Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge

[Keyser Soze]

Sorry if there's already a thread for this mini-series. But I did a forum search, AND trawled through the last several pages of the board, and found nothing. And I figured that, since "Revelations" and "Legion of Three Worlds" have their own seperate threads, "Rogues Revenge" should too.

The first issue was excellent, and in my opinion was the single best issue of all the "Final Crisis" crossovers, and could very well be as good or even better than the actual "Final Crisis" series thus far. And now I've read the second issue, and I must say it's even better than the first.

From cover to cover, "Rogues Revenge #2" was just packed with drama and action. From the old Rogues VS new Rogues battle, to the sequences between Zoom and Inertia, and then best of all the confrontation between Captain Cold and his father, this issue was just jam-packed with greatness. And I don't think there was anyone better to draw this than Scott Kolins, whose art just matches the tone of the story perfectly.

But big kudos must go to Geoff Johns, who continues to be one of the most consistently great writers in comics today. Firstly, unlike some "Final Crisis" tie-ins, this feels like it fits into the main story pretty well, with it being pretty easy to figure out how it fits in the timeline. But the real strength here is the nuance with which he brings to life the central cast of Rogues. Each one is succinctly yet vividly characterised here, but the best of all is Captain Cold, who under Johns' pen must surely be considered one of the DCU's best bad guys.

The quality of this mini-series reminds me of the knowledge and respect Geoff Johns has for the mythos of "The Flash". And if this is any indicator of quality, in spite of my reservations, I'm actually willing to enter "Flash: Rebirth" - and the return of Barry Allen - with an open mind, and even look forward to it.

But that comes with one caveat. Though Wally West is The Flash I know and love, I'm willing to give Barry Allen a shot. But his excellent characterisation here in "Rogues Revenge" reaffirms my belief that Hunter Zolomon is THE Zoom: no need to bring Thawne back with Barry.

 

[yenaled]

This book reminds me that geoff johns hasn't lost it.

 

[SenseiofCheese]

This is the only part of Final Crisis I've been interested in. Just read #2, and it damn near convinced me these guys should have an ongoing under Johns. Keys worded it perfectly; each Rogue is succinctly yet vividly characterised. I especially enjoyed the Rogues showing the pretenders what's what.

 

[Aristotle]

They really should have an ongoing. I think it's time for Johns to quit focusing on event comics (Sin Corps War, Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, Lo3W, the Rebirths, etc.) and get back to writing good, solid month-to-month comic books like he did when he was writing JSA and Flash and Hawkman.

 

[Motown Marvel]

i havent read any of the FC side books, but i might just have to go back and pick these up.

 

[04nbod]

the art isn't great but I love the story and the character moments.

 

[batnkevlar]

Really? Scott Kolins is one of my faves...

 

[SouLeSS]

They really should have an ongoing. I think it's time for Johns to quit focusing on event comics (Sin Corps War, Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, Lo3W, the Rebirths, etc.) and get back to writing good, solid month-to-month comic books like he did when he was writing JSA and Flash and Hawkman.

Uh...He's still on JSA and Green Lantern, as well as Action Comics. What the hell are you smoking?

 

[Hush]

Yeah I think the second issue of this serious was spectacular! It really drew me in to the characters and i just love how they solidifiy cold as an absolute badass.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Uh...He's still on JSA and Green Lantern, as well as Action Comics. What the hell are you smoking?

What, you mean Kingdom Come Monthly, Prelude to Blackest Night, and New Krypton Prologue?

This book reminds me that geoff johns hasn't lost it.

This post oozes truth.

 

[SouLeSS]

What, you mean Kingdom Come Monthly, Prelude to Blackest Night, and New Krypton Prologue?

For now, yes, but that doesn't mean that he still isn't on the montly books. Once the 'events' in them are done and he's still on the books, I'm sure Aristotle will find something else to ***** about, but hey. I'm just saying, he's still on a few monthlies regardless if they're caught up in the 'event' wave that's going on. And to say that JSA is just "KC monthly" and the other two is just silly.

