Smallville

Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #3

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #3With the Earth being bombarded with yellow rings seeking out those able to harness great fear Batman and Superman have their hands full. Despite his recent injuries, Green Arrow jumps back into the fray this time in a suit of armor. And, in bad news for the heroes, in space another Lantern falls to Parallax.

Setting up next month’s conclusion to the four-issue mini-series, Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #3 leaves things looking rather bleak for our heroes with John Stewart now leading Parallax’s warriors into battle. It will be interesting to see how Clark and the group manage to turn the tide, but I’m actually more interested in the fallout with several questions to be answered.

Who will wear the Green Lantern ring of New Krypton? If Parallax is defeated and the Guardians are freed does that mean other possible victims (such as Hal Jordan?) may make an appearance as well. And what might happen if Lex Luthor gets his hands on one of those yellow power rings? Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #2

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #2Just as Superman begins to get the hang of being the latest member of the Green Lantern Corps (a position he’s still trying to find a way to decline) thanks to the tutelage of John Stewart, the Earth is attacked by out-of-control Manhunters believing that some treaty between the Guardians’ former protectors and its current, less-robotic, group has been broken.

Along with cameo appearances by Salaak and Aya, Kilowog, and Ch’p (but sadly not G’nort) the comic also features Parallax as writer Bryan Q. Miller and artist Marcio Takara attempt to boil down the convoluted history of the Corps and make it fit inside the Smallville Universe.

The choice to have the Manhunters powered by yellow rings is an interesting one which offers Parallax the opportunity to send out rings for ring bearers of his own which will likely set-up an all-out ring slingin’ war in the latest mini-series remaining two issues. There’s also a B-story involving Prometheus who I’m really hoping this version of Ollie won’t have to kill in the name of “justice.” Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Smallville Season Eleven: Detective

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Smallville Season Eleven: DetectiveWhen the news first broke that Bryan Q. Miller was introducing Batman to the Smallville Universe and bringing Stephanie Brown with him I was excited. DC Editorial decision to substitute Batman’s partner for Barbara Gordon (who they were currently pushing as part of the New 52 reboot) had just the adverse effect. So I’d stayed away from the storyline until I recently picked up the collected trade paperback. Sure, I’d rather have Steph than Babs, and this version of Batman’s costume is a little too much like Knight for my liking, but it’s still pretty good.

The story centers around Batman and Nightwing coming to Metropolis in search of Joe Chill as the Dark Knight Detective has finally got a lead on the man who murdered his parents. Offering us the first meeting between Batman and Superman, in classic comic fashion as the pair fight before later cementing their friendship, the storyline also features Mister Freeze and the Prankster who team-up to take down the heroes with Kryptonite bullets and an insidious plan using the likeness of one of comic’s greatest heroes as a ploy to steal weaponized drones.

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #1

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Smallville Season Eleven: Lantern #1The return of Kryptonians to their sector in space on the new Argo colony (as seen in the Ninth Season finale) has awoken the Green Lantern ring of Space Sector 2813, to seek out a new host. Unable to find anyone acceptable on the colony made up of Kryptonian clones, the ring continues its search until it reaches Earth and finds Superman.

Although Kal-El has no intention of leaving Earth to defend a space sector half way around the universe, he finds it impossible to turn down his new calling as even chucking the ring into deep space only eventually returns it to his finger.

Along with offering a cameo from John Stewart, who as the Earths’ current GL appears to have been tapped to showing Superman the ropes, and a brief history of Green Lanterns in the Smallville Universe, the opening issue to the latest Smallville mini-series also foreshadows looming problems with the Manhunters who are awoken as well on discovering a new Lantern has been chosen. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #4

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Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #4Finishing the four-issue mini-series, Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #4 features Superman‘s final battle with the Monitor in Russia, and pits Batman against an evil Joker-Batman version of himself from another Earth who severely wounds Nightwing before his capture.

By the end of the issue Batman agrees to join the Justice League (at least on a temporary basis), the threat from the Multiverse has been dealt with (at least for now), and things can get back to normal (or what passes for normal in the Smallville Universe).

The ease of which Superman beats the Monitor here took me a little by surprise (isn’t this the same guy who was mopping the floor with the Man of Steel just last issue?), but Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #4 ties up all the loose ends (including quite a bit of epilogue involving Bruce finally agreeing to join the JLA), and even gives us a little of Lex being Lex (causing tomorrow’s trouble). Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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