I gave myself a little break from Percy to let the story sink in. I also found the movie and checked it out... bottom line... I liked the book a lot better. But yeah, I wanted everything from the first book out of my system before going into the second one. Here's my Out on DVD review episode about the first movie....
And now that I have that out of the way, I returned to the book store to continue on with the second book. Sadly the same girl wasn't there from the first time, cause she really seemed to love the series and was curious about what I would think. I actually met someone where Paige works that absolutely LOVES the series and is eager for the next book of the spin-off series later this year. So now that I got 'The Sea of Monsters'.... here is my review.
The Story
After the first book, Percy, Annabeth and Grover went their ways. Percy went to live with his mom and went back to normal school where there hasn't been an incident for almost a year. Grover went off to search for Pan. Annabeth also returned to her family. All seems well.... until the final days of the school year.
Percy is attacked by giant cannibals in a deadly game of dodgeball. Luckily Annabeth has arrived to seek him out and helps out. Also his new friend Tyson turns out to be a cyclops and is a great help in the fight. After defeating the giants, Annabeth insists that Percy return to Camp Half-Blood since it's really gone to hell since he left.
When they return they find it under attack by giant metal bulls. The main problem is, the camp is supposed to have a forcefield that protects it from outsiders and monsters, but now the bulls are running causing damage like it was nothing. They find out that Thalia, the tree named after the daughter of Zeus is dying from a deadly poison, and when it goes, the camp will be vulnerable to monster attacks forever. Chiron was blamed for this and got expelled from the camp grounds. The only thing that can cure the tree is the legendary golden fleece. The only problem is that instead of Percy going on this quest... the duty of obtaining the golden fleece was given to Clarrisse, the camp bully, and also daughter of Ares that already hated Percy since day one.
Besides that, Percy finds out in dreams, that Grover never made it in finding Pan. Instead he was tricked by a giant cyclops that happens to have the fleece and uses it to lure Satyrs to their deaths. Grover is buying time, taking advantage of the fact that the cyclops is almost blind, but how long can he hold out? Percy, Annabeth and Tyson sneak off to take this quest, even if they risk clashing against Clarrisse. The fleece is located beyond the Sea of Monsters. Will they be able to find it in time, rescue Grover and Camp Half-Blood before the tree dies out? And what will they do when they run into Luke?
My Opinions
Wow, this series only gets better and better. Now that Percy knows that he's the god of Poseidon and all that, this book jumps right into the Greek Mythology. Lots of details and things introduced in the first book return here, like the story of Thalia the tree and Clarrisse having a bigger role. There's so many things to talk about, it's hard to know where to begin.
Grover is missing from most of the book, being held captive by the giant cyclops Polyphemus that loves to eat satyrs. It's kinda funny thinking of Grover in a wedding dress, pretending to be his bride so he can stay alive. I am glad that when he eventually does get rescued, there is still enough page-time left for him to hang with Percy and Annabeth like old times.
Tyson is basically Percy's new best friend in the story. He talks like he's not all that bright, but he has a heart of gold, and as a castaway son of Poseidon, he's basically Percy's brother. Also as a cyclops he's super strong, fire doesn't hurt him and he's very good at building and fixing things. Everyone is against cyclopes in general since they can't be trusted, so Percy has to assure everyone that Tyson is cool. Percy though feels embarrassed to be associated with him at times, but he eventually does win his favor. I liked seeing both of them interact throughout the book as Percy is constantly trying to keep Tyson out of causing trouble... and Tyson is usually saving Percy's life. Tyson was unwanted and abandoned before he met Percy so he cares a lot for his brother now that he has one.
Clarrisse got a bigger role for this story and she's her usual bully self. Despite everything, she still fights for the sake of defending the camp, so it's good to see she's not all that bad. Though I'm sure she likes fighting the bad guys for the sake of fighting. She gets her own pirate ship complete with skeleton pirates and actually helps Percy on getting past the Sea of Monsters. Even I feel sorry for her when Ares was chewing her out since he wanted her to succeed on this quest and get some fame away from Percy. She really is trying hard to please her father and wants him to be proud of her, so there is some goodness in there...somewhere.
Annabeth is pretty much the same. One of the most interesting chapters was when they were sailing close to the sirens and she wanted to hear their songs while Percy tied her up. The book did an amazing job describing how desperately she wanted to break free once she fell under the song's spell. When Percy touched her, he saw what she saw, which was the perfect image of the perfect family she wished she had, with Luke still as a good guy since she had a crush on him before he turned evil.
And yes, spoiler from the last book, Luke was the Lightning Thief and he did it to help revive the god Kronos that wants to destroy everything to get revenge on Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. He returns in this story a few times... and it always seems like it's gonna hit the fan when he does... I mean, damn, this book does a great job of keeping me in suspense! We also see his father Hermes, who gives Percy some items to help in his quest, and he hopes to one day regain Luke as a good guy again.
