Nov 07 2008
Final Crisis - Rogues’ Revenge #1 - #3
Greetings – once again – from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Today is Friday, November 7th, 2008. Welcome to my daily comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in! Are you interested in a comic book but not sure you want to shell out the cash? Let me know and I’ll review it for you – letting you know if it’s worth your hard earned money!
Warning:
This is a new disclaimer I’m going to be including for the next two weeks during my Final Crisis reviews. Everything I know about the DC Universe I learned from watching Justice League Unlimited. Thusly, I am most definitely a DC neophyte, and I’m sure that has tainted my perspective of this enormous DC crossover event. Namely, I found that I did not understand a lot of what was going on. I sort of have a feel for things now that I’ve read EVERY Final Crisis book. But in order to save you from having to do the same, I’m going to be including a bit more summary than usual - which some might claim teeters on the edge of spoilers. So if you already plan on reading EVERY Final Crisis title, I recommend you skip this blog for now. Otherwise, enjoy the next two weeks of CRISIS!
Today’s Issue:
Final Crisis - Rogues’ Revenge #1 - #3, published recently by DC Comics, written by Geoff Johns (The Flash, Infinite Crisis) with art by Scott Kolins (The Flash, Marvel Team-Up).
Premise/ Summary:
This three issue mini-series follows a group of villains who didn’t join up with Libra’s gang: The Rogues. The Rogues are a group of Flash villains who recently were duped into killing Kid Flash. They attempt to make amends by killing Inertia - the Kid Flash from an alternate universe that had tricked them into killing Kid Flash. The series is their attempt to stay one step ahead of Inertia and one step ahead of Libra. Libra says that everything in the upcoming Crisis henges on the speedsters, and attempts to use The Rogues to gain an advantage.
Awesome Parts:
This entire story made absolutely perfect sense. I knew nothing about The Rogues. I had never heard of any of them. I didn’t even know that they had killed Kid Flash. I picked up this three issue arc, read it, and was never confused about who these characters were or what they were trying to do. Well done. I also liked seeing villains as the protagonists. We saw that these guys weren’t evil and even regretted having killed Kid Flash. Overall, it was an enjoyable read with a plot that made sense. I even liked the amount that this tied into Final Crisis. It added a hint of mystery to the event - what important role are the speedsters going to play? - without being an essential read. Rogues’ Revenge makes sense without reading Final Crisis, and Final Crisis makes sense without reading Rogue’s Revenge. All in all, very well crafted.
Un-Awesome Parts:
I personally didn’t really care about any of these characters. I thought it was cool to see villains as protagonists. I thought it was cool to get inside the minds of these non-evil villains and understand their motivations. But I never really cared about any of them. I never cared about their antagonists, Libra, Inertia, and Zoom, either. I think part of that is not knowing these characters. Part of it has to do with WHO these characters are, their tragic pasts, and my inability to relate to that. But at least part of that has to be in the writing. I think if I had known just a little bit more about these characters’ origins and why they were always tangling with The Flashes that I might have been pushed over the edge into caring about them. Also, in this series we learn what Libra’s powers are (he makes whatever he suggests sound like a good idea). I think that is important information to understanding his role in the Final Crisis, so it shouldn’t have been revealed in this otherwise unimportant mini-series - they should have told us in the main title.
My Recommendation:
If you just want a regular, stand alone, super hero comic book, this is a good series to pick up. If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the lore of The Flash, this is a good series to pick up. If you’re a fan of The Flash, this is a good series to pick up. And if you want a comic book from the perspective of a villain, then this is a great series to pick up. However, if you’re looking for a direct Final Crisis tie-in, this isn’t really that. All we get in terms of Final Crisis is a bit more information about Libra and that cryptic comment that everything hinges on the speedsters.
That’s it for today. As always - thanks for reading - see you tomorrow for Final Crisis #3. And don’t forget to let me know if there are any comic books you’d like me to review for you – I take requests!
-Searnold, SuperSearnold@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/SuperSearnold
