tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post4866556132739715956..comments2023-03-25T04:53:31.262-07:00Comments on Final Crisis Annotations: Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2Douglas Wolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691167073493285913noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-5545067573756827092009-01-27T16:54:00.000-08:002009-01-27T16:54:00.000-08:00Superman's reach towards the reader on page 12 is ...Superman's reach towards the reader on page 12 is not only the three-dimensional culmination of Morrison's previous 4th-wall-breaking moments in Animal Man and Zatanna, it is also comparable to Alexander Luthor's sight of and <A HREF="http://anyeventuality.wordpress.com/2006/10/27/ic-you/" REL="nofollow">grasp towards the reader</A> (since we are all in Earth-Prime) in Infinite Crisis #6.<BR/><BR/>Is it just me, or is Superman: Beyond the only part of Final Crisis that makes me feel the event has much in common with COIE and Infinite Crisis? Although Morrison is my favorite writer and Beyond alone would cover an infinity of FC sins, I still prefer IC to FC qua FC.<BR/><BR/>So here's hoping Mankhe's issue 7 finally blows the roof off. (Not that I didn't absolutely love Batman's once-in-a-lifetime exception!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-28279152817523509232009-01-24T14:10:00.000-08:002009-01-24T14:10:00.000-08:00I may be screwing up the timeline (that's quite a ...I may be screwing up the timeline (that's quite a loaded word in this context, come to think of it), but as for the COIE Monitor: perhaps this was "before" Monitorspace was infected by stories? If that's the case, the COIE Monitor would have no story/backstory, and hence no name. The idea of any Monitor (not all caps) having a name might be retroactively applied, though, once there were multiple and distinct Monitors -- so the naming of the COIE Monitor could be considered retconned in.Secundushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09711472522128229266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-85344853295034948442009-01-24T06:58:00.000-08:002009-01-24T06:58:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Not Dicklesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02574915928737646952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-32945837327498324972009-01-23T19:23:00.000-08:002009-01-23T19:23:00.000-08:00I believe Anti-Monitor could have been reborn at t...I believe Anti-Monitor could have been reborn at the same time as the 52 Monitors, during Infinite Crisis. If that's the case, then the ur-Monitor willed him back into being, as the "symmetry", only this time to keep him in check had him outnumbered 52 to 1 (to prevent any more attempts at Anti-Matter takeovers and COIE). Kind of like how Superman and Ultraman had their parts to play this issue.<BR/><BR/>Although it's possible that the Anti-Matter Universe was the only place untouched in any of the Crises.<BR/><BR/>But his power has dwindled back down from his "99.99% of the Multiverse status" to actually being nothing more than a dark reflection of a Monitor, with a grudge against New Earth.<BR/><BR/>And since Sinestro and the Guardians have always been linked to the Anti-Monitor and Monitor, Sinestro was the first person to discover that Anti-Monitor was back on Qward, and the two hatched some anti-Guardian, anti-Earth plans.<BR/><BR/>At any rate ... somebody somewhere is thrilled to death that they have the biggest Anti-Matter conduit in the known Multiverse as their new Central Power Battery ... because nothing raises dead corpses from the grave quite like Anti-Matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-17583349436940434122009-01-23T14:05:00.000-08:002009-01-23T14:05:00.000-08:00This might've been covered already, but -- am I cr...This might've been covered already, but -- am I crazy for thinking that Overman's characterization owes something to <A HREF="http://www.johnnyalucard.com/" REL="nofollow">Kim Newman</A>'s short story <A HREF="http://books.google.com/books?id=60xCTOGV18YC&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204" REL="nofollow">"Ubermensch!"</A>?Tobiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04197415516745215303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-61675354879462778792009-01-23T12:48:00.000-08:002009-01-23T12:48:00.000-08:00Will, I think you're right - I interpreted "First ...Will, I think you're right - I interpreted "First son of Monitor" to be referring to the original Monitor who entered the multiverse, not the vast MONITOR intelligence - which it must be, since he doesn't use a definite or indefinite article, it's just "MONITOR." I kind of wish we could see capitalization in lettering at times like this. So yeah, I'm pretty sure that our cornrowed buddy from Crisis on Infinite Earths is Dax Novu.