He's had the GL books planned for years from what I've read/heard him say, and I'd much rather it be going towards a point than just random arc to arc like most books are. It's good that he has it planned out and that he knows what he wants to happen and what not, and that all the arcs are interconnected. It makes it a much more enjoyable read/subscription than something like say Blue Beetle, where it just kinda goes from one arc to the next with little mention towards the previous ones or little fallout from them. Not saying that Blue Beetle is bad, cause it's one of the best books being published now (sorta), but I'm just saying having one long cohesive saga of a story is something I'd much rather read, like the GL book. And the main reason is because they don't really feel like story arcs that are crammed into TPB form like so many other books out there. The "Gog" storyline has gone seemlessly from one issue to the next for about 10 issues now, and while it does have it's flaws, the pacing is just about top notch.

He's still on monthlies, and he's writing big events. Not to mention that his monthiles are damn good, and his event are even better, so of course he's going to get some flak and hate and what not.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Actually, he gets flak and hate from people who think his monthlies and events aren't good. They're called opinions, and you'll find in time that others' occasionally differ from yours.

 

[SouLeSS]

Yeah, but those people are wrong so...=/

 

[Keyser Soze]

Here's an interesting review of Rogues' Revenge #2 that I found. The tone at points borders on pretentious, but the writer still manages to raise some thought-provoking points:

http://comicsnexus.com/2008/09/08/review-final-crisis-rogues-revenge-2/

Recently, I was reading an interview done several years back with film critic Armond White, and one particular comment struck me: a dismissal of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and the films it inspired for co-opting the attitude and violence of film noir while understanding none of its disillusioned-idealist, existentialist basis. He’s right about that point, I believe, as the revival of the antihero in popular culture, thanks to a decade-long underlying dread and anxiety in America and the recent ascendence of darker geek culture to the mainstream (Think movies are depressing now? Wait until Zack Snyder misinterprets Watchmen) has been accompanied by a lack of the incessant moral questioning that the antihero usually represents. Mifune’s Sanjuro Kuwabatake, Eastwood’s Man With No Name, and Russell’s Snake Plissken all used deception for higher moral purposes and reacted harshly to harsh worlds and landscapes; the struggle for each was keeping their moral compass in sight while having to outmaneuver or equal the violence aimed at them. Superhero comics too have indulged in antihero fiction for several decades now, with both illuminating (Suicide Squad) and despondent (too many to list) results, but in his Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge series, Geoff Johns reintegrates the antihero’s noir basis into the superhero genre, and in doing so expands the comic book antihero into a more complex realm.

One of the predominant themes running throughout noir and crime fiction is a loss of identity, a focus established by the post-World War I disillusionment running throughout the noir of the 20s and 30s. Noir protagonists like Raymond Chandler’s detective Phillip Marlowe explored fractured societies that subverted their idea of America and made them question their place in it. Johns echoes this by centering the book around a fight scene between the Rogues and the New Rogues from the recent Gotham Underground miniseries. The New Rogues - agents of the spurned Libra that have kidnapped Captain Cold’s dad in response to the events of the first issue - are such poor imitations of the mainstay villains that it develops into a parody of legacy characters in comic books. They’re what happens when characters are reduced to an attitude and an aesthetic without larger preoccupations expressed through them, and as such, their destruction is more about the Rogues reclaiming their individual identities in the face of Libra’s psychological attack. Of course, this being the Rogues, they go too far in reasserting themselves and push themselves that much closer to complete disaster. Captain Cold’s jaded bitterness, Heat Wave’s pyromania, and Weather Wizard’s arrogance all punctuate the scene’s action, and the tone creates a nice divide between exhilaration at their potency and dread at the group’s inevitable breakdown. The elitism and intellectual posturing of Weather Wizard is particularly compelling, as are the frightening and awe-inspiring uses he finds for his powers, and the book foreshadows a welcome focus on him in the third issue. Scott Kolins’ exaggerated, off-kilter artwork shines during these scenes, as do his fragmented panel layouts (which grow more discordant as the scene wears on), both of which work in concord to create a sense of imbalance that conveys the recklessness and fury of the Rogues. Dave McCaig’s colors during the fight scene are intense and vivid without becoming cartoonish, striking the right balance between gravity and energy for the book, and his work on the fight between Heat Wave and his imitator is startlingly gorgeous in its fury.

