COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #23
Story by Paul Dini
Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Script by Paul Dini
Art by Tom Derenick
Countdown took a noticeable dip in quality this week. I really thought having Paul Dini actually writing the entire issue this time would be a positive.
Instead, I feel like I missed a week of Countdown somewhere along the way. Where did this Earth-3 version of Zatanna come from? Is there a random tie-in I missed along the way that introduced her and showed how Superman Prime captured her? What reason did Superman keep her around? To restrain Myxzptlk? When did Ultraman become Monarch's second in command? When did Forerunner become "displaced"? When did Lord Havok join up with Monarch's army and why did Monarch replace Ultraman with him as his second in command?
This week's issue felt like something from several months ago, back when Countdown was at its worst. By this, I am referring to random things happening for random reasons, characters doing things simply for the sake of doing them - all with no logical explanation for them. These are all things the old Countdown used to rely on each and every week. Did we need that Earth-3 version of Zatanna or was it just Dini indulging his love for that character and sticking her in the story for no reason at all? Am I to assume Prime destroyed Earth-3 like he did with Earth-15 and that he decided not to kill her for some unknown reason? What were the Dominators doing in this issue? Is Lord Havok's mini-series going to explain why he joined Monarch? Am I expected to pick up that series to find out?
On top of all the random questions and occurrences, the bulk of this issue consists of Superman Prime going "Bawww, I hate everything, help me destroy the Multiverse" and Myx just laughing in his face. Did we need an entire issue of that? The entire issue failed to progress any storylines and we have gone yet another week without the Rogues or Challengers, arguably the best storylines from Countdown.
Verdict - Avoid It. Unless you want to read about Superman Prime crying for 22 pages straight, just avoid wasting money on this issue altogether.
Instead, I feel like I missed a week of Countdown somewhere along the way. Where did this Earth-3 version of Zatanna come from? Is there a random tie-in I missed along the way that introduced her and showed how Superman Prime captured her? What reason did Superman keep her around? To restrain Myxzptlk? When did Ultraman become Monarch's second in command? When did Forerunner become "displaced"? When did Lord Havok join up with Monarch's army and why did Monarch replace Ultraman with him as his second in command?
This week's issue felt like something from several months ago, back when Countdown was at its worst. By this, I am referring to random things happening for random reasons, characters doing things simply for the sake of doing them - all with no logical explanation for them. These are all things the old Countdown used to rely on each and every week. Did we need that Earth-3 version of Zatanna or was it just Dini indulging his love for that character and sticking her in the story for no reason at all? Am I to assume Prime destroyed Earth-3 like he did with Earth-15 and that he decided not to kill her for some unknown reason? What were the Dominators doing in this issue? Is Lord Havok's mini-series going to explain why he joined Monarch? Am I expected to pick up that series to find out?
On top of all the random questions and occurrences, the bulk of this issue consists of Superman Prime going "Bawww, I hate everything, help me destroy the Multiverse" and Myx just laughing in his face. Did we need an entire issue of that? The entire issue failed to progress any storylines and we have gone yet another week without the Rogues or Challengers, arguably the best storylines from Countdown.
Verdict - Avoid It. Unless you want to read about Superman Prime crying for 22 pages straight, just avoid wasting money on this issue altogether.
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