<BR/><BR/>I have *no* idea how the Anti-Monitor re-manifested in Sinestro Corps War, and I'm surprised if Johns actually contradicted Morrison there.David Uzumerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12273284254602286534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-75850872170743236902009-01-23T09:54:00.000-08:002009-01-23T09:54:00.000-08:00I agree with the comment above. Think about it. ...I agree with the comment above. Think about it. Kallarak (Gladiator...lol)is preator of the ImperialGUARD.......I don't need a Namehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01840245458855842351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-10549222403782230542009-01-23T01:14:00.000-08:002009-01-23T01:14:00.000-08:00Couldn't Guardsman be a nod to Super-guardian Glad...Couldn't Guardsman be a nod to Super-guardian Gladiator of the Shi'Ar's Imperial Guard?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-39468301909542095222009-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:002009-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00I was wondering if the robot/armor functioned as a...I was wondering if the robot/armor functioned as a kind of golem-animated by story or something. Then my head exploded.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-48140068847602856662009-01-22T18:26:00.000-08:002009-01-22T18:26:00.000-08:00Like Retro315, it seems to me that Dax Novu/Mandra...Like Retro315, it seems to me that Dax Novu/Mandrakk <I>is</I> the Monitor from the first Crisis; the first issue mentions that the "ur-Monitor's" "probe" (Novu/Mandrakk) was split in two, which corresponds to the COIE-Monitor's origin. And, of course, there's that panel showing Novu witnessing COIE.<BR/><BR/>I'm guessing that the Anti-Monitor was an unforseen byproduct of the "probe's" creation and not part of the other Monitors' social structure.Will Stapleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05102456593495895955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-640301341826507022009-01-22T07:02:00.000-08:002009-01-22T07:02:00.000-08:00Grant loves cooking up his own inter-company cross...Grant loves cooking up his own inter-company crossovers and has been doing 'em as far back as <A HREF="http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/scorcard.htm" REL="nofollow">Zenith</A>, in fact.raphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603930950971861594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-49389598716658065132009-01-21T22:43:00.000-08:002009-01-21T22:43:00.000-08:00I guess the "graveyard universe" of Earth 51 count...I guess the "graveyard universe" of Earth 51 counts as a universe just the same. Nix Uotan recreated it before it was destroyed for the second time at the end of Countdown, so perhaps he'll have to do something similar next week?gristlenichehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10537471187807720937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-7840598767772503572009-01-21T21:56:00.000-08:002009-01-21T21:56:00.000-08:00I'm still thinking Dax Novu was the COIE Monitor a...I'm still thinking Dax Novu was the COIE Monitor and that "we the bloodthirsty modern readers" are what made him into a vampire. I'm not sure how it plays ... but people die and come back as vampires all the time.<BR/><BR/>Shadow Demons are back, phenomenal. The Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons had the same shape as him, and these ones are twisted and starved like Mandrakk. Although it occured to me that Anti-Monitor's Demons, which are "tainted by black magic" might look something like this ...<BR/><BR/>"Come back to us, Allen" also seems really indicative of the real Captain Atom ... Monarch sucks and Morrison knows it.<BR/><BR/>Symmetries. And where is the symmetry between 52 positive matter universes, and only ONE negative anti-matter universe? Between 52 Monitors and one Anti-Monitor?<BR/><BR/>The Superman statue is practically a gift from the older days of comics (no wonder it's golden). Feels to me like Morrison telling writers "go read old comics for inspiration so we can get out of this grim and gritty bullcrap".<BR/><BR/>Weeja is a "Monitrix". Cool.<BR/><BR/>The Monitors themselves locked the COIE Monitor in the void after he warned them of the impending changes?<BR/><BR/>Who is Ogama? I've heard his name, and saw him snickering in FC#1 ... but is he the same guy as Solomon? It's not totally clear to me ...<BR/><BR/>At any rate, one of Mandrakk's cultist Monitors "hugging" the Source Wall of New Earth seems to be hinting at involvement.<BR/><BR/>Superman kisses Lois and everything is okay ... I'm not sure if that's an homage to the Superman films, and how a kiss could take away memories (and how he fly so fast he went back in time) but it feels like one.<BR/><BR/>It looks like a couple of my questions won't be answered until FC#7, the big one ... luckily it sounds like it's going to have 44 pages to answer within.