As for Percy himself, he's still the brave and heroic character from the first book. This time he's really going out there to save the camp and stop Luke's plans without any ulterior motives like in the first book. He's more of a nice guy and especially shows it near the end with Clarrisse. He has trouble dealing with Tyson, being embarrassed of him at first, and also not liking the fact that Poseidon just dumped a brother on him without warning. And he still feels some of the resentment of being abandoned by his father. He does eventually value Tyson's friendship and sees that Poseidon is watching over them, in his own way.
One theme this book kept from the first one, is the gods or goddesses disguising themselves as normal humans in some kind of store or shop to lure them into the trap. The first book had several, including the Las Vegas Casino trap where time literally stood still for everyone inside it. This book had Circe running some kind of spa and offers to give Percy and Annabeth make overs. While she made Annabeth look stunning, her idea of a make-over for Percy, or any men in general, was to turn him into a guinea pig. Another theme this book follows is all the snazzy titles for each chapter with crazy things like 'We meet the sheep of Doom' or 'Clarrisse blows up everything'. And we still get the 'Percy is the narrator' sense of humor.
The book is also full of action and they face all sorts of monster and creatures from sirens to giant metal bulls, to pirahna-ish sheep. And yes, Polyphemus the giant cyclops is probably the main monster they face in this story. I'm glad I got to see how Tyson and Polyphemus got to interact and actually fight it out. The characters are lovable and you care about what happens to them. Like I said, even the jerk characters like Clarrisse have things make you feel sorry for them so you can't hate them outright.
It's a good book, again I enjoyed it cover to cover. I'm really enjoying this series and I know there's a movie out about this one too. I'll be renting and reviewing it soon. But man... THAT ENDING. It made me super eager to pick up book three and find out what happens next! It's a hell of a plot twist and it's based on something that was mentioned in the first book! I'm really anxious to see how Percy and company will deal with this!
If you've been keeping track of my blog posts, you've noticed I'm not one for reading actual books. Paige is more of the reader, and she has mentioned a few books here and there, and of course her love for the Pretty Little Liars book series, not just the TV series. I tried to find a good book to actually sit down and read and let my imagination soar, like when I was kid, but nothing really interested me. But then I saw Mark of Athena in the local Wal-Mart and read some of the back. It mentioned people facing creatures of Greek myths but in modern day, and that piqued my curiosity. But then I read the intro saying 'it continues the adventures of...' and I was like 'naw, I gotta read this from the beginning. Going to an actual book store this nice girl told me it was actually a sequel or spin-off of sorts of the Percy Jackson stories, a 5-book tale that I should really read first so that all the references to it would make sense. And so, I started off with the first book.... The Lightning Thief! Written by Rick Riordian.
The Story-
This story follows the life of Percy Jackson, a kid with dyslexia and having a knack for always getting into trouble and being shipped from school to school. On a school field trip to the museum he gets attacked by one of his teachers that was a demon in disguise! Another teacher tosses him a pen, that when the cap is removed, turns into a sword! Percy kills the fiend, and despite the commotion that would have caused, everyone outside acts like nothing happened, and act like that evil teacher never existed!! Shortly after this, Percy was booted out of this school too.
Our 12 year old hero soon returns to his home town in New York and sees his mother again. They decide to head for a trip to their favorite beach. But then in a dangerous rainstorm they are being chased by the Minotaur, from ancient myth!! The mighty beast kills Percy's mom, and the young boy somehow manages to avoid the beast and kill it with its own horn. To make things weirder, his old friend from school, Grover, turns out to be a Satyr, a human with the lower half of a goat!
More is explained as Percy and Grover make it to Half-Blood Hill where it is revealed that he is actually a demi-god, the son of a human and a god. It gets more complicated when it's discovered that he is the son of Poseidon, one of the three main gods that was forbidden from having any more human children! His teacher also turns out to be a centaur named Chiron, and he eventually explains the main quest that sets the story off.
Currently the gods are at the brink of war. It seems Zeus is missing his bolt of lightning, a weapon of incredible destructive power, and he thinks Poseidon is responsible! Worse yet, even though Percy had just recently found out about being a Half-Blood, Zeus thinks Poseidon put him up to stealing it!!! Suspicion also falls on Hades, the god banished to the underworld, that would benefit greatly from a war between Zeus and Poseidon. And there lies the mission. By the summer solstice, Percy, Grover and Annabeth must set forth on their quest to confront Hades and retrieve the bolt of lightning before all hell literally breaks loose.
Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, and due to her mother's rivalry with Poseidon, doesn't get along too well with Percy at first. She trains hard and has lived in Half-Blood Camp most of her life and anxious to prove her skills in the real world. Grover strives for what all satyrs strive for, the chance to search and find the god Pan. To do so he must prove himself worthy by helping Percy on his mission and bringing him back alive. As for Percy, he thinks that maybe his mother is still alive and being held captive by Hades in the underworld. Will his desire to rescue his mother outweigh the importance of him saving the world?
