Forever Evil 3
Geoff Johns, David Finch
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoilers ahead! You have been warned!
The superstar team of Geoff Johns and David Finch continue to impress in the third issue of the first line-wide DC Comics event since the reboot in 2011. A series that focuses on the true strength of the DC Universe, their wonderfully complex array of villains, really starts to pick up steam in this issue. We see the formation of the brand new Legion of Doom (even though they’re not actually called that… yet.) and an uneasy alliance to save the world from the Crime Syndicate and the Secret Society. So, as predicted, we finally get to see Lex Luthor, Black Adam, Captain Cold, Bizarro, and Black Manta joining forces not to destroy the Justice League, but to do their job for them. What’s not to love about this concept?
If there could be one word to describe this issue it would be this: action. For those who think the first two issues have been full of way too much setup and included far to many scenes where Johns was telling instead of letting Finch show us what was happening, they definitely got what they wanted in this newest part in the epic crossover. Black Adam fought (and lost, quite brutally) Ultraman. Deathstorm separated the Rogues from Captain Cold (after taking away his powers). Grid was creepy and helping the bad guys do things while instructing them to have a nice day. Batman, Catwoman, Cyborg’s corpse, Cyborg’s dad, and the a not quite yet evil mad scientist from DC’s past team up to try and formulate a plan to save Nightwing, Cyborg, and, you know, the world. And Luthor has Bizarro building some “super” stuff so he can combat the real villains who have ruined the world and “killed” the Justice League. All of this comes to a perfect culmination (albeit a pretty “ah man!” cliffhanger ending) when Black Manta brings the nearly dead Black Adam to the surface, forming a temporary alliance with Luthor, Brainiac, the displaced and out-for-revenge Cold, and (hopefully sooner rather than later) the final members of their squad, as hinted and previewed for what seems like months now, Batman and Catwoman.
Forever Evil is promising not just because of its scope and the talented people working on the main title, but because it seems to work very well as a standalone story and an all-encompassing (not to mention very engrossing) event. I love a well-crafted team-up book as much as the next guy, but one that actually builds on previous stories, leads to new ones, and actually acknowledges (and to a certain extent, incorporates) current books on the stands? That’s something special. That’s why, since I’ve been able to read, I’ve always chosen DC over Marvel. Marvel’s got good heroes, but their villains, for the most part, are weak. DC has literally thousands of complex, charismatic, and crazy bad guys. And it’s stories like these where they truly thrive. Because anyone can say they look up to a superhero, but it takes a completely honest person to admit that just this once, even though it may be temporary, it’ll be nice to see the bad guys win. And the nice thing about it is this: Both sides of this battle are bad guys. So that means (until the Justice League’s inevitable return, of course) that we’re going to get our wish! And I, for one, cannot wait for more action!
My Rating: 5/5