The other central moment of the book is a confrontation between Captain Cold and his father, whose alcoholism and abuse caused Cold to leave home and his sister to follow. The conversation between them is tense and rough, fraught with anger and moments of underlying plaintiveness as Cold accuses his father of setting them on the path that led to the death of his sister Lisa, a Flash villain known as the Golden Glider. In depicting the argument, Kolins utilizes a variety of cramped panels, often superimposed over a large background image, that are composed of close-up shots that never quite show all of a character’s face; in fact, the face of Cold’s father is at times depicted with a strange shading technique that blanks out his eyes and mouth, and this dehumanization of the character effectively conveys Cold’s hatred of him and struggle to keep his own emotional distance. The fragmented layout excellently conveys Cold’s emotional turmoil and keeps the reader off-balance during the scene, while McCaig’s coloring, with its heavy use of blues and greys, complicates this with the pervasive melancholy it evokes. The scene ends on an appropriate note; Cold can’t bring himself to kill his father, so he lets Heat Wave do it. It’s a nice bit of symbolism, as Cold’s aloofness and leadership has always been juxtaposed with Heat Wave’s destructive, rampant id, and the latter taking over the scene with Cold’s blessings is an understated way of showing just how much devastating the moment is for Cold. His entire identity has been subverted.

That kind of subversion is on display in the entire book, as it becomes clear that one of its central concerns is the Rogues as a makeshift, dysfunctional, but entirely necessary family unit. Mirror Master cautions Axel Walker, the younger Trickster, that the only way to be part of the Rogues is prove why you need, not just want, to be part of the group, and it’s a more poignant moment than one would expect. The Rogues are a group of damaged, lost individuals who congregate not only because it’s more effective, but because they keep each other’s worst impulses in check. In the work of Raymond Chandler, one of the recurring themes was Phillip Marlowe acting on sympathies for other downtrodden male characters – the idea at work was that masculine identity in America was shattered in the postwar era, and Marlowe’s attempts at fraternization stood for a larger attempt at reconstructing male agency after the trauma of World War I. The Rogues’ dilemma is both more understandable and less sympathetic. Their lives have been persistently traumatic and desperate, but so have the existences of many heroic figures in the DC canon; even the Flash mythos have been defined by moments of loss and sacrifice, and the character’s very concept is an allegory for mortality. It’s interesting, then, that the Flash mythology is also defined by rebirth, through its focus on a generational legacy, its evolved sense of the passage of time, and now the resurrection of Barry Allen. The Rogues mimic this in their reluctant acceptance of legacy, but their focus on their own past is born of obsession and regret, not pride. The absence of a Flash from the book thus far brings this point into an even greater light. They’re being forced to confront their own past without a Flash there to remind them of the possibility of future renewal. When it’s revealed that Inertia taking up the Kid Flash mantle is a plot by Libra aimed at forcing the Rogues to kill a Kid Flash yet again, it becomes clear that the attack on the Rogues isn’t just personal, but existential. Not only are they being made to own up to their pasts, but they’re being steered towards the destruction of a character who serves as an avatar of the kind of youthful potential and idealism that they still mourn. This is an inspired use of noir concepts and themes in a superheroic context – it’s the use of characters’ pasts and identities against them in order to put them through intense moral and existential questioning, and the book’s inquiries into the nature of family, masculinity, and legacy represent some of the most compelling, insightful work done in a superhero comic all year.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

[SouLeSS]

What, did Dread write that? Good lord.

