divide people, I've noticed. Some like them, just as many don't. Why is something of a mystery; it's interesting to see alterations on a familiar universe. Sure, not all of them are winners, but that excuse has never washed for me; no form of entertainment is filled with nothing but perfection.

So, here we are with an Elseworld. The concept behind the story? The Kents truck recieved a flat tire and were kept from finding the Kryptonian shuttle that contained the child who would become Superman. Such a simple change, but Alan Davis makes a world without Superman feel suitably different; without such an icon or a shining example of the metahuman community, humans grow to distrust the heroes, or so it seems. All signs point to an alien conspiracy as the heroes fall one by one.

I thought the writing was quite decent, if a little overwrought. Once you start reading, it isn't long before the style smacks of the Silver Age writing conventions; characters more or less narrate their actions, exposition at times reigns supreme and some conversations are overly wordy. But when you can simply accept those quirks, it works. The story also works nicely with a few red herrings and surprises in store; I spent two third of the story convinced Starro the Conqueror was behind everything. In some ways, the story ends as you might expect, but it's still an interesting ride along the way. In a nice twist, it's a story that focuses on all members of the league rather equally as well; no character will steal the show here, which I liked.

The art also feels like a bit of a throwback. Alan does a hell of a job with the artwork, giving us visuals that feel like the solid, colorful work of the seventies. It's great stuff, to be certain, proving that Alan is the rarest kind of comic creator; someone who can competently write and illustrate a story. It's hard to find much fault with work this solid.

As an Elseworlds, I suppose I can say that it does it's job rather effectively. It's not as much of a radical departure as some others; take the story where Batman became a Green Lantern instead of a dark avenger of the night, for instance. Still, it does show that things would be different without Superman. Lex Luthor becomes the mayor of Metropolis without the hindrence of his narrow obsession with the Man of Steel, for example. Without the shining beacon of Superman, the superhero community is feared almost irrationally. The world without Superman is a convincingly different place; so mission accomplished, even if a bit more subtly than other Elseworlds.

The Score: Dramatic Thumbs Up

I quite enjoyed this story. It's quite a solid Elseworlds tale and I'm not sorry I made the purchase. I'm interested enough in where the story could go from the end to pick up this Elseworlds direct sequel, Another Nail. I only hope it's as solid as this one. Recommended.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Patrick Zircher
Collects: The Man Who Laughs one shot, Detective Comics #784-786

If there's one thing fans aren't lacking, it's Joker stories. The character is nigh omnipresent at times and never too far from any writers mind when they get their hands on one of the books. If there's a story they don't go back to much, though, it's the first encounter. Sure, there's the original issue - Batman #1 - that introduced Batman's enduring arch-enemy, but that's also, like, seventy years old now.

Enter Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke with the "Man Who Laughs" one shot. Structured like a sequel to Batman Year One, it fits right in, taking place before and after those last few panels of the aforementioned story, where Jim Gordon mentioned the villain by name and his plot to poison the Gotham Reservoir. We don't exactly waste time with any origins, either; much like The Killing Joke, it's kept vague, focusing instead on the terrorist nature of Joker and the chaos he delivers. Why he's there doesn't matter as much as what he does now that he's there. Batman muses that he'd prepared for murderers, rapists and petty thieves, but not the mentally unstable. Nothing will ever be the same again, something Gordon and Batman are keenly aware of.

If you're familiar with the name Doug Mahnke, you will probably expect some very good art. You won't be disappointed. As you might expect, Mahnke draws the hell out of the story, making the story as solid visually as any other aspect. The linework is a bit sketchier here, but it's a style that works. Unlike other attempts by other artists, Doug Mahnke manages to keep the style from becoming an eyesore.

Also included in the trade is a three issue story from far further into Batman's career. Near as I can tell, it takes place a while after No Mans Land has come and gone; Jim Gordon has since (temporarily) retired as a cop and assists the Dark Knight in an unofficial capacity. The story itself is a team-up between the current hero of Gotham - the Batman - with the original hero of Gotham - Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern - to solve a case that went cold during Alan's original time in Gotham in the 1940's. It is a copycat? Or the original returned?

