THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN - WEEK 41: ANOTHER FINE MESS

THE PLAYERS
James Jesse/The Trickster
Hartley Rathaway/The Pied Piper
James Olsen/Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
Lois Lane
Kal El/Clark Kent/Superman
Mary Batson/Mary Marvel
Jean Loring/Eclipso
Ryan Choi/The Atom III
Jason Todd/Robin II/The Red Hood
Donna Troy/Troia
"Bob" the Monitor
Holly Robinson/Catwoman II
Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
Val Armorr/Karate Kid
Luornu Durgo/Una/Triplicate Girl

ISSUE 41

So, lots going on in between the covers of this issue, but not really a lot happening. We start off where last week we left off - with the Trickster and Pied Piper freefallin' from 30,000 feet. Luckily, Piper grabbed a piece of luggage on the way out of the plane they were being held in and, lo and behold, within are Trickster's flying boots! Convenient for the pair, but still a little hairy. Good thing they were able to crashdown into Gotham Harbor.

Well . . . maybe not a good thing, since every cape in the DCU is going to be hunting them for their role in the murder of Bart Allen a/k/a the Flash! And since Gotham is home to the greatest manhunter in the world, a/k/a the Batman, a very bad future awaits our two favorite Rogues.

Especially since the first place they head for help in the big bad city is to pre-eminent Bat villian, the Penguin. Bad choices seem to be plaguing these two. Being cuffed together isn't helping.

Next up, the issue checks in on Mary Marvel and Jimmy Olsen. The former is contemplating the Riddler's sage advice about finding a mentor (and someone with a bit of dual personality - Jean Loring, a/k/a Eclipso - seems more then ready to take on the position!) The latter has created himself a costume and a super-hero name . . . get ready for MR. ACTION!

Moving on . . .

Holly and Harley are still with the Athenian Women's Shelter, but now are apparently in the Gotham extension. I could have sworn they were in Metropolis last issue! Hmmm. This seems to be the first of many continuity/consistency gaffs that plagued this issue (and some of the previous ones to a lesser extent.) Anyway, Gotham doesn't like their newest Amazonian guests, especially since Wonder Girl and Supergirl just took out Air Force One over in the mini-series, Amazons Attack!

Over in Ivy City, the Atom is getting small with the newly named, Bob the Monitor (yeah, I know), Donna Troy and Jason Todd. Heading into the micro-verse to find Ray Palmer, their first stop doesn't exactly look friendly - robotic amphibians and mutant micromen abound!

Finally, the book closes on Karate Kid in a scene that seems to have happened some time ago in the rest of the DCU (remember those continuity gaffs we mentioned a little while ago?) Completing their mission to resurrect Wally West and his family into the 21st Century, the Kid and his fellow Legionnaires get gone. But Brainiac Five tells the Kid his mission in our time isn't over. Anyone reading Justice League of America and "The Lightning Saga" already know this, but what we didn't know is that the Kid gets some help sent to him - Triplicate Girl! Or, more accurately, Una, one-third of the Triplicate Girl persona. What's their mission here? Wouldn't you like to know! For some clues, check out the latest issue of Justice Society of America where Superman asks the very same question of the Legion's Starman.

Well, it feels like it is about time for we here at Rundown HQ to give some deeper commentary on Countdown so far. While we've been enjoying some aspects of the story - specifically the Rogues' adventure and Mary Marvel's journey - a lot of the rest of the book, especially in recent weeks has felt like filler. More accurately, it's felt like a series of recaps for the same stories happening in other books. We understand that the book is attempting to tie together the continuity of the entire line of DCU titles, but the focus of Countdown itself is starting to get lost in the scramble to "fill in the blanks."

This week seemed to be the weakest of all the issues so far, with only a few pages advancing the stories of the lead characters and even worse than that, the issue was filled with head-scratching continuity flubs: Is Clark Kent/Superman really just sitting around at his office when Air Force One is taken out by Amazons (who by the way have been ransacking Washington, DC for the last couple of weeks)?? Is Karate Kid just getting to the point of trying to leave our universe, days after Bart Allen's funeral that happened in the last issue of Countdown? Did Piper and Trickster fall to Earth from Mars? Because if not, they must be defying gravity to give Holly and Harley enough time to get from Metropolis to Gotham between the Rogues exit from the plane 'til the first page of this issue.

Being diehard DC heads, the Rundown hates to harp on these "fanboy-ish" continuity issues, but when the gaffs take you so far out of the story, it's hard not to address the problems with a critical eye. And to go one further, the less said about this week's art, the better. There isn't a single consistent countenance on any character that appears in this issue.

In closing, the Rundown isn't giving up hope on this title. Quite the opposite, with 12 issues published, Keith Giffen on board next week for layouts, and the talented writing pool and veteran editorial team now on the book, things should only improve. It's just the hope of all of us here at Rundown HQ that some of the continuity rubs are a little less obvious and that DC focuses more on story-telling than story-recapping. If this title is truly meant to be the "spine of the DCU" - as it was so often touted - then let it tell its own tale and build off that base. Don't just use the title as a bridge between disparate storylines throughout the rest of this gigantic shared universe; use it to BUILD THAT UNIVERSE!

