A Primer for DC Comics’ Convergence
By John Pannozzi
A tradition among
comic book publishers is having at least one big crossover event each year,
often in the summer or spring. These events typically involve all the company’s
different characters forced to fight one another and/or uniting to face a trans-dimensional
threat. DC Comics’s big event for
this spring is called Convergence. It, like rival publisher Marvel’s
upcoming Secret Wars, involves a
world made up of the remains of alternate universes and parallel dimensions from
their respective company’s past, with the remaining inhabitants forced to battle
one another for survival.
The path to DC’s Convergence is a somewhat complicated
one. Ever since the 1950s, the
comics of DC have told stories about different universes. Their multiverse became so vast and
complicated, that to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 1985, DC
decided to streamline it. The event
Crisis on Infinite Earths involved an
epic fight with a villain called the Anti-Monitor, which resulted in the five
main universes being combined into one.
This provided an excuse for DC to retell the origins of its most famous
characters (in stories like John Byrne’s Superman:
The Man of Steel, and Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli’s excellent Batman: Year One). The 1994’s Zero Hour and 2005’s Infinite
Crisis altered the continuity even further. In 2006, 52 featured the recreation of the multiverse, and in 2008, Final Crisis finished the Crisis
trilogy. Then, in the finale of
2011’s Flashpoint, Barry Allen (the
current Flash) merged the DC Universe with the worlds of DC’s imprints Vertigo
and WildStorm, creating the universe of the New 52. The New 52 has proven to be highly polarizing among fans. Whereas the Batman and Green
Lantern-related titles in particular acknowledged much of the previous
continuity’s events, others, most notably Superman and Wonder Woman, started
from scratch. Currently, The Multiversity, written by
fan-favorite Grant Morrison, tells the adventure of the inhabitants of the New
52-era multiverse. And then we
come to Convergence, which was conceived
to ease DC’s editors as their offices moved from New York City to Burbank,
California.
The premise of the
series is that Brainiac, one of Superman’s iconic foes, has been capturing
cities and people from different universes at the moment of their destruction,
depowering the superheroes, and placing them in domes on a limbo planet. In Convergence
#0, Brainiac goes away to attempt to collect the New 52 Earth, leaving the captured
New 52 Superman with Telos, Brainiac’s servant and the living embodiment of the
planet. Telos, who appears to
Superman in the form of past incarnations of Brainiac, lets Superman go back to
his home (with his memory erased) when Brainac fails to retrieve the New 52
Earth. Telos then decides to
only let the strong survive. At
the start of Convergence #1, Telos
destroys the Gotham City from the
Injustice: Gods Among Us series, deeming its quarreling inhabitants and
their world a failed experiment.
Then, the surviving heroes of Earth 2 arrive, but without their own city. Telos takes this as a sign to finally
decide which cities are worthy of surviving by removing the domes and making
their respective residents fight each other. In the process, Telos reveals himself to the residents of
all the cities at once, saying that only one city will survive, and he will
destroy anyone who refuses to fight.
While at least
some knowledge of DC Comics history is required to fully comprehend and enjoy
it, Convergence is nonetheless a
dream come true for those who have always wanted to see what became of their
favorite versions of the company’s legendary superheroes. If you like any of DC’s characters,
then I strongly suggest picking up the main Convergence series (consisting of
#0 and 1-8) and whichever of the forty 2-issue tie-in miniseries that seem
appealing to you. Also, don’t
forget the new Secret Wars from
Marvel. Now is definitely an
exciting time to be a fan of superhero comic books!
A look at “Convergence” #2 and
assorted tie-ins
By John Pannozzi
To
continue my look at DC Comics’ multiverse-spanning event “Convergence”, I will
be taking brief looks at “Convergence” #2 and assorted tie-ins from the first
two official weeks of the event.
“Convergence”
#2 is mostly told from the perspective of the Earth 2 version of Dick Grayson
(who in the mainstream DC Universe was the first person to serve as Batman’s
ward Robin). It opens with a
flashback of Grayson’s memory of the last moments he spent in his world, having
to leave his wife and son, who along with the rest of Earth 2’s population are
seemingly killed off by Darkseid’s forces. Then in present day, the Earth 2 heroes, after fighting
Telos, find out that his weak point lies beneath the planet’s surface. Grayson and the Earth 2 Batman (Thomas
Wayne, who is other continuities is the father of Bruce Wayne) go to the
Pre-Flashpoint version of Gotham City and sneak their way into the Batcave. There, the Earth 2 Batman meets the
Pre-Flashpoint version of his son, culminating in a touching family reunion. “Convergence” #2 manages to keep us
excited about the unfolding chapter in this epic event.