 

[Keyser Soze]

The Good News: Newsarama have posted up a cool new preview for the final issue:

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=23260#comments

The Bad News: Depending on who you ask, this - along with "Rage of the Red Lanterns" and all other Final Crisis tie-ins for this week - may or may not be delayed until mid-November.

 

[Aristotle]

Depending on who you ask, this - along with "Rage of the Red Lanterns" and all other Final Crisis tie-ins for this week - may or may not be delayed until mid-November.

Who says this?

 

[Aristotle]

a dismissal of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and the films it inspired for co-opting the attitude and violence of film noir while understanding none of its disillusioned-idealist, existentialist basis. He’s right about that point, I believe, as the revival of the antihero in popular culture...has been accompanied by a lack of the incessant moral questioning that the antihero usually represents. Mifune’s Sanjuro Kuwabatake, Eastwood’s Man With No Name, and Russell’s Snake Plissken all used deception for higher moral purposes and reacted harshly to harsh worlds and landscapes; the struggle for each was keeping their moral compass in sight while having to outmaneuver or equal the violence aimed at them.

This is what I've been trying to communicate in my perpetual argument with The Question and various others over what I view as pop culture's assassination of Western morality.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Who says this?

Apparently one of these distribution sites, like Diamond Comics or something, has announced a change in shipping dates. It'd take some looking to find the original source of the speculation.

 

[CLARKY]

The first issue was excellent, and in my opinion was the single best issue of all the "Final Crisis" crossovers, and could very well be as good or even better than the actual "Final Crisis" series thus far. And now I've read the second issue, and I must say it's even better than the first.
The quality of this mini-series reminds me of the knowledge and respect Geoff Johns has for the mythos of "The Flash". And if this is any indicator of quality, in spite of my reservations, I'm actually willing to enter "Flash: Rebirth" - and the return of Barry Allen - with an open mind, and even look forward to it.
But that comes with one caveat. Though Wally West is The Flash I know and love, I'm willing to give Barry Allen a shot. But his excellent characterisation here in "Rogues Revenge" reaffirms my belief that Hunter Zolomon is THE Zoom: no need to bring Thawne back with Barry.

Well, I disagrre with you on several points. I read it and I think "Rogues Revenge" is amazing. I was waiting for something like that since a long time. I'm very happy and even more because it's G.Johns and S.Kolins.
Nevertheless, the art is really dirty! What is that ? wow, I couldn't barely distinguish the characters! The art was far better during the Flash run. Maybe the inker is different, maybe, there is no inker, but uuugh. Too bad because I S.Kolins is really great when it comes to the flash universe.
Unlike you, I think it perfectly shows how the flash universe is mature and does not need a "Barry-reboot". The rogues are sooo grerat and Wally is perfect, all ties with the mythos, the legend and the heritage. This book is the proof that there is no need for Barry Allen.I agree with you, it proves that G.Johnsis good with Flash, and I trust he will be even better with Barry. But that's not the point. I' almost certain the Barry book will be excellent, but I think it is not a reason to bring him back. And I agree with you too, Hunter Zolomon is THE ZOOM. He excellent but if Barry is back, you can expect Thawne to return in an even better way. I hate this.
Rogues Revenge is great.

 

[Kenda Man]

The Good News: Newsarama have posted up a cool new preview for the final issue:

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=23260#comments

The Bad News: Depending on who you ask, this - along with "Rage of the Red Lanterns" and all other Final Crisis tie-ins for this week - may or may not be delayed until mid-November.

Wow, thanks for the awesome preview.

I like how they tied Central City into the story by having the Rogues go back to the observatory where Weath Wizard got his wand. It's definitely been a great ride and I'm curious if the Rogues bond will be thicker than blood once Libra gives Weather Wizard the ultimatum of having his son and killing the rogues, or having his son die and siding in with the rogues. They really built up the rogues as a big family, and it's great to see each of them stand behind each other for support. I haven't seen that really done in any book, let alone a group of villains. And its great to see this bond over a span of only 3 books, I remember reading it in Johns' past Flash books how the Rogues worked as a team and how Captain Cold made Mirror Master give up his cocaine addiction.