As the heroes have 10 days remaining on their perilous quest, they face monsters, gods and other challenges. Things become more complicated when events cause Percy to believe that maybe Hades wasn't the Lighting Thief....
My Opinions
Wow!!!! Just wow!! This book is super amazing and literally kept my interest from cover to cover. It's always entertaining and the narrator, which is Percy, describes things with his own sense of humor that keeps it interesting. Even the titles on the table of contents are bizzare, funny and interesting that makes you wonder what's it going to be about. Right off the bat the first chapter is called 'I vaporized my teacher'. It already makes you think 'wtf???' and gets you into reading it.
While it takes almost half the book to get to the Lightning Thief part, the book takes its time in developing Percy and his friends, and slowly opening this whole new world he's suddenly entered into. He's a typical New York kid very much from 'our real world' and he's suddenly thrust into the fact that gods of myth do exist and have existed for all these years. We get to see him adapt at Half-Blood Camp, get better along with Annabeth, defeat his new rival Clarrisse and train with Luke. I do like the fact that the main reason there are so many demi-gods running around in modern day was because the gods were known for messing around with humans in tales of myth. They just never stuck around to raise them. LOL
Parts of his past come back to him to explain things he never understood. We find out things like how Percy and Annabeth aren't really dyslexic, they were born with the natural ability to read Greek, and have trouble reading English. Percy's mom never let him fly on a plane since it would involve taking to the skies, where an angry Zeus would strike the plane down. Little hints and clues keep coming back to Percy's mind as he pieces together his new reality.
Despite being a good old fashioned book, not a comic with pictures, this book does an amazing job describing everything. The gods nectar that tastes like whatever your favorite food is, the strange sense of hatred you get whenever you're near Ares, and the excitement of the fights. It's all so crystal clear in my mind, you can easily imagine everything that's going on. The action is pretty intense, especially later on when Percy gets better at using his water powers and his sword Riptide. I especially like the fight between Percy and Ares, and the fact that despite them fighting it out with classic mythical swords, the rest of us regular people saw them as two normal people fighting with shotguns.
And yes, I have to bring up the fact that for a while they were in Las Vegas. I like how they described the hotels without actually naming them... but yeah... I knew what they were. And that casino where kids can play forever, but lose the notion of time and could literally be there for years without knowing.... I think it's based on some trap in a myth story, but it's also a clever knock at how real casinos have no windows and no clocks so you can easily lose track of time and gamble the night away. And when our intrepid trio finally pulled themselves out of there, they realized what seemed like a few hours was actually 5 hours in real time, and they only had one day left to fulfill their quest!!!! When I read that part I was like 'holy crap, they really screwed themselves over!!!! Now what??!!'
I could go on and on, but the main deal is, I just love this book. I heard there are movies based on the first two books. I plan to rent the Lightning Thief and make an Out on DVD episode about it with my thoughts comparing it to the book. I am very happy with this book and I'm glad Percy and his gang has gotten me back into reading. And yes... I already bought Sea of Monsters. I'm gonna start reading it after seeing the first movie.
Doc Ock's final act before dying was switching bodies with Spider-Man, starting a whole new life as a young and energetic Peter Parker, while his foe died in his aging diseased body. Now as the Superior Spider-Man, Otto went out fighting crime his way, murdering people like Massacre and gravely injuring others like the Vulture and Boomerang, which affected his status as a member of the Avengers. He also earned a Doctorate, opened Parker Industries and has a new girlfriend named Anna Maria. But along came the Green Goblin, who's been amassing a massive army underground all along. Not only did he discover that Otto was Spider-Man, he also attacked all the people he cared about. With his beloved Anna Maria's life at stake, Otto admits that Parker was the better Spider-Man and erases his memories, bringing back the original Peter Parker. Now back in the classic red and blue, The Amazing Spider-Man has to save the day.... and also adjust to all the new changes in his life while he was 'away'.
Let's take a look at the end of the Superior Spider-Man series... and the first issue of the return of the Amazing Spider-Man, just in time for the movie!
Superior Spider-Man # 31 opens with Anna Maria being woken up by the Green Goblin, who shows off how he turned New York into his 'Goblin Nation'. Elsewhere, Peter finds out that Carlie was infected by the Goblin Formula, but as Otto managed to cure her. He leaves Sajani to make more while he talks to Carlie alone. Carlie Cooper had already figured out that Otto was in Peter's body and he convinces her that he's back to normal. She explains that was Otto was in control, he covered the city in spider robots to help him fight crime, but the Goblin hacked them to be blind to anything wearing a Goblin mask or logo.