It's fine, even if it's not going to have a large impact on the Batman mythos or anything. But really, it's impact doesn't matter; it's a nice extra, included to give you another Brubaker penned Batman tale and pad the length a bit. It reminded of what you might get if you took an issue from "The Brave and the Bold" comic and gave the team-up three issues to play out. It's fun, which is all that really matters. Also, if the last couple pages don't make you smile, I'm not sure what will.

The art is fantastic. Patrick Zircher's style there is a bit more solid than Doug Mahnke's approach in the title story and it looks very modern. It's some slick work and makes the team-up as good looking as it is fun. So the entire book looks good from cover to cover. You can't ask for much more.

My Opinion: Buy It

Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day vol. 2 (comics)

Writers: Bob Gale, Zeb Wells
Artists: Phil Jimenez, Chris Bachalo, Barry Kitson
Trade Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #552-558

With the first volume of the opening of Spider-Man's new era, Brand New Day, behind us it's time to move on to volume two. After a very solid first volume - which collected the opening arcs of Dan Slott and Marc Guggenhiem - the final two writers of the initial Spider-Man "Brain Trust" step up to deliver their opening stories. Is this volume as solid as the first?

No, not really; in truth it feels a bit uneven. After reading this volume, I found it really brought attention to the rotating writers we have in the current era of Spider-Man in ways both good and bad. But we'll get into that soon enough.

The first arc collected this volume is the first of Bob Gale, whom was one of the original members of the Spider-Man "Brain Trust". It details Spider-Man through his troubles with the DB, now owned and operated by the sleazy Daxter Bennet, and the appearance of a new enemy named Freak, whom we met in the short backup centered around Aunt May last volume. The second arc is the first of Zeb Wells; a blizzard has hit New York City in the middle of April, caused by means we come to find out are quite unnatural. Spider-Man must weather the storm and try to figure out what is causing it. The last issue collected is written by Bob Gale and ties up the Freak storyline for the most part, as Gales arc left it open somewhat. Also returning in the issue is new villain Menace whom was introduced last volume.

Bob Gales arc centered around new villain "Freak" is something of a mixed bag. Unlike the first storylines of Brand New Day - which set Peter back to basics in a way that felt modern without being derivative - Bob Gale's style of writing feels way too old fashioned. Thought balloons are over abundant here, we have Peter over-talking or over-thinking what was happening all and then we have an over-reliance on old fashioned page transitions. Even the dialogue feels too old fashioned to be taken seriously in this day and age. One of the things people whined about in regards to the change of status quo was that Spider-Man was going back to the seventies and eighties; here comes an arc that feels like something right from that era and it's really the last thing the fledgling direction needed at this point.

On top of that, out of the three new villains introduced thus far Freak is by far the least interesting. Mister Negative worked well and Menace is alright for a character that looks far too gobliny for my taste. Freak, on the other hand, is the loser out of the crop so far. For the most part, he boils down to a drug addict who stabs himself with stem cells when he mistakes them for drugs; the end result is that he turns into a monster that, whenever killed in some fashion, cocoons itself and mutates into a form even stronger than before that is also resistant to the previous method of death. The concept is solid enough, but Gale never manages to sell it; Freak's dialogue is almost laughably bad sometimes and you find yourself unable to care about this new rogue.

The artist for this arc is Phil Jimenez. I have to say I don't think his work was quite as strong here as in the past. Sometimes the faces look a little off and the art feels a bit more rushed than what we normally get from him. Considering the weekly format and the grind it must put on the artists, it's not terribly surprising, but it is disappointing.

Zeb Wells arc is much, much better. We're thrust back into more modern storytelling. No more over-exposition; Wells seems to know when to let the artist carry the story. The arc starts out with a guest star appearance by Wolverine and Doctor Strange before Logan departs and Spidey is left to figure out the cause of the blizzard. The story feels a bit more claustrophobic than previous arcs, which works to it's advantage; with the story feeling more closed in, the blizzard really creates a feeling of isolation in the Big Apple and helps with the sense of urgency the overall threat later places on things.