Johns has been writing the Rogues as a brotherhood of villains, and I love how much they are in the grey area, where they are not viewed as a definitive good nor bad. And as CLARKY has mentioned, ZOOM is the greatest addition to the rogue gallery since the first reverse Flash, Professor Zoom.

Throughout reading Johns' run on Rogues, I have the slightest bit of hope he will restore the Flash franchise the way it was when he first wrote it, with Wally or Barry (I am hoping he keeps Wally around because he is great.) It will be funny to read the new Flash (when Barry takes over) and see Wally take on the role of the father figure, like Jay was to Wally, and Barry and Iris take the role of the newly wed like Wally and Linda West, the married couple with no children phase of their lives. I know Barry and Iris were married for sometime, but they will be similar to Wally and Linda before they had children.

 

[Aristotle]

For now, yes, but that doesn't mean that he still isn't on the montly books. Once the 'events' in them are done and he's still on the books, I'm sure Aristotle will find something else to ***** about, but hey.

Oh hey, wow, I'm sorry, I didn't notice that you're such an ***hole until just this morning, so let me just say that I'm still reading everything Johns is writing, and I probably will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I'd just prefer to see stuff like his pre-IC work, as opposed to his post-IC work, which I don't think has been quite as good, and has been a little overambitious. And also, **** you. I mean, I didn't even say I was mad about it, I just said I wished Johns would do something differently. I mean, holy ****, dude. You need to get an attitude adjustment. I don't usually get pissed off like this about a message board, but Jesus, man. If you have a problem with me, just say it, or find something real to disagree with me on, don't just latch onto whatever the hell you can find.

He's had the GL books planned for years from what I've read/heard him say, and I'd much rather it be going towards a point than just random arc to arc like most books are.

Almost no book is random arc to arc anymore, and they haven't been for a long time. There's always a broad, overarching series plan. Johns' just happens to be a BIG! IMPORTANT! UNIVERSE-CHANGING! EVENT!

It makes it a much more enjoyable read/subscription than something like say Blue Beetle, where it just kinda goes from one arc to the next with little mention towards the previous ones or little fallout from them.

So what you're saying is you didn't read the first 25 issues of Blue Beetle?

The "Gog" storyline has gone seemlessly from one issue to the next for about 10 issues now, and while it does have it's flaws, the pacing is just about top notch.

Well, if six issues of INNER TURMOIL! WITHIN THE JSA! while Gog goes around doing GOOD THINGS! BUT IS POSSIBLY SINISTER! is good pacing to you, I guess we're just going to disagree.

But hey. Here's what's just gonna **** up your mind. I still like JSA. I just have some problems with it, and I just don't like it as much as pre-OYL JSA. But I can still voice my problems and concerns with it. It's OK, man, you can take a moment to reassemble your brain. I realize I just decimated it with that complexity.

 

[SouLeSS]

You're *****ing that he's not writing good solid month to month comics.

I just...can't fathom how that works out in your mind.

 

[yenaled]

Apparently one of these distribution sites, like Diamond Comics or something, has announced a change in shipping dates. It'd take some looking to find the original source of the speculation.

Diamond haven't posted any changes.

 

[Aristotle]

You're *****ing that he's not writing good solid month to month comics.

I just...can't fathom how that works out in your mind.

As opposed to massive, sprawling events, yes. I preferred DC just before Infinite Crisis started, when every title they were putting out was not just good, but awesome. Every single title. No real events, except the occasional Identity Crisis or Our Worlds At War. Just good, solid comic books. I'm sorry that it offends you that I prefer my comics to be less event-based. I'm also sorry that you can't wrap your head around the idea that a guy could enjoy Geoff Johns' comics, while also wishing they were even better.