As Spidey swings out throughout the city, he calls Aunt May to make sure that she, and everyone else is alright. Spider-Man arrives at the Empire State University and helps Spider-Man 2099 defeat the last of the Spider-Slayers. Unlike Otto, Pete does recognize Miguel O'Hara and enlists his help. They both arrive at mid-town and help the Avengers take down the Hobgoblin. Captain America appreciates the helps but says he thought Spider-Man quit the Avengers. Spidey considers it nonsense, and goes off with the future Spider-Man. They finally found the place the spider-robots' signal is coming from... Oscorp.
Spidey is confused that Oscorp is now Alchemax, and Spidey 2099 reminds him that it's the evil corporation that runs Nuevo York in his era. Just then another goblin attacks the Spiders. Menace seems sure that Spidey will abandon Spidey 2099 to find the Goblin King, but is surprised when our classic hero sticks around.. and sticks him with the antidote to the Goblin formula. They hear laughter from the other side of a door and check out the room.
They see Normie, looking evil and admiring that the city will be his someday. Liz and Stone are there and Spider-Man tells her not to trust him. Stone activates a jammer that knocks Spider-Man down, and Spidey 2099 socks Stone out. Liz tells them that the building is wired for explosives and that the Goblin is on top of the building. Pete leaves Miguel to watch the others while he goes to save the day.
The Green Goblin arrives and taunts 'Otto' for pretending to be a hero and asks him what he'll have left after he dies trying to save the girl. Spidey says at least he'll have the dignity of never having use a man-purse. With a wisecrack like that, Goblin knows the real Spider-Man is back and flies off, but our hero won't let him get away that easily. Goblin says he would never leave Anna Maria to die, but Spidey points out that she can take care of herself, as she's already using one of the Goblin's blades to cut herself free.
Spidey tries to inject Goblin with the antidote, but the villain slaps his hand away. Spidey yanks off the mask.. and doesn't recognize the guy. Norman Osborn says it IS him, but he had to change his face since he is so well recognized already. He wants to make Alchemax a legacy for his grandson. Spidey asks why he's bombing it, and he says it can't be the only building not attacked by the Goblins, so it will be collateral damage. Spidey points out that without the Goblin mask on, now all the Spider-bots he brought with him are attacking and biting Osborn. Each spider bite is loaded with Goblin cure.
Anna Maria leaps off the building and Spidey manages to catch her in time. He also catches the Goblin who now falls off the glider since he lost his strength. Spidey hands walks back to Liza with 'Mason Banks' on hand, and she 'accidentaly' pressed the spider-jammer again that affects Spider-Man long enough for Norman to get away. Spidey 2099 accuses her, but Spidey knows she's an old friend and didn't mean it... though he will keep an eye on her and her weird kid.
As Norman escapes, he feels his mind clearer than it's been in years. The madness of the Goblin is gone and he can think clearly. He swears to return with a new face and with a new plan, and they'll never see him coming.
Spider-Man makes sure that Anna Maria is alright, and she was very concerned about Peter. Spidey swears Peter is safe and she is so relieved. Spidey sees that she really did love Otto... and feels bad that he had to die for him to come back.
The next story 'Actions have Consequences' deals with the aftermath of the series. Peter hugs his Aunt May and is glad she's alright. He also apologizes for how he treated her (as Otto he yelled at her after she acted awkward around Anna Maria being a little person) and says he quit working for Spider-Man and will devote himself to Parker Industries. MJ tells him she has to live her own life without him, since she's always being dragged into whatever evil plans the villains have for him. Peter sees Jameson on TV and remembers that Otto was blackmailing him, so he goes to set things right.
Carlie overheard the convo with MJ and shows her the Goblin eyes left behind from when she was a Goblin. She's moving out of town while her body fully recovers. MJ says she wants to live her own life, but Carlie reminds her that even if she's seeing Pete or not, the bad guys will still come after her.
The only problem is, despite everything, the bad guys will still come to you to get to Spidey. Live your live if you want... but please stay the hell away from bridges and other high areas....
Spidey tells Jameson he shouldn't have to take the rap for Goblin hacking the Spider-Slayers and using them against the police. He also tells him he won't blackmail him anymore and wasn't going to follow through on his threat anyway. After he leaves, Jameson reveals he had just resigned as Mayor a half hour ago, so he couldn't stay even if he wanted.
Now that Spidey defeated the Goblin and ended the Goblin Nation storyline... let's continue with The Amazing Spider-Man # 1 and see Pete's first official day back on the job as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
The comic starts with..... one of the stupid retcon things that comics always use.... Remember how that radioactive spider bit Peter and died shortly afterwards.... Well it looks like a split second after it bit Pete, it also crawled on some girl's ankle and bit her too... and then it died. It's like 'I'm radioactive and dying anyway, might as well take as many of these humans with me that I can before I go!'. Douchey spider. But also stupid retcon.
"If I'm gonna die, I'm taking you with me!!!"