And
we cover several tie-ins. First up
is “Convergence: Superman: Man of Steel” #1. This issue features the Pre-Zero Hour version of Steel and
his niece and nephew facing both their local villain Parasite as well as the
WildStorm Universe’s teenage superhero team, Gen 13. Being a big fan of Gen 13, I was a touch disappointed that
they were given relatively little to do, but I’m happy to see them again
nonetheless. “Convergence:
Aquaman” #1 shows what the Pre-Zero Hour incarnation of the Atlantian king has
been up to since the arrival of the domed entrapment, and sets up WildStorm’s
Deathblow as his multiversal opponent.
Again, the former WildStorm character is not given a big role, but his
appearance is still welcome.
“Convergence: Green Lantern/Parallax” #1 gives us a different take on
Pre-Zero Hour Hal Jordan, who after losing his powers due to the dome mopes about
how his slaughtered his fellow Green Lantern Corps members as the power-mad
Parallax. Once the dome is lifted,
Hal becomes Parallax and his somber attitude completely washes over, and
surviving Green Lantern Kyle Rayner attempts to keep in line. “Convergence: Speed Force” #1 features
the Pre-Flashpoint version of Wally West (the Flash) and his children Iris and
Jai. After travelling all over the
planet, they find an ally in the form of Fastback the turtle from the Zoo Crew
and a foe in the form of Flashpoint’s Wonder Woman. All of these issues are fine, but I don’t have much to say
about them.
And
then there is “Convergence: Titans” #1, which tells a potent, hug-tugging
story, albeit one that requires some back-story expositing. Shortly before “Flashpoint” and the New
52 continuity reboot, in the much-reviled limited series “Cry for Justice”,
Lian Harper, the young daughter of Roy Harper (formerly Green Arrow’s sidekick
Speedy, now going by the codename “Arsenal”), suffered a horrible death. Roy was broken by his loss, but since
the coming of dome, has found meaning in a more peaceful environment by taking
care of displaced families and children.
Things change, however, when the dome comes down, and Roy and his fellow
Teen Titans alumni Donna Troy and Starfire face the Extremists, a group of
super villains from another world.
One of the Extremists, Dreamslayer, turns things upside when he
resurrects Lian by plucking her from a time before her death, and forces Roy to
fight his friends to the death so Lian will stay alive. This issue packs a strong emotional
punch and leaves us with the highest stakes imaginable, so I highly await its
follow-up. While not quite as
engaging, “Convergence: Nightwing & Oracle” #1 should bring tears to the
eyes of many longtime DC fans. In
it, the Pre-Flashpoint Dick Grayson proposes to Barbara Gordon, but Barbara
declines. But there’s no time for
Dick to talk it over with her, as the villainous incarnations of Hawkman and
Hawkwoman from the Wild West world of El Inferno attempts a hostile
takeover. Once again, the story is
captivating and left me wanting more.
And
last but not least are two tie-ins that not only provided superheroics, but
also a good amount of humor.
“Convergence: Harley Quinn” #1 centers around the Pre-Flashpoint version
of the Joker’s on-and-off-again right hand woman and lover, who first appeared
in Batman: The Animated Series. In the year since the dome emerged,
Harley has been rehabilitated into a somewhat sane and normal life. But Telos’s projection on the
dome shows that Harley is slated to fight the lagomorphic hero Captain Carrot,
Catwoman and Poison Ivy have to knock the sanity out of her. A small running joke through this issue
is that whenever Harley’s obsession with the Joker is brought up, we see a
mental image of Joker looking much like he did in the early Batman comics by
Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson. It’s little touches like this that are not only funny, but
also acknowledge the rich history of DC Comics. The lighthearted and comedic nature of “Convergence:
Supergirl Matrix” #1 is apparent from its first page, which reads like an
affectionate parody of the superhero comics of yesteryear, with a “by popular
demand” blurb, and several humorous footnotes. It features the Pre-Zero Hour Supergirl (who has a confusing
origin, basically, instead of being a Kryptonian, she’s actually a shape
shifting being called Matrix), who, interestingly enough, has become a
bodyguard for Superman’s arch nemesis, Lex Luthor. Supergirl is pitted against the married couple of Lady Quark
and Lord Volt from a world called Electropolis. The snarky back-and-forth between Luthor and Supergirl, as
well as Lady Quark and Lord Volt’s bickering proves to very funny. It’s no surprise that this was written
by Keith Giffen, who is most loved for writing superhero stories with a solid
sense of humor, including Lobo, Ambush Bug, and several Justice League series (one of the
aforementioned makes an appearance here).
While
some of the tie-ins are a lot more interesting than others, on the whole, I am
quite pleased with “Convergence” so far, and look forward to future issues and
tie-ins.
