Final Crisis #2 review

Ticket to Blüdhaven

Hrrrmmm.....

Hrrrmmm.....

Maybe I should just shut my yap about this series until it's over? Maybe I'm not getting something? Cause I'm pretty underwhelmed right now.

Let me give a rundown of the events of the issue.

It starts off with a scene in Japan involving some Japanese capes in a club. Short version is that a newly black Mister Miracle propositions this Japanese sumo guy (in the men's restroom of all places) about joining a team. (I was wrong in the last review, some of the gods of New Genesis have resurrected.)

Then we see the previous issues Monitor reinacarnated as some kid working at a burger joint with only a vague, dream-like recollection of his previous life.

Then Detective Turpin beating the shit out of some villain who's name escapes me. He buys a ticket to Blüdhaven.

We see Martian Manhunter's funeral.

We see a meeting between Libra and his followers with Lex Luthor being highly suspicious.

Some stuff between the JLA and one of the Alpha Lanterns examining the body of Orion.

John Stewart examining the crime scene and being attacked by a rogue Lantern followed by the Hal Jordan being accused and arrested for the assault.

Batman being abducted by the Alpha Lantern who is apparently being controlled by Darkseid.

We then see Turpin in Blüdhaven and stumbling upon Granny Goodness' workshop torturing people and creating abominations.

We see the destruction of the Daily Planet.

The issue ends with Wally West and Jay Garrick at the strip club where DCU #0 ends at and, yes, we see Barry Allen on the last page.

There's a ton of ideas be floated around this issue. Tons. But I see nothing really connecting them all together. Not yet anyway. As single issues go, I can't really get behind this one. It's a huge event for DC and for a series dubbed "Crisis" there should be way more tension. The stuff with Turpin in Blüdhaven was really cool, but it's so brief that it's barely worth mentioning. Batman's abduction? Okay, that's cool. The destruction of the Daily Planet? Fucked up! But these just feel like a bunch of disembodied moments. The real story seems to be with Turpin and Libra's group. This is what I want to see more of. This is where the story really clicks, but it all feels like teasers for a story that's going to be taking place in some other title. It's basically the same problem Secret Invasion is having right now if you ask me, but the tie-ins with Secret Invasion are all on the stands and the tie-ins for this series won't hit until next month.

One other thing, the characters seem to talk about a lot of stuff that is pulled out of thin air. The stuff with the Flashes for instance. Suddenly Wally is talking about time traveling bullets shot into Orion's brain. Where did this come from again? We know how Orion died. It was in Death of the New Gods and again in Countdown. Why does Orion's death have to suddenly be so mysterious now? Didn't Morrison read those books? Didn't the editor, Eddie Berganza? Is Morrison running with the notion that if you can't dazzle them with brilliance you should baffle them with bullshit?

This series is on a downward spiral and we're barely two issues in to the main series.