Present day and we see some rookie villains, the White Rabbit with a Panda and Hippo themed villain as they run through the crowds of people. She bumps into a guy carrying a baby and he's about to fall over and land on his baby... but Spider-Man catches him with a web. Rabbit girl is surprised that Spider-Man is still after them, and he webs her up. The Hippo tries to throw a car at Spidey, while the web-slinger tosses wisecracks. The crowd is happy to see Spider-Man back to his jokey self, but are also surprised that he's basically naked, only wearing his mask and webs around his privates.
Four hours before all of this happened, we see Pete holding a press conference explaining that he will stop all connections with Spider-Man and will focus more on running Parker Industries. Aunt May and her husband are proud, and Pete is happy to see Aunt May walking again due to Otto's technology. Elsewhere, Anna Maria arrives at the apartment, looking for Pete and finds an engagement ring that Otto was planning to surprise her with.
Jameson watches TV as he sees headlines of Electro destroying a prison and the Avengers talking down the last of the Goblin followers and Spider-Slayers. Jameson feels bad after watching himself resign from his position as mayor... and decides he can always return to the Daily Bugle and run it again.
At Parker Industries, Sajani is showing Pete all the specs of 'his' latest creations, and he feels completely lost since Otto was the cybernetics genius... not him. He considers accessing Otto's memories... but stops himself not wanting to risk another mind-swap. Sajani shows him all the Spider-Man costumes that were also being made and she says it all has to go. Pete is also surprised that the Living Brain is his robot butler... and that it keeps calling him 'Doctor'. He tells him to stop that until he sees his Doctorate on the wall and realizes he IS a doctor now.
Probably my favorite line/sceme in this issue.
Pete swings through the city, happy to be Spider-Man again... and notices the citizens hate him now. He's sure he can regain their favor after Otto tarnished his image. He then hears an alarm go off, as the White Rabbit leads Hippo, Pandamania and Gypsy Moth on a crime spree. Spider-Man shows off and Gypsy Moth uses her powers to control threads and fabrics to unravel his costume. Spidey manages to sock her out before he could lose his mask.... but now the crowds are taking pics of him and tweeting it.
The Avengers watch this on TV and Spider-Woman tells the Cap that Parker is back to normal cause stuff like this only happens to him. Spidey tries to cover up for the cameras telling them he doesn't need his friends and family to see this, especially the Human Torch. Too late Pete, Johnny is already laughing his ass off. Mary Jane also watches this on her laptop and calls him an idiot.
Really Spidey.... the Marvel Universe is laughing with you.... not at you.... right?
Spidey ties up Pandamania, and with that wraps up this caper. The audience is far from pleased. One lady asks if kids should be watching 'a half-naked man in a mask trying up a woman in a fuzzy animal suit' and another old lady says he's acting as indecent as Miley Cyrus. Spidey wants to leave a 'courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man' notes but the people just want him to cover up and leave already.
Spidey returns to the apartment and is surprised to see Anna Maria there... since she has a key. She asks him why he never told her he was Spider-Man. Pete says it could be anybody since the guy on the video still has a mask on. Anna Maria recognizes his body and Peter realizes that as Otto, they've seen each other naked. He finds himself at a loss and Anna Maria asks him again.
Totally busted... though this opens a whole line of questions....
The rest of the issue has smaller stories, the main ones are one about Electro and the Black Cat... it seems Otto experimented on him to mess with his powers... and when he tried to free people from a prison, he accidentaly blew it up and killed everyone inside. This ruins his reputation since people would think he killed everyone ruthlessly due to his super villain stature... and he now wants revenge on Spider-Man.
Geez, even his teeth are electric???? The funny thing is, Spidey faces Electro in 'The Amazing Spider-Man # 2.
As for Black Cat, she manages to escape during Electro's attack, and reminds the readers about her little run in with the Superior Spider-Man, which if you read the last article basically had Otto just sock her out and arrest her like a bitch since he was completely unaware of the little Catwoman/Batman thing she has going on with Spidey. Now she wants revenge on him as well... but after she plays with his heart a little....
There was also a more cartoonish and cutesy story about Spidey explaining how his web-shooters and powers work. And we also have a short story about Miguel Morales, now trapped in present day, so yeah, pick up his new series. LOL.
My Opinions: Superior Spider-Man # 31-
Not much to say about this issue except it's good to see Spidey back and clean house. There were a few funny moments, like Pete's family thinking he's a scizo due to the sudden mood swing... and the extra story with Spidey having a talk with Jameson... after he already resigned.... and I love when Miguel grabbed Peter and said 'you left me to fight the Slayers along just so you could change costumes???'
In the end, the Doc's biggest fault was his supreme arrogance in everything he did. He became so obsessed with ending all crime, and making sure that HE took all the credit for it, he almost became Batman. One person he never mistreated was Anna Maria. I guess I kinda see what's going on... he never grew up with Aunt May the way Pete, he's just not as attached to her. She was part of Peter's life not his.... But Anna Maria is someone new he met during his college studies and he loved her so much more because it was someone he on his own and she did not in love with him only because he was Parker or Spider-Man.