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-40304152807281768862009-01-21T21:39:00.000-08:002009-01-21T21:39:00.000-08:00P.E.: the "loss of moving part 51" is mentioned in...P.E.: the "loss of moving part 51" is mentioned in FC #1--you can still write off Countdown if you like...Douglas Wolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10691167073493285913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-54530811030540758902009-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:002009-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:00Are you guys still holding that butchery from Coun...Are you guys still holding that butchery from Countdown and Death of the NG to be canon (extinction of that universe)? Ithought if people had any breach to just forget that blitzkrieg of badness, they would jump in. I know I did.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-61606655292058558512009-01-21T20:14:00.000-08:002009-01-21T20:14:00.000-08:00Slightly-ordered rambling after re-reading both is...Slightly-ordered rambling after re-reading both issues and then your comments:<BR/><BR/>I had the same thought as you on page 12 but the idea of "we the reader" as the almost touchable presence is even stronger, more obvious to me, because of Superman Beyond's physical format. <BR/><BR/>Glasses enhance the vision of the wearer and here we have a story designed in a way which -forces- us to see it in a different enhanced way. It's very hard to be a passive reader with these things stuck over your eyeballs. <BR/><BR/>Or is that part of what you meant by the ultimate Superman Red and Blue story, what with the colors on our special super-vision devices?<BR/><BR/>Must read again...there's more to say about Morrison's choice of the 3 or 4-D here, but I'm thinking more thinking might first be in order.Garrie Burrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08655002725754446947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-75989490852363331962009-01-21T20:01:00.000-08:002009-01-21T20:01:00.000-08:00The temporal displacement of Superman probably see...The temporal displacement of Superman probably seems off -- and it seems off to me too -- because Superman doesn't act like he's in the middle of a ginormous crisis and kind of in a hurry to get back home in "Lo3W."Timothy Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078183191900311833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-68505210255176856612009-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:002009-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:00Hmmm...I don't know if I'd say that Superman winki...Hmmm...I don't know if I'd say that Superman winking at the reader is necessarrily a "Whatever Happened..." reference so much as a reference to your average Superman story. It seems to me that about a third of the Silver Age Superman stories I read ended with him winking at the reader. <BR/><BR/>Interesting read as always though.Calebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01391759187396994380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-53777457561495890802009-01-21T16:53:00.000-08:002009-01-21T16:53:00.000-08:00That's a really good point about belief versus wil...That's a really good point about belief versus will, but DAMN, your reading of page twelve *slayed* me. I was trying to figure out what that meant and just sort of ended up glossing over it, but yeah, you're dead on and it's sort of chilling now almost to read it and... cradle Superman.David Uzumerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12273284254602286534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-52363225105106670022009-01-21T16:39:00.000-08:002009-01-21T16:39:00.000-08:00Note, on Page 7, the Shadow Demons are LITERALLY s...Note, on Page 7, the Shadow Demons are LITERALLY stealing the trash from Limbo, like the Sheeda stole photographs and newspapers in Seven Soldiers 1.<BR/><BR/>And I'm pretty sure the Monitors are the writers, artists and editors at DC Comics, who keep their characters alive in order to live off them, who create both ultimate evil and ultimate good.<BR/><BR/>It makes Nix Uoton an interesting Morrison stand-in, the writer who would have fought against this parasitic stasis, but who gets (routinely) trapped in someone else's universe, only to save it by remaking it in his own image (Morrison on X-Men, Morrison on Batman...)<BR/><BR/>Superman's inscription <I>as a warning</I> feels like one last Watchmen, a call back to Dr. Manhattan's warning that "Nothing ever ends."<BR/><BR/>The wink is a call back primarily to every episode of the Adventures of Superman (as well as DC 1,000,000 and an infinite number of Superman stories). <BR/><BR/>And then there's that last page, which I loved, despite/because it's the same last page as Seven Soldiers AND All-Star Superman AND Morrison's run on JLA AND...<BR/><BR/>Just as all superhero stories begin "Previously," they all end "To Be Continued"Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14772087090448461047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013594081496330946.post-31892921614441132812009-01-21T15:40:00.000-08:002009-01-21T15:40:00.000-08:00Your read on page 12 just blew my mind. Yow.Your read on page 12 just blew my mind. Yow.Joe Iglesiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06271218647133689762noreply@blogger.com