Legion of 3 Worlds: Final Crisis

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: George Perez
Inker: Scott Koblish
Colourist: Hi-Fi
Letters: Nick Napolitano
Asst. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover: George Perez & Dave McCaig
Silver Cover: George Perez & Hi-Fi
Publisher: DC Comics
Episodes: 1, 2 & 3

Now let me start by saying that The Legion of Super-Heroes is not the Justice League in any shape form or fashion. Sure they are based on the principles which Superman pretty much drilled into ALL his leaguers including Wonder Woman, The Flash and especially Batman. The Legion is edgier, bolder and face super villians the likes of which The Justice League have never seen. I should also mention that this series really, I mean REALLY should be rated PG-13.
In Final Crisis book 1 Superboy Prime is released from The Phantom Zone and as expected begins his rampage of revenge. First on his hit list is the town of Smallville; however, this Smallville is in the 31st century where the world knows Superman's identity and honored him with a museum. Superboy Prime is filled with rage and all but completely destroys the museum before proceeding to free three of that century's most powerful supervillians, Lightning Lord (Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass' older brother), Saturn Queen, and Cosmic King); consequently he seeks to reform the Legion of Super Villians (LSV). The Legion of Super-Heroes is on trial for what The United Planets Council has deemed their failure to protect criminal acts on various worlds. This is quite frankly a farse since there is tremendous resentment for "Alien immigrants" who live on earth and earthlings who live on alien planets. The tension has sparked many riots on worlds within the alliance and The Legion of Super-Heroes has been blamed with being a failure. We all see where this is going right?
The story line in Legion of 3 Worlds is great I'll admit. I blew through books 1 to 3 one after the other and can't wait for books 4 and 5 to be released. The Green Lantern Corps has been TOTALLY demolished (save Sodam Yat) and two alternate legions have been called in as reinforcements to battle the LSV. The story takes some interesting twists and noteable character analysis (oh boy will you be pleased with Brainiac [if you followed his evolution]), and does quite well without Superman being the all mighty saviour! As a refrence to Superboy go back and read the Countdown to Infinite Crisis series and you'll see a glimpse of his dark beginning. Overall I like this series thus far. Look for Legion of 3 Worlds books 4 and 5 coming in April and May 2009 respectively.

MrAchiever's Rating: 4/5 demon seals (refer to Ninja Gaiden)

The Flash: emergensy Stop

Title: The Flash - Emergency Stop
Cover art: Gabrielle Dell'otto
Written by: Grant Morrison, Mark Millar
Penciler: Paul Ryan
Inker: John Nyberg
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Publisher: DC Comics
Year: 2008

Usually I'm impressed with Mark Millar's work but this was disappointing (or maybe it's just me). Emergency Stop was a quick read with a pieced together story and a horrible plot. The Mirror Master and The Suit were far from formidable opponents and lacked true villianous appeal. It's as though the story was not well thought through and should have been a 15 page trade. The upside to Emergency Stop was the flash's new suit (albeit that I was reminded of Booster Gold). He tapped into the speed force which enabled him to run even faster with his broken legs. This reminded me of the Justice League Unlimited episode where Wally runs super dooper fast to dismantle Lex Luthor's "power suit" (not the one he he vanished to get in the final episode [Destroyer 2] of the series before giving Grod with the anti-life equation) and ends up phasing into the speed force. (that was awesome!)
Overall if I had a rating system (which I don't yet) Emergency Stop definitely would not get a high rating.

The Road to Civil War

Title: The Road to Civil War
Cover art: Gabrielle Dell'otto
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis, J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: Alex Maleev, Ron Graney, Mike McKone, Tyler Kirkham
Publisher: Marvel Publishing Inc.
Year: 2007

Lead by the US government the Marvel Universe is on a path that can only lead to a civil war amongst its heroes and villians. The growing sentiment in Washington D.C. is that superhumans/superheroes are not above the law. With this sentiment as the driving force certain senators (namely Senator Dickerson) are pushing for a Metahuman Registration Act which essentially gives superhumans two choices. They can either register their real names with the US government or be considered criminals by the very government they dutifully serve. Besides a record of every superhuman the Metahuman Registration Act seeks to make them accountable under the letter of the law for any damages/consequences of their actions. What strikes me about this is that it's clearly a political ploy (as with many things government related) and could certainly do more harm than good.
The initial meeting of superhumans who are aware of the coming danger are Professor Charles Xavier, The Black Panther, Dr. Stranger, Mr. Fantastic, Namor, Black Bolt and Iron Man who I must mention is the first person aware of the U.S. government's intentions. The group cannot agree to bring their respective team members under an umbrella organization so that they're orgainzed and share information properly (similar to The Justice League Unlimited), and this is where they enter a temporary private pact. The stories in The Road to Civil War are clearly all linked back to previous issues which means you'll have to acquire a few other issues to understand other aspects of this seemily intertwined story (House of M, The New Avengers Illumaniti Special, Amazing Spider-Man #529)
Of note is the character manipulation by Tony Stark (Iron Man), Spider-Man's new costumes, and the mercenary Titanium Man. Even though the events that obviously leading to a civil war Bendis and Straczynski could have inculded just a little more substance in the story line given it was such a smooth yet short read.