This issue was fun, but the real thrills come next issue as Spidey adjusts to his life after Otto tinkered with it.
The Amazing Spider-Man # 1 2014-
It was fun yo see good ol Peter Parker back in the saddle and taking down the bad guys. The White Rabbit and her cheesey goons were perfect for this one. I did like how 'Gypsy Moth wanted to change her name to Skien' and the Rabbit refused because it would ruin the animal theme they want to go for.
Besides everything else that was evident... I want to bring up two major points in this issue. First off we have the case of Anna Maria, in love with Otto... not knowing that he was using the body of Peter Parker and now he's back again. was discussing this with one of the Bent Wookie guys and we agreed that now the shoe is on the other foot. Back when Superior Spider-Man # 2 came out, it was all about Otto trying to seduce MJ. The fans raged hard due to the fact that had MJ slept with Otto-Pete it would count as a form of rape since she was tricked and only consented into doing so because she thought she was sleeping with Peter Parker... not Dr. Octopus. Soooo now that Anna Maria doesn't know that the man she really loved as Doc Ock and he's gone.... Peter can't touch her because it would also count as a form of rape. What's going to happen? Anna Maria is a great supporting character, it would be a shame to see her go, but how long can Pete keep this up before he has to tell the truth?
The second thing is the kind of stupid 'was always there since day one, but we never knew about it' retcon. This like TMNT New Mutation saying there were always 5 Turtles in the Ooze all along... they just lost one.... or the 80's cartoon saying there was a gecko mutating along with them all along. Or saying that Dick Grayson was hand-picked to be a Talon since he was a kid, and that his grandfather was always one. Now we have this comic saying that on that fateful day, the same radioactive spider that bit Pete also bit someone else before it died. So now we have a mysterious female Spider-Man (not Jessica Drew, I do believe her powers work differently despite being called Spider-Woman). Of course the mystery lies in asking who was this woman he bit, and how will this effect present day? It is intriguing but grrr... I still hate those tacked-on day-one retcons that went and made what you saw before untrue.
Anyways...we'll see what happens. Oh and hey, for more Spider-Fun, here's our review of the Amazing Spider-Man 2. guest starring Fatima, a fellow Yotuber I collabed with before. The movie's been out for a while but I still wanr you it will be long and might compare spoilers.
Well by now, Justice League War has already been released, and I'm sure most of you DC fans have seen it by now. I did my review on it and honestly I could have babbled for hours on the differences between the comics and the animated version. In fact, it will be difficult to do this review without saying 'this was in the movie' and 'that part's changed', and we didn't even get to the issue where Aquaman debuts. I kinda regret not getting into this back when the blog was new... but I guess for whatever reason it was interesting to talk about the WTF-ery of Batman The Dark Knight and all the pointless Justice League cameos. LOL Anyways let's continue as this issue throws Wonder Woman into the mix.
Issue 3 opens in Washington DC as Steve Trevor sees some guards watching several TV screen, most of them arguing about how violent Wonder Woman is, or how she dresses. The soldiers tell him she started arguing with the TV screens as if they could hear her and then left when she saw a news report about a winged monster attack people downtown. Trevor asks them why they didn't stop her. They point to the hole in the brick wall she made as she escaped and ask him if he's kidding.
Wonder Woman wanders around downtown looking for a Harpy (which is what she considers the winged monster to be) and asks anyone if they've seen it so she can chop off its head. Everyone is too scared of the warrior woman waving a big sword around. Everyone except a little girl with some ice cream that think she's cool. Wonder Woman never saw ice cream before, and after the girl drops hers, she gets some for both her and the girl. The amazon loves it and tells the ice cream vendor that he should be proud of accomplishing such an achievement.
My favorite scene of the entire issue. Wonder Woman is so adorable here!
Trevor finds her and tells her she should return to the Pentagon. Wonder Woman tells him that she's been treated like a child all her life on Paradise Island, and now that she's no longer there and an adult, she's done with people telling her what to do. Trevor expresses his concerns, when just then they spot the Parademon. Just then a portal opens and lots of them jump up, which leaves Wonder Woman anxious for battle.
Elsewhere the Parademons are appearing in portals all over the world, kidnapping people while the general populus blame the super heroes for this. The scientists at STAR Labs are also worried, but Dr. Stone won't leave his son behind. He said he already saw Victor's mother die, he won't watch him die too.
Superman, Batman, The Flash and Green Lantern are fighting off an army of Parademons. Flash tells the others that this is happening worldwide and they're getting blamed for it. Batman tells Lantern to focus so his constructs don't break so easily. Lantern tells him to worry about himself since he doesn't have any powers. Flash is surprised to hear this and thought Batman was a vampire or something. Batman says there are too many for them to just barrel through, Flash says he should tell that to Superman. Superman takes out several demons by swinging a gas truck around.
This pic was taken seconds before... well.... keep on reading....
