Superheroes

The first season of BLACK LIGHTNING wraps things up after a 13-episode run -- and, honestly, it's none too soon.

There were so many different things going badly for this series after its debut, but the acting wasn't one of them. CRESS WILLIAMS turned in a fine portrayal of high school principal Jefferson Pierce, but he's simply not action hero material when it came to being Black Lightning. Or perhaps it was just that the hero suit was so bulky and inflexible that made the fight scenes look stilted and awkward. The suit itself was never really fully explained, as far as having a reason other than disguise and identification. The best I can guess is that Pierce could funnel his natural electrical charge into it to make it do other things, but he still could perform electrical stunts without the uniform.

I've known that this episode of THE FLASH was likely coming, given the track record of the bus metas that The Thinker (NEIL SANDILANDS) had been tracking. But that doesn't mean I had given up hope, and it certainly didn't mean I was prepared for the event when it got here.

Last night, it got here.

Barry Allen (GRANT GUSTIN) and Ralph Dibny (HARTLEY SAWYER) are examining the actual bus that was hit by the wave of dark matter, scanning it for dark matter signatures in order to help the find anything on Edwin Gauss (ARTURO DEL PUERTO), a man who is completely off the grid, and lived that way even before the bus incident. As Harry (TOM CAVANAGH) gets further addicted to using the "thinking cap," the rest of Team Flash investigates a commune to find the extremely laid back Gauss to bring him in for protection. They're intercepted by one of The Thinker's Samuroids, but ultimately get Gauss into the Pipeline.

Not sure if you've heard by now but Action Comics #1000 comes out tomorrow. On the same day that Action Comics #1 debuted.

In AC1K Tom King (Batman, Grayson) tells a tale about the end of days for the planet Earth, and how Superman is visiting for one final goodbye to his parents. It's a beautiful homage to Ma and Pa Kent who took in an alien immigrant and raised him as their own. Loved him like he was born from them.

Then King ruined it with one panel. Give a listen to the latest "Superman Talk" and I'll explain why. If you haven't read his story yet and can't wait for tomorrow, you can read it for free here.

Steve talks (Bizarro) Superman as he goes over the latest issue of Superman by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason.

Some of the topics covered:

• Is Bizzaro truly Superman's opposite? 
• How much effort goes into editing Bizarro language?
• Why is there so much emphasis on characters being attracted to Superman?

Did you read Superman #44? Leave your comments below!

The hunt continues for the escaped Arkham inmates, including Jervis Tetch (BENEDICT SAMUEL), Jonathan Crane (DAVID W. THOMPSON), and their ringleader, Jerome Valeska (CAMERON MONAGHAN). And Jerome's own hunt also continues, as he seeks out a reclusive building engineer named Xander Wilde for reasons unknown.

Until now.

Leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, Jerome finds the proxy used by Xander to communicate to his clients. But she turns out to be too much for him to handle, and he finds himself knocked out and transported to Wilde's underground home where he's locked away in a concrete prison.

The countdown continues to the wedding of the century between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. With BATMAN 44, "Bride or Burglar," things slow down just a bit in order for Selina to do some woolgathering while trying on dresses.

But it can't be as simple as that.

In the DC Universe, there is an afterlife. That's not a philosophical debate, it's an actual thing, and it presents a number of sticky problems that the players have to deal with, not always in a fashion consistent with the ramifications of there being a Heaven and a Hell. It's the focal point of this latest DC Animated Universe release, SUICIDE SQUAD: HELL TO PAY.

From the "Oh Yeah, They're Still Doing That" Department: DC Comics DOOMSDAY CLOCK #4 continues the story that brings the universe of WATCHMEN into that of the DCU proper, as the hunt for Dr. Manhattan continues. Slowly.

I appreciate that Geoff Johns is going for the "slow burn" in storytelling, but the slow burn only works well when the story overall is fast paced in terms of overall delivery and production. Having to wait two months between issues lets the burn fizzle out. 

What we do get this issue is the origin of the new Rorschach, as he muddles his way through life in Arkham Asylum. And no, I still haven't processed the fact that Batman has admitting privilieges to Arkham to the point that he can commit an inmate there without trial or even a psychological exam from a licensed psychiatrist. That's probably his scariest non-super power to date!