The artist for this one is Chris Bachalo, whom is imminently capable in his own right. The artwork for this arc is simpler, with less lines and a bit less detail, but it really gels with the overall story. Aside from the heroes, the colors are less pronounced in this tale, with their backdrop being scads of white and some snowflakes in the foreground. It's beautiful in it's own way. The only nitpick I had with the art is that I though Bachalo drew Wolverine overly beefy; Wolverine's a muscular guy, for sure, but he was a bit too hulking in this one.

The last collected issue is again written by Gale, but thankfully the writing felt a bit more restrained in this one and less like a lost 1970's Spider-Man arc, though it still suffered from some of the same writing pitfalls of the earlier arc. For the most part, the Freak storyline is more or less wrapped up for the time being in a semi-conclusive way; in other words if no one wants to use him again it's really not necessary by the end. Menace also makes an appearance as the Mayoral election plot moves forward a little bit. All in all it's not a terrible issue and it feels like a better installment than the arc it wraps up.

Barry Kitson pulls art duties on said last issue. His work is much cleaner and feels more modern to me in this issue and I thought it was pretty good. It doesn't stand out much either way though; it feels like some dependably solid Spider-Man art that I don't have much in the way of complaints about.

As I mentioned earlier, these arcs really brought about the good and the bad in regards to the rotating creative teams. Thankfully, there's more good than bad; one bit that's much appreciated are the different artists, which gives each arc it's own look and helps each volume feel a bit like a showcase in different arts, even if the effect is unintended. The other good part is that when they remain relatively consistent, each arc will flow together well and still feel like the same Spider-Man. On top of that, we get a unique voice and addition with each arc that comes down the pipeline.

The bad, however, lurks right around the corner. All it takes is one writer to muck up the consistency and sadly that writer is Bob Gale. His wildly different style of writing things feels so overly retro that it becomes something of a stark contrast to the relatively consistent feel the other writers bring. In regards to the other writers, while each arc feels different, they still flow together and feel consistent. Gale doesn't write like that here and it really is to the detriment of the team.

Back to some positive. MJ is not missed, even in the lesser arc. Without the writers having to worry about forcing her in, we get scenes with the supporting cast. Really, the supporting cast helps make things so much better; losing it was really the stupidest mistake ever made in the history of the franchise. I'm glad this aspect of Spidey has returned; even in Gales opening arc they help quite a bit.

Also, I can't stress enough how great it is to have running subplots back. That's another thing that helps out even the lesser work in this new era. Things like checking up on Jonah Jameson, whom had a heart attack in the last volume and lost the Daily Bugle without his knowledge, or the slow burn of the mayoral election subplot are welcome insertions and help mix things up. They also help things feel consistent from arc to arc; the writers may change, but the suplots and issues carry over. The little touches that tease upcoming events or refer to past events in the book are great details as well; an odd, upcoming blizzard is telegraphed in the background of Gales arc almost throughout, which really helps lead into the aforementioned arc.

Things are still fun as well, even if this volume isn't quite as much so as the last. Despite the issues with Gale's writing, even his work feels a bit more "free" and loose. It's this feeling that really makes Spidey worth following again.

My Opinion: Try It

Ramblings: Batman Arkham Asylum Demo Impressions

If you pay attention to video games at all, you're probably aware of the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game by now. Speaking as a complete freak for anything and everything Batman, I simply cannot state in words just how excited I am for this game. I mean, seriously; I can't think of the words to describe it. I even pre-ordered the goddamn collectors edition and I never bother with those.

So of course I snatched up the demo the very second it went from being a Live Gold only exclusive to available to everyone. By the way, just to say it now, I really think it's bullshit that Microsoft actually reserves some demo's for anticipated games to Live Gold only for about a week. It's a stupid tactic; absolutely no one is going to run out and nab a Gold subscription just to play a demo, so what's the point beyond being irritating? It's a practice that really needs to end; all it really does is hurt people. The online play, the Netflix streaming; that's one thing. The demo restrictions need to end.

