52: Week 27
We're now just over halfway through the year and finally some things are starting to become clear. And I was totally right with one prediction I made a while back.
So first, to congratulate myself: Renee Montoya will indeed be the next Question. I like how they've done this. It started off with small hints, then seemed to be almost bludgeoning you with the idea. So when Charlie didn't die during the whole Khandaq adventure, you figured it must have been a red herring. And then he takes Renee to stud with martial arts wizard Richard Dragon, and she figures out what he's doing on her own. All that time Charlie was giving Renee shit for smoking? It turns out he's dying of lung cancer.
While this sucks, as I like Charlie, this is so much better than having him die in some adventure and Renee just declaring that she'll take up the role. Renee has never expressed much desire to be a superhero type vigilante (although she's clearly had trouble letting go of her law enforcement career). But having the role handed to her like this, especially since the Question isn't exactly your typical cape-and-tights vigilante, that makes perfect sense for her character. She cares about Charlie, and her similar knack for hunting down answers has been obvious from the start. I really love seeing character changes motivated well.
And finally, we have an indication that Batwoman will actually make another appearance before 52 ends (her last on-panel appearance was 16 issues ago). Renee and Charlie find something that pretty clearly indicates that Kate Kane will soon be involved in their case, and I'm looking forward to it.
Overall, 52 has been doing surprisingly well in terms of keeping my interest. I'm absolutely rivited by the Question/Montoya/Batwoman arc, and fascinated by the Black Adam/Iris/Osiris arc (although I think Osiris needs a punch in the neck, which I suspect he'll get). Ralph Dibny's arc with Fate's helmet has become very interesting as well, credibly rebuilding Ralph from his completely broken state (since Identity Crisis) into a new personality quite different from his pre-ID Crisis one. He has a good scene in this issue, too. The other storylines aren't quite as gripping, but I'm not bored with any of them, and they tend to fade in and out in an well-organized enough fasion that if one is in a slow spot, another is picking up steam.
Most importantly, I think this is far superior to doing six or seven miniseries, each focused on one storyline. I love the smoothly interconnected feel we get for the DCU during this year, and hope the creators and publisher can find some way to build on this style in the future.
So first, to congratulate myself: Renee Montoya will indeed be the next Question. I like how they've done this. It started off with small hints, then seemed to be almost bludgeoning you with the idea. So when Charlie didn't die during the whole Khandaq adventure, you figured it must have been a red herring. And then he takes Renee to stud with martial arts wizard Richard Dragon, and she figures out what he's doing on her own. All that time Charlie was giving Renee shit for smoking? It turns out he's dying of lung cancer.
While this sucks, as I like Charlie, this is so much better than having him die in some adventure and Renee just declaring that she'll take up the role. Renee has never expressed much desire to be a superhero type vigilante (although she's clearly had trouble letting go of her law enforcement career). But having the role handed to her like this, especially since the Question isn't exactly your typical cape-and-tights vigilante, that makes perfect sense for her character. She cares about Charlie, and her similar knack for hunting down answers has been obvious from the start. I really love seeing character changes motivated well.
And finally, we have an indication that Batwoman will actually make another appearance before 52 ends (her last on-panel appearance was 16 issues ago). Renee and Charlie find something that pretty clearly indicates that Kate Kane will soon be involved in their case, and I'm looking forward to it.
Overall, 52 has been doing surprisingly well in terms of keeping my interest. I'm absolutely rivited by the Question/Montoya/Batwoman arc, and fascinated by the Black Adam/Iris/Osiris arc (although I think Osiris needs a punch in the neck, which I suspect he'll get). Ralph Dibny's arc with Fate's helmet has become very interesting as well, credibly rebuilding Ralph from his completely broken state (since Identity Crisis) into a new personality quite different from his pre-ID Crisis one. He has a good scene in this issue, too. The other storylines aren't quite as gripping, but I'm not bored with any of them, and they tend to fade in and out in an well-organized enough fasion that if one is in a slow spot, another is picking up steam.
Most importantly, I think this is far superior to doing six or seven miniseries, each focused on one storyline. I love the smoothly interconnected feel we get for the DCU during this year, and hope the creators and publisher can find some way to build on this style in the future.