Comics of the Week

I loved 100 Bullets. I didn't understand all of it, but I think part of what made it brilliant was its shear complexity. The other thing that made it brilliant was its all out grittiness. It was a book that was never easy on the violence, and that violence was never gratuitous. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso strike again with Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance #2. It would be one thing for them to write a Batman story, which they have, but here they give us a different Batman altogether, in a world that is not held to the same rules we're used to. This may be the best Elseworlds Batman story ever told.

In the Flashpoint world, it was Bruce that was murdered in Crime Alley, setting his father, Thomas on a path to become a different kind of Batman. But this Gotham is also much grittier than the Gotham we're used to, if that's possible. Here, the line separating good guys from bad is so blurred that Thomas Wayne employs both Jim Gordon and Oswald Cobblepot. By the end of this issue, we see exactly how blurred those lines are. It's a moment that you almost see coming, but is still shocking because of just how far the brutality went just before it. Azzarello and Risso never pull their punches.

As expected, this book's biggest strength is that it ultimately has nothing to do with the main Flashpoint story. This is about the world of this Batman, and it's a world that is rich in detail. While we see familiar characters show up in unexpected ways, it's clear there is depth behind each one. It isn't a spot the characters situation and instead leaves you genuinely wondering what brought them to where they are. And it's because of this depth that I have one problem with this book: that it will end. I can only hope in the months after the reboot that they come back and do further stories in this continuity.

Meanwhile, in the main Flashpoint book, we finally see what Kal El is like in this world. I like the fact that it is such a different take on the character. I don't doubt that before the series is over he'll wind up being much closer to the Superman we all know, but for now, it's a fresh take. I've always said the best Superman stories are the Elseworlds versions, and while this isn't as great as the Batman book, it could still lead to some interesting developments, particularly in exploring the relationship between the two characters. Ultimately, though, the Flashpoint book is mainly just good concepts, with mediocre execution. What it does have going for it is that the main points of the event take place in the main book.

Fear Itself #4 was much better than the last 3 issues, with more of a sense of things happening in the pages of the book itself. Particularly, the return of Steve Rogers as Captain America. However, for events to actually matter after 4 issues might be too late. I'm still not sure what the event is actually about, and I'm not sure that would be different if I were reading all the tie ins. Yes, this mysterious Serpent character from Odin's past has unleashed a bunch of hammers on the world and now several characters are running around, possessed, causing chaos with said hammers. But that's a just a set up. Four issues in, I should understand the stakes and what it's all really all about. So far, it doesn't come across any different than any other time someone has wreaked havoc on the Marvel U. Not helping matters is an X-Men tie in Uncanny X-Men #540 that not only did not tell me anything about Fear Itself, it brought the X-Men story to a grinding halt. Absolutely nothing happened in this book, which is a real shame since I was getting into the world of the X-Men for the past couple of issues. Now, I'm not so sure I need to pick up the next one. At least not until Fear Itself is done.

Smallville - The Kent Farm

I continued to watch Smallville all these years because I realized that the way to look at it was as a reinterpretation of the Superman myth instead of as some kind of prequel that shows what happened before he became Superman. When viewed this way, it really opens up the show for you. It's almost like an Elseworlds story, which usually are the best Superman stories anyway. So, I've been able to accept all the little things everyone has griped about over the years. I did tune out for all the soap opera like back and forth with Lana in the middle seasons, but that's another issue. Superman myth wise, though, this latest episode, so close to the end, did something I find a little problematic. He's selling the farm to move to Metropolis.

To me, this is a much bigger departure than meeting Lois when he's a teenager or Chloe or Green Arrow in terms of changing who Superman is. I get that the idea is that he is letting go of his past to become a man and Superman. They go to great lengths in the script to point out that things and places aren't memories and that Clark is Clark with or without the farm. That he is the man Pa Kent raised to be. Those are all great ideas, but they miss the mark in this case. A big part of Superman's heroism is that he'd much rather be on that farm than anywhere else, but he chooses to go to Metropolis so he can do the greatest good. He doesn't leave the farm because it's the best thing for him as a person to let go of the past and grow up. His reasons for leaving are beyond his personal growth and are not about letting go of anything. As a matter of fact, he goes back to the farm whenever possible. He chooses to be human and the farm is the symbol of that choice of his humanity. He has his Fortress of Solitude, and I would argue the farm is his Fortress of Humanity. For him to sell the farm lessens his grounding to his humanity. In the case of Superman, the farm is not "just a farm."

The farm is a touchstone, not just for Clark, but for everyone around him. It's a place where all the insanity of the suprehero life can be left behind. To end the series by discarding this, I think, sets Superman on the right path for the wrong reasons. Without the farm to go back to, there's nothing to remind him of why he does what he does in the first place. And with all the other heroes that Smallville has introduced, the same will apply.