Anyways, so I've finally played the demo to one of my two most anticipated games of the year - the other being the completely metal Brutal Legend - and I figured I'd give my thoughts on it and general impressions of the game so far. Keep in mind that this is not a review or anything. As such, I may have a tendency to ramble or swear; this isn't a professional style review, just a smattering of thoughts on a game I'm hotly anticipating the release of.

Anyways, the first thing I could say is that having completed the demo, I'm actually rather pleased with what they gave you for it. The length of the demo itself isn't spectacular or anything - there are certainly those that last longer on X-Box Live - but what is given completes the general criterion any demo should strive for; give the gamer enough to whet their appetite and entice them to come back for more. The demo starts at the beginning and runs to right before a first encounter with some deformed hulking creature. On top of that you have access to some nice character bios and two trophies from the full game to gander at. Not bad guys.

I must say I liked the bio's, by the way. Short and to the point. A perfect primer to familiarize any gamers who might have been living under a rock long enough not to be familiar with most of Batman's rogues. At the least, I suspect they'll be handy in the case of Mr. Zassz; just about anyone can be excused for not being familiar with him, as he only appears in the comics sporadically despite being an enticing villain. I loved the little touch of two patient interviews under the Jokers profile, by the way; they're not important to the game, but they give an idea of the Joker himself and set a certain mood.

First thing I noticed without a shadow of a doubt upon startup; this game is fucking gorgeous. It really feels like Batman and Arkham come to life. Gritty, grimy and disgusting, the asylum feels like a rundown warehouse that's seen too much use over it's years. The Asylum has a few futuristic elements to it, such as laser barriers that keep prisoners from escaping, but they thankfully don't detract from the experience. In reality, they're kind of necessary; otherwise it would be kind of hard to even remotely believe Batman could be trapped someplace like that. In short, everything looks fantastic.

They weren't kidding when they said that the game was drawing on Batman on the whole, by the way. This game doesn't tether to simply one era or comic of Batman or even any one adaption like previous games. It's kind of a mashup of much of the classic history behind the character. Classic voices for the characters, for one thing. Harley in particular feels like her animated counterpart, except in this she's more akin to her comic counterpart in regards to human life; she's not against killing, at all. Oracles backstory includes the infamous bit where Joker shot her in the spine and paralyzed her. This Batman games world is Batman boiled down to his essence before taking elements from the whole cloth of Batman's history to build it. It works well towards making this game feel like it's own entity; you're not going to need to be familiar with anything Batman to pick up this game and understand it's world, which is frankly how it should be.

The voices? For the most part just plain awesome. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil - Batman and the Joker respectively - slip into their old roles with ease and oh man it's like they never left. I vote we have it officially recognized that these two are the greatest in these roles, bar none. Even Heath Ledgers turn as the Joker can't beat how classic and timeless Hammils Joker feels. Same goes for Harley; whenever I read any comics with the character I must admit I always hear her animated counterparts voice in my head reading the lines.

The others measure up rather well too, for the most part. Oracle sounds pretty decent as do many of the guards. The only voice that really took me out of the experience was Commissioner Gordon. Perhaps I've just been hearing the kind of voice we got in Batman: TAS for too long or maybe it's being used to Gary Oldman's turn in the role. Either way, from the second Gordon opens his mouth he sounds wrong. It simply does not sound like what you would imagine Gordon to sound like. Luckily you don't hang around the character long and even then you will have just started to get used to the voice, but it's still a bit of an oddity. I find it hard to believe that with such dedication to getting classic interpretations of these characters in voice that they couldn't have gotten someone that sounded similar to one of the Gordon's we've encountered in past adaptions.

The camera takes a little getting used to at first. I must admit that the over the shoulder third person camera always throws me off for a bit at first, no matter how many games with it I play. Thankfully once you get the hang of it, it stops being a problem; I suspect many others won't have an issue with it at all, but I've always had a bit of momentary difficulty with the perspective. The buttons felt intuitively placed, for another thing. So much so, mind you, that you won't even realize there's no jump button for most of the experience; it's simply not needed.

