Well ladies and gentlemen it’s once again time to jump into the bleed, and see where our conductor Grant Morrison takes us this time. If the cover is any indication of what exactly this issue will be about it’s a fun coincidence that this comes out a week after Batgirl making current culture today the focal point. How exactly does the world of superheros mesh with modern culture? Should they treated as separate or does a mesh work for the better? Well let’s see what Morrison has in store for Earth 16!
The issue center theme just happens to focus around not only modern culture, but the idea of legacy. Let’s take a trip in the time machine during a time when DC decided to either kill off or push away their established characters in favor for younger characters. This is where Morrison sets the scene for Multiversity and it’s his commentary on the legacy of the superhero. Morrison uses the legacy motif and mixes it with modern culture plus the idea of living up to your parents.
Something all of us could relate to in some fashion.
The consensus for this Earth is that the previous generation did such an amazing job they rid crime forever. Leaving this current generation bored with little or nothing to do. In a way it’s a bit humorous to see people just laugh off red lighting and scoff, but then you remember that people in every day society act like this and it makes you feel depressed. From a superhero standpoint it does make the story interesting to see them in the context and to what extant they have to do to keep their minds sharp and their bodies tight.
It’s even morbid to see them, the book even begins morbidly with Megamorpho killing herself out of sheer boredom. It sets the stage perfectly and ask “what does a hero do without crime?” It forms a different world and makes for a vastly different reading experience.
Structure wise the book jumps around a bit towards the second half of the issue with zero explanation on why character X is doing X act. That’s typical Morrison but here the story just doesn’t have the sense of flow the previous two chapters had. Loose is how I would ultimately describe the writing for the issue. It’s the meta commentary and mentioning of other Multiversity issues within this comic, but sadly even those feel like the reader is reading the same thing. The actual plot of Multiversity hasn’t moved but given how the series is being told, this is going to be a case of playing the long game with Morrison.
Ben Oliver on art brings his photo referencing style at least when it comes to facial expressions. They characters feel alive, the only downside to Oliver’s art is his lack of back rounds and using either one or two colors to show as a back round. His storytelling is great and even the one brief action scene with the heroes of this Earth fighting an Amazo Red Tornado hybrid was entertaining from the art side, extremely dynamic.
The ending is a bit vague on as Superman’s robots begin to tear apart the city. I’ll give it to Morrison as he managed to mix superhero with current culture and not make it seem eye rolling. He didn’t write them as people but rather people who live amazing lives who just happen to indulge in current lingo. He doesn’t forget the superhero element.
The Multiversity The Just earns a 3/5
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