Meanwhile, Dr. Stone and his assistant takes what's left of Victor to 'the Red Room' and set him down. Elsewhere the fighting continues as the heroes start to wonder where the demons are taking all the people they're capturing. Just then Wonder Woman shows up to kick some ass (I guess they were close to Washington DC?). Superman is impressed and remarks that she's strong. She says she knows.
lust at first sight?
At the Red Room, Morrow says Victor's vitals are still there but the energy that hit him is eating him from the inside out. Dr. Stone says the room is full of advanced technology they've gathered from around the world, they will save his son somehow. Morrow warns Victor's body might reject the Promethium Skin Graft, but Stone says he already injected him with nanites that should keep that from happening. They activate the nanites and Victor screams.
The Parademons start circling the water and Flash wonders what they're doing. As this happens, Victor sees visions of Darkseid, getting ready for his invasion. A big bolt of energy bursts out of the water, and it also seems to affect Victor. A structure then comes out of the ocean and the heroes wonder what it is. Just then a dead parademon drops down, being impaled by a trident. Aquaman shows up saying he was hoping they'd tell him what was going on since the parademons are in the water too. He asks who's in charge, and he already votes for himself.
My Opinions:
Trying my best to ignore the movie and draw any comparisons here.. this issue was great. The main draw is that it brought Wonder Woman into the story in all her butt-kickin glory. I still wonder why originally they were gonna give her pants but then gave her back her bikini-bottom tights in the last second... but her classic look works. I don't see all that many drastic changes in her costume, just drawn better by modern artists. I did like the scene with her and the ice cream. It brings out a bit of innocence in her that reminds us that even if she's swinging her sword around looking for battle... she still has a warm heart.
I also like the little girl's innocent view that goes beyond adults over-thinking things. While everyone else is worried about Diana's sword, dress code, and even the fact that believes in Zeus.... the girl just sees her as what she really is. A superhero.
I do admit the other heroes take a bit of a backseat, but we already saw most of their characterization in the last two issues. I did like Flash thinking Batman was 'a vampire or something'. Now we're gonna be introduced to The New 52 Aquaman, and we'll soon see what he brings to the table. Again for those that have seen the movie, you already know Shazam took Aquaman's place... so from here on out everything he does is gonna be very different than what happened in the movie.
I'll try to get back to this story sooner than later. I figure a good way to end this review is to show my review on the movie. Of course this will have spoilers if you haven't seen it yet, or if you haven't read the rest of this storyline yet.
Extra Edit: Oh come on!!! No sooner than when I was through taking pics and put the comic away.... but a page comes off. What the flying @#$%!!! It just came off! Nothing wrong with the staples or anything, it just wore itself off as I had read this one a zillion times... even thought is probably the second or maybe third time I ever touched since I read it waaaay back then when I first bought it. Grrr... Maybe I'll re-buy it off Amazon or something... but it won't be the same book I bought back then at Velvet Underground when the New 52 was still new and exciting. Oh damn it!!!
what is this.... I don't even..... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?????
We're already seeing previews for Justice League War, which will be the animated version of the first five issues of the New 52 Justice League. The story will be rather different, especially since the original story amounts to just the heroes meeting up and defeating Darkseid in a few hours. It already looks like the animated version will expand a lot more on that. Not only that, but Aquaman was replaced by Shazam and he'll apparently be Cyborg's buddy in this one. I already covered the first issue back in September, and here's the link. New 52 Justice League # 1 and let's follow up with issue 2. I'm not sure if I can finish the story before the movie is released, but I'll give it a try. And well, it's kinda too late to consider this spoilers, but depending on how much you're looking forward to seeing the animated version and assuming you never read the comics during the New 52 launch, you might wanna tread lightly if you don't want it spoiled for you, depending on how faithful it is to the comics that is.
The comic opens in Central City with Allen trying to solve a murder case he think he can solve, but everyone is busy wanting to figure out who the Flash is. Of course, this sucks for him since he IS the Flash.
Back to Metropolis, Batman has used sonic grenades, tear gas and tasers, and of course none of them work against the Man of Steel. Superman just walks towards him like the unstoppable juggernaut that he is and tells him that his belt is empty. Superman grabs Batman by the throat and flies him into a wall. He says he was attacked by 'someone with one of the boxes' Batman has that blew himself up and took most of the building with him.
Green Lantern gets up, and people run from him as they notice he's 'one of them', since the world is still afraid of superheroes at this point. Superman chokes Batman and demands he talks before he 'doesn't let him'. Lantern attacks Superman with chained pistons made out of energy and tells him to drop Batman. He then chains up Superman, which doesn't amuse him and he proceeds to break free in a 2-page splash.