Next week: Issue 40: Tiny but DEADLY!

THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN: WEEK 49-STRETCHING THE TRUTH

The Players:
James "Jimmy" Olson/Superman's Pal
The Monitors
Roy Harper/Red Arrow
Val Armorr/Karate Kid
Flash's Rogues/The Rogues
Mary Batson/Mary Marvel
Teth Adam/Black Adam
(*those not linked have been linked in previous columns)

ISSUE 49

In deference to the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Celebration this weekend, we here at Countdown Rundown HQ held off on posting, hence the late column.

Moving on, Issue 50 left us with a cliffhanger ending of Jimmy Olsen about to be made into a tasty treat for Gotham's Killer Croc a/k/a Waylon Jones. This issue opens fresh from that spot, and amazingly, Jimmy saves himself through the use of one of his latent metahuman abilities not seen since the Silver Age of comics - Elastic Lad!

Throughout the Silver Age, Jimmy had multiple transformations in his many adventures as Superman's Pal. These incarnations of his powers/mutations haven't been seen in years and the recent appearance of his stretching powers have led to much speculation as to Countdown's location - in this new 52 universe Multiverse, are we following stories on the traditional DCUniverse New Earth or one of its many variations? An answer yet to be revealed!

While this week's issue again touched upon the various story-lines following Karate Kid, The Monitors, and the Rogues' Piper and Trickster, the other major development (besides Jimmy's amazing escape!) was part of Mary Marvel's continuing journey to locate the other Marvel's (her brother Billy Batson and friend Freddy Freeman) and her missing powers.

Despite Madame Xanadu's warnings to Mary for her to stay out of Gotham - where magic is completely whack! - Mary was in that urban nightmare landscape, running through its back alleys from a trio of muggers. She finds refuge in an abandoned building, only to find that it's not so abandoned.

Among the many mangled corpses Mary finds there, are the statues of the Seven Sins - the very evils that the Wizard Shazam chose Captain Marvel to be his champion against! And among this sprawl of evil incarnate, Mary runs into none other than . . . Black Adam!

Missing since the end of World War III, and the finale of 52, the leader of the now-deceased Black Marvel family is the most wanted man in the world. Is it possible that he could simple be preying on those he deems evil in Gotham? Without the Batman knowing? Or again, is this some alternate Earth?

Again, the conclusion of this week's issue ends with a cliffhanger - Mary at Adam's mercy - something that DC's 52 couldn't do throughout its year-long run do to the nature of its "real time" story. As episodic as any primetime TV show, Countdown is proving just as addicting.

The final section of Issue 49 also followed suit with 52 in that it began a multi-part back-up story written and drawn by Dan Jurgens (artist of the upcoming Booster Gold series) that promises to tell the History of the Multiverse. Where 52 told the tale of the History of the DCU, from Superman's first appearance through the Crisis on Infinite Earths and beyond, up to the Infinite Crisis that resulted in New Earth,
so too will the back-up in Countdown tell the history of the Multiverse. From its discovery by Barry Allen and Jay Garrick - the Flashes of Earths 1 and 2 respectively - up to the dawn of the new Multiverse that was birthed at the end of 52.

Universe building at its finest! Next week - Countdown Issue 48: Enter Lightray! (or is that "Exit"?!)

THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN: WEEK 50

The Players:

Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman
James "Jimmy" Olsen/Superman's Pal
Jason Todd/Robin II/The Red Hood
The Joker
Mary Batson/Mary Marvel
Bruce Wayne/Batman
Val Armorr/Karate Kid
Flash's Rogues/The Rogues

Issue 50

This week started with a strong appearance by the Man of Steel, as he guides Daily Planet reporter/photographer Jimmy Olsen through the back alleys of NYC. Coming to a locked door, Superman uses his heatvision from a low space orbit to melt away the doorhandle and lock! It continues to astound that creators can find new, unique, and interesting ways to use a 70+ year old character's powers and abilities.

After a brief encounter between the Red Hood and Olsen regarding the circumstances of last week's murder of the Joker's Daughter, the story continues covering the beats hit in last week's issue with Mary Marvel's search for her powers and her family (which are, in essence, one and the same) and then more of a look at the party the Rogues are throwing for themselves. Tensions are rising on both of those fronts with Mary's heroic journey of discovery apparently begun, and the building up of a major assault on the Flash by the Rogues.

The other major acts in this issue were Jimmy's visit with the Joker at Arkham Asylum, and a replay of the initial confrontation between Batman and Karate Kid - of the Legion of Super-Heroes - in the Batcave!

Olsen heads to Arkham to get the Joker's take on the death of his daughter; the twist being that the Joker claims he doesn't have a daughter! Throughout Duela Dent's appearances in the DCU, she's claimed varied parentage - from the Joker himself to Harvey Dent to the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and others. No definitive parent was ever defined. Apparently, however, Jimmy Olsen was under the impression that there was no question as to her heritage. The Joker's reaction is typical and the meeting sets up a future conflict between Olsen and the Clown Prince of Crime - no one should be foolish enough to put themselves into the Joker's sights. Not even Superman's Pal! The scene ends with Killer Croc loose in the asylum and Jimmy looking like lunch.