Combat is a somewhat simplistic affair. You have one button for regular attacks, a button for countering and a button for the cape stun. This threw me a bit at first. I've been playing a few games in the vein of God of War lately - the most recent being the Conan game, which was pretty good by the way - and I instinctively kept going for light and strong attacks, which in this game are the attack and counter buttons. So I'd hit Y and nothing would happen until I realize I was being a duncecap. Once you get the hang of it - hell, you probably won't have the same issues my dumb ass did picking it up at first anyways - it actually works very, very well.

As you can probably tell, there's not a lot of depth to how you fight. You're not going to find a bunch of complicated combo's to pull off here. In reality, that's the perfect way to do it. This game is not about jumping into the fray like Bruce Lee and kicking everyone's ass, though you do get the oppourtunity to do that from time to time. This is not Batman the Urban Commando; this game has Batman the creature of the night. Dropping in on foes, using your gadgets, quick takedowns, leaps from the shadows; that's what this game is about. Thankfully it works wonderfully. This game really doesn't need strings of combo's or long battles against enemies to remain exciting.

This is the first time I felt like the combat actually worked perfectly for a Batman game. Being the Bat freak I am, I've played most of them. Sadly, most Batman games have sucked ass. The 3D ones, anyways; some of the old 2D sidescrollers were pretty solid affairs. The best of the lot before now was Batman Vengeance, based off of the "Gotham Knights" animated version, as fans call it. Even in that game, the combat was a pain in the ass. Let's not even get into the camera. You ended up getting too close to an enemy and the camera shifted to the side and you were immediatly locked into some combat mode that was tough to get out of. The button layout changed and you couldn't use any gadgets. Basically a mishandled system in general.

The demo's length in general was enough to do it's job. I wanted more once it ended. It was enough to let you get a feel for all the basics, too. By the end of the demo, you'll have experienced open combat, use of your batarangs, learn to move from gargoyle to gargoyle high above, get the hang of singling out opponents and deal with your first fight with a group of enemies. In short, you get a taste of pretty much all of the very basics before the demo ends. If you rush through it you can probably complete the demo in approximately twenty minutes. If you take your time, however, you'll probably get a good forty minutes out of it. A forty minutes that you won't want to end, if you're anything like me.

In general? I want this fucking game. Now. There is no doubt whatsoever that this is going to be the standard for Batman video games from here on.

I'll definitely be reviewing this game once I get my hands on it and play through it, by the way. Rest assured of that.

Wolverine (comics)

Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Frank Miller
Trade Collects: Wolverine #1-4, Uncanny X-Men #172-173

If there's one comic team that's weathered the years, it's the X-Men. Writer Chris Claremonts run on the X-Men spanned almost two full decades, taking the group to places and levels of popularity it had never seen before. Prior to the relaunch with the "All New, All Different X-Men", the group was like the red headed stepchild of the Marvel Universe. Of all Stan Lee's creations, this was the one that just didn't catch on, ending up canceled instead of becoming the almost instant icons other creations were. But Chris Claremont changed that, shaping the team into what would become a phenomenon and long running franchise that continues to this day.

One of the most popular aspects of this run was the Wolverine character. Back in the early days, he was nowhere near the exposure he receives now; he was just one side character in a cast that contained several. But he was one of the most popular of any X-Men and eventually it led to a mini. Chris Claremont, as he states in the trades introduction, wanted to break Wolverine down, looking to build him back up into something better than he had been before the story.

Mission accomplished.

This is the story that established one of the greatest tropes of Wolverine stories; his strong connection to Japan and it's mythos. After returning from a hunt for a renegade bear, Wolverine finds that his letters to Mariko Yashida, a woman he met in earlier issues of Uncanny X-Men and fell in love with, had been returned without explanation. A phone call reveals she has gone back to Japan, so Wolverine follows. Despite being warned away, he presses on, only to find the love of his life has married a man she does not love out of loyalty and honor for her family, including her corrupt father.