Superman is now pissed and Lantern is shocked he was able to shatter his construct. Batman says he's angry due to fighting someone else before they showed up. Lantern says he knows someone faster than Superman and calls the Flash as they try to escape in an energy bubble. Flash is surprised to find out Lantern met Batman and they're both in a fight against Superman. He's reluctant to help since the last they hung out, they defeated a talking gorilla (Grodd I assume?) and destroyed a natural history museum in the process, and now there's even a Flash Task Force out to stop him. Lantern says they need his help now since Superman's about to kill them... just as he shatters the energy orb they're in.
Flash appears and holds back Superman's fist and says he'll give his friends some breathing room. He spins Superman around and shoves him into a wall. Superman says he hates being attacked and tries to grab the Flash, but he's too fast for him. Flash says he thinks there's a misunderstanding and tells Superman not to bother trying to catch him since he's never been touched. Supes flicks a finger at him and sends Flash flying into a dumpster, which surprises the speedster that he was actually hit.
Batman tells Superman to stop and says they were also attacked by a monster that blew up and used one of the boxes. They figured since the box seems alien, Superman might know what it is, but he never saw anything like this before. Flash comes back and asks if they're done fighting. Since they are, he cleans up the area.
The military show up, and Superman says Luthor is behind it. Batman isn't a fan of Luthor either, and for now all the heroes have to escape to the underground. Flash complains since he doesn't want more bad publicity. Lantern asks why Batman seems extra serious now, and the Dark Knight says he's worried if there are more of those alien boxes out there.
Meanwhile in STAR labs, some scientists are studying one of the alien boxes they found in the wreckage of Superman's battle that morning. They know it's broadcasting some kind of signal, and the same kind of signal has been found in D.C, Central City and Coast City. One of the scientists tell Dr. Stone his son wants to see him, but he's too busy. He sighs and goes anyway since it sounds urgent. His son, Victor Stone was disappointed his father wasn't there to see him play football since some big time scouts were there and some were even offering full scholarships. His father says he's paying his way through college anyway and he should open his eyes. He says there's a new race of super beings now that make playing football sound like a joke. Victor asks if his dad will ever watch any of his games... and he says no.
Superman leads everyone to an abandoned printing press and tells Batman he doesn't have a base of operations. Batman asks where he hides, since he doesn't wear a mask and seem to have a secret identity to hide. Lantern tells Flash maybe they should ditch Bats and Supes and figure out the box on their own. Flash asks about the aliens behind Lantern's ring, but since the ring can't identify the box, neither can the guardians. Hal suggests Flash can quickly disassemble it to see what's inside, but the Flash doesn't want to chance it since it might be radioactive or toxic inside, and Superman can't see through it either. Flash suggests taking it for analysis for any fingerprints or DNA. Batman says he sounds like a cop, and he admits he is. Lantern warns Barry that he's exposes his identity... and Flash calls hims out for calling him 'Barry' in front of them.
Just then the box that the heroes have, as well as the one in STAR labs start making quick 'Ping' sounds and explode. The explosions bring forth more monsters yelling out 'for Darkseid!!!'. At the labs, the explosions vaporizes some scientists, but it also nearly fries Victor Stone to death.
My Opinions:
Man, does this bring back memories of back then when the New 52 was new and was all the rage. I did like the classic DC Universe, mostly Batman's history with all the Robins and Batgirls, and I remember things like The Death of Superman and such, but the fresh new reboot was exciting and I was excited to 'be there' for the modern re-telling of the formation of the Justice League. I loved this issue now for the same reason I loved it then, mostly the interactions and introductions of the heroes. They're still knowing each other and their abilities, so Batman doesn't know a taser won't affect Superman, nor does he know that he does have a secret identity even if he doesn't wear a mask. Flash and Lantern play off each other well, and it's interesting to see they already knew each other beforehand. Flash is more serious and Lantern just seems to get everybody he knows into trouble.
Of course we all know what will happen to Victor Stone. I wonder how the animated version will fit both his origin story and Shazam's. In this story his is the only origin we see. Everyone else is already established, they just haven't met yet.
I remember people complaining back then about the first issue mostly about Lantern and Batman, but hey, we have to start somewhere, and this issue already brought in Superman, the Flash and pre-Cyborg Victor into the mix. A simple story that brought them together, and I still like it. I also remember complaints against Superman grabbing Batman by the throat saying 'talk before I won't let you!!!' It might have been a 'so that's what that feels like' moment for Batman, but many felt it was OOC for Supes. Well, you have to remember this is New 52 Supes and people were still wrapping their minds around the fact that the guy with the red tights just few months before was now forever gone as they knew him. Plus this is 5 years before and Superman got hit hard by the outside world when he revealed himself as a superhero. And now an alien freak attacked him and blew in his face. As a dude that makes things out of green light picked a fight with him. Kinda had a right to be pissed at this point. Although I do have to admit, this is supposed to be 5 years before the Justice League and Superman 'we know today' but I haven't really read enough of the New 52 Superman to know if he's as wholesome and righteous as the classic one.
I'll try to follow up with issue 3 as soon as I can as we count down the days to Justice League War.