The Batman/Karate Kid scene was a panel-for-panel re-showing of the scene from Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America, issue #8, the first part of a major crossover with the Justice Society of America, titled, The Lightning Saga. That story focuses on the two teams trying to solve the mystery of a number of members of the Legion of Super-Heroes of the 30th Century stuck in our present time. Karate Kid, having lost any memory of who he was or why he was in the present, fights Batman under the guise of the super-criminal, Trident. The inclusion of the scene in Countdown was a way to introduce yet another character to this series that will be playing a major role in the run towards next year's major DC event.

A few things from this issue stick out to Rundown HQ: This is the second issue in a row that began the action in New York City. While it was established in Bruce Jones's One Year Later story arc of Nightwing, that both Dick Grayson and Jason Todd were working out of NYC instead of Gotham or the destroyed Bludhaven, it still seems interesting that the issues start there - especially considering that NYC was where most of Jack Kirby's Kamandi took place post-Great Disaster.

Second, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen was the one mainstream DC title that Jack Kirby was allowed free reign on when he came to the company in the 1970s - it was the fourth of his Fourth World books and it stood as his foothold to tie the New Gods into the main DC Universe. Jimmy playing such a huge role in Countdown is yet another tie to the DC/Kirbyverse. Can the Guardian, Cadmus, and the Newsboy Legion be that far behind?

Finally, while many have complained that the scene from Justice League of America was shoehorned into this issue only to establish that Karate Kid will play a major role in the series, that opinion seems a bit short-sighted. From the beginning, both Vice President/Editorial Dan Didio and Head Writer Paul Dini have said that the weekly series will reflect the major events that are happening throughout the DCU. While the scene probably could have been written/drawn in a more dynamic way, instead of the almost xerox of the original that it was, it was important to showcase it in this week's issue of Countdown for a number of reasons.

Clearly, The Lightning Saga and Amazons Attack are the two biggest Spring event comics for the DCU. They both promise major conflicts and team/character changing moments. To not include them in some way in Countdown would be ridiculous. The JLA/JSA cross-over is a tradition of the DCU back to the early 60s and this time around reaches across time to include the Legion. It is not only a major event for diehard fans, but should be marketed across the line to pull in new readers. If readers are looking to Countdown as the spine of the DCU, the inclusion of this scene and scenes like it should serve to get readers to try new books.

In closing, this week's issue felt again like a set-up issue, running with some of the seeds planted in Week 51 and introducing a few new plot-lines. With a full year of stories ahead there is a lot of time built-in to the series to introduce and run with long, involved plots and the book feels like it is just scratching the surface of the DCU. While Rundown HQ looks forward to the "real" action, we are quite pleased with the setup thus far.

Next Week: Week 49: Enter the Monitors!

THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN!

The Rundown Continues, Tomorrow!

COUNTDOWN: T-MINUS 3 DAYS

In anticipation of their new weekly series, Countdown, DC Comics first released a series of pins only available at comic conventions across the country over the past year. Visit various panels over a weekend and collect the four pins. "Look to the Skies" was a reference to Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters; "Jimmy Olsen Must Die" pointed to the various pitfalls and adventures Superman's Pal would be facing in the upcoming year.
"WWMMD" had people stumped for a little while, but eventually internet savvy fanboys came up with the answer: What Would Mary Marvel Do? The kid sister of Captain Marvel (a/k/a Shazam! to the public at large) was finally going to get the spotlight she deserved.

The fourth pin "I Found Ray Palmer" pointed to the DC Universe addressing a long unsolved mystery in their books - what happened to Dr. Ray Palmer (the public persona of the size-controlling hero the Atom) after his disappearance at the end of Brad Meltzer's and Rags Morales's critically acclaimed mini-series Identity Crisis! A murder mystery focusing on the hunt for a killer of a super-hero's wife, Identity Crisis was the lead-in to DC's massive Infinite Crisis, One Year Later, and 52 storylines. For those who haven't read the book, I won't spoil it, but suffice it to say that the shock of the events in Identity Crisis forced the Atom to transform himself to sub-atomic size and disappear. Now, it looks like DC will finally be turning a microscope on the last year and an half of Ray's life.

Finally, if convention goers were spotted with all four pins by an employee of DC Comics, a fifth pin was handed out: "Darkseid Rules!" This pin (not available to show here) featured a darker orange background, the words "Darkseid Rules" and a close-up image of the lord of Jack Kirby's Fourth World planet Apokolips himself, Darkseid. With the inclusion of this image, readers's questions were answered - after years of little to no use of Jack Kirby's classic 70s creations the New Gods, they would finally be showing up in the next year.

Later today I will post the first advertisements that DC issued using the same slogans from the buttons with a few added elements to create even more speculation.

For those of you who can't wait until Wednesday, though, DC in conjunction with MySpace have allowed a preview of the upcoming Countdown #51 - find it here.