When, heartbroken, Wolverine tries to leave, said father has him captured; Mariko's father seeks to battle him and show his daughter that the man she loves is not worthy. In the midst of battle, Wolverine loses his composure, popping his claws and reverting to a berserker rage that he is chided as more animal than man for; despite his formidable fighting skills, Wolverine is soundly defeated and disgraced, his honor and self worth quickly a memory. From there, he must rebuild himself, waging a war of honor to prove himself worthy and win back the woman he loves, as well prove once and for all that he is not an animal, but a man. It's the tale of a failed samurai risen up to claim what he deserves.

As far as Wolverine stories go, the story told in this mini is a definitive classic, even to this day. Wolverine, for the first time the leading man of a story all his own, is humanized in a way few stories can ever manage. His plight is one of loss and personal strife, not entirely physical, and you are brought to care about him through the course of the tale. It was Wolverine as he'd never been seen before and from that point on, he started to become the backbone of the X-Men. This tale hd expanded and changed the character forever; hell, it was even the series to introduce one of his best known phrases, "I'm the best at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice".

On the subject of love interest Mariko Yashida, I must admit that I love the character already amongst Logans many loves. She was arguably his greatest love of all the women he's been with, which shines through. She's bound to honor and duty; Wolverines love and longing for her bring about change to the man in ways other love interests have not. She's perfect in this tale of honor, shame, love and pure mayhem. That's a good bit of praise for me.

For the most part, the tale holds up beautifully and I suspect it always will. This was Chris Claremont when he was on the top of his game; modern Chris Claremont sometimes has similar problems to Stan Lee's modern stories in that the scripts are overly talky and over explain everything. This story is in stark contrast; back then Claremont knew when to pipe down and let the art tell the story. Everything is top notch in regards to the writing, the story ending as strongly as it begins. It's not hard to see why Japan became such a strong presence in the years to come once you read this story; it's a place Wolverine works very well in and is often rife for drama.

As for the art? It equals the great writing held within, if not surpasses. This was also Frank Miller when he was arguably at his best. His style is fluid and dynamic, rendering the fight scenes quite expertly and lending the story the visual punch it needed. Without his work, it's arguable that the story might not have been as powerful. While the coloring is definitely reminicent of the time it was published, the art holds up wonderfully today.

Without question, this was and still is one of the definitive Wolverine tales that I think anyone with even a passing interest in the character should read.

I really can't talk much about the two included Uncanny X-Men issues without spoiling the end of the miniseries, sadly; and while it's been twenty years since the mini was published, I don't want to run the risk of spoiling it for anyone who hasn't read it. In some ways, they're very necessary to cap off the story told in the mini; the main throughline of the issues involves following up on the mini. They are not completely self contained, however.

This stems largey due to Chris Claremonts style of writing on the regular X-Men title. He tended to have several different subplots simmering in the background at any given point in time, progressing them forward piece by piece before they eventually took the spotlight. Seeing as the included capper issues are of Uncanny X-Men, that's certainly the case here too. Don't expect to read the issues and get everything that's going on; plots like the Jean Grey lookalike Madalyne Pryor and Rogues struggle to fit in amongst the X-Men, whom she'd previously fought, started long before those two issues and continue for long after.

In some ways, this general approach affects the cap of the Wolverine story, as well. The issues end in a way you might not expect; something is clearly wrong with the reactions and it's hinted whom is behind it. Basically, the storyline started in the mini is brought to an awkward conclusion and not truly ended, as it had then become another plotline amongst the many in the title. What was wrong with Mariko and why things happened the way they did was not really solved until a couple of issues down the road in the Uncanny title. Don't expect a truly clear resolution.

I can be a bit more clear, however, on the art of the two issues of Uncanny. They were not done by Frank Miller, but Paul Smith. They hold up very well, actually, following Millers art on the miniseries. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the included Uncanny issues were still quite excellent despite the change in artist; thought there are a few instances where the artist change is pretty glaring, but that it holds up in the face of Millers work should speak very well of the work given here. It feels quite visually consistent, which truly eases the inclusion of the issues with the miniseries.

My Opinion: Buy It