Ratings and Rantings

Hello Todd Squad, yours truly, Jason Todd, welcoming you to another edition of Ratings and Rantings! This week's Ratings and Rantings should be an interesting one with the prelude to War of the Green Lanterns, one of the last few issues of Brightest Day plus Batman Beyond and Deadpool.

For those of you looking forward to a Streets of Gotham review, all one-to-none of you, there won't be one because of my decision to drop that comic.When I mentioned that to my buddy X-Man75, he informed me there were only two issues left of the series since it's currently cancelled, and I still decided not to pick up the final two issues. Streets of Gotham had a lot of potential with the great use of Zsasz, the debut of Gotham vigilante ABUSE and the chance to have a storyline that could take Hush from the D-Lister he is now to the A-Lister he should've stayed after the wonderfully written Hush storyline. Instead we get the debut of Bedbug, which is something a five-year old would probably come up with, a horrible story that focuses less on Hush and more on John Zatara, The Elliots and The Waynes, yes, more on five dead people than on Hush who had endless potential as a great villain. But yeah, that's my short rant on that series, which I'm glad is ending, now let's get to the reviews.

Green Lantern #53

First things first, I really like this cover, but I'm wondering why all the entities are based off of animals... Anyway, we start things off with Ganthet talking to Krona, if you've read at least one DC comic in the last week or two, you already know what happens in this scene. Basically, an unusually tall Krona basically can't become a Guardian because he's not able to get rid of his emotions, he still wants to feel love and rage and fear and things that make life worth living and he's currently close to unlocking the secrets of the emotional spectrum. We then see that Ganthet has turned him in and Krona vows to make Ganthet pay. From there we see the Color Corps leaders, with the exception of Sinestro and Carol Ferris, in deep space after Hal's talk with Batman, Flash and Superman. Hal admits that maybe the Guardians are right and emotions should be controlled because they are dangerous. Well okay then Hal... the Color Corps then decide to go find Carol Ferris since the Star Sapphire entity, The Predator, is the only one not currently in Krona's possession. Indigo-1 tries to transport everyone to Zamaron but can't due to interference, then somehow Sinestro and Carol suddenly appear. Carol makes it known that Krona took her entity as well which happened in Brightest Day about two issues ago, and Sinestro mentions he was running an errand, which refers to his appearances in Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro hears that they have lost all the entities so says if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Meanwhile The Guardians have found Hal's signal at the behest of Salaak, so they send him and a squad of Green Lanterns to ambush Jordan and bring him back so he can face charges of treason. While Hal and the other color corp leaders travel to Ryut, the homeworld of Atrocitus, to confront Krona they discover seven pillars, each with a lantern symbol as well as The Book of The Black in the center. Hal, being an idiot, doesn't know what that is so Sinestro explains that it contains the secret chapters that had been ripped from the book of Oa. The book then realizes the New Guardians are there and opens itself, scaring everyone. Yep, they got scared by a book, that really hurts the rep of Atrocitus and Sinestro. It tells them about the history of Krona, and we see that he defeated Manhunters then reversed their programming which caused the slaughter of an entire sector, just to prove that even an emotionless police force has flaws. The issue ends with the book accessing a new Chapter called "There will be only three" as we see Hal, Guy, Kyle and John reaching for one of three Green Lantern rings. This issue was just building up the War of the Green Lanterns and gave us a few peeks at Krona's past. It wasn't bad but it was far from mandatory to read, it was more of a filler than anything. I'll give it a 5/10 rating.

Larfleeze: Krona! He has all of our entities! Where is his HUGE HEAD going?!

Brightest Day #21

Oh God, it's a Martian Manhunter issue. The last one had everyone on the JLA dying including Wonder Woman being hung with her own Lasso. This issue starts off with The Atom at The Hawks house, investigating their ashes, meanwhile I'm wondering who the hell noticed they were missing and even CALLED him to do it. He also says he doesn't know where Aquaman is, and we see his hand lying on the beach, which I could hilarious. From there we see the beach Aquaman got vaporized on and an overabundance of heroes helping civilians including Superman, Superboy, Batman, Cyborg, Metamorpho..., Hawk, Dove, Jade, Congrorilla, Flash, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Star Girl, Alan Scott, Mister Terrific, Doctor Mid-Nite and Atom Smasher. Mera explains how Deadman blasted Aquaman into aqua-dust and Hawk wonders if Deadman is coming after them next. Hawk says they should strike first, but JAde recommends checking on the other White Light returnees, and since Osiris, Max, Boomer and Reverse Flash are Bad guys, that leaves them with the missing Firestorm and Martian Manhunter. Their interrupted by Cyborg saying that h recently intercepted thousands of distress calls for earthquakes and volcanoes erupting and Wildcat notices there are Black clouds in the sky. We then jump over to see Martian Manhunter fighting D'Kay. During the fight D'Kay mentions she's pregnant... due to them sleeping together when she confused J'onn... he then looks inside of her and says the baby is a lie and she's barren. Are you KIDDING ME?! Did I REALLY just read someone playing the pregnancy card in the middle of a fight? YOU HAVE GOT to be kidding me. I defend Geoff a lot, but that's probably one of the single most dumb things I've ever read. I'm done with this review, I'm not finishing this comic, I may pick up the next one if I don't have to deal with this dumbass Martian story. This issue gets a N/A.

Me: Next time I'll save myself time and just light the money on fire instead.

Deadpool #33.1

Okay, something that will hopefully be good, Dan Way, don't let me down buddy! We start off with a recap page that only Deadpool could do, before jumping into the main story. We see Deadpool in a Godfather-like office, petting a cat and surprisingly not wearing a hoody and talking to someone who wants him to do his job. After the man lists all of Deadpool's accomplishments we discover the man wants to hire Deadpool to evict a tenant from his apartment building. Deadpool seems angry until he see's how much he'll be getting paid and proclaims that "The Price is Right"! We then see that the person the owners want evicted is The Wrecker, and as a supplemental note points out, he once faught the Avengers to a standstill, all of them vs. him at once. Deadpool goes to confront The Wrecker and the next day goes back to the owners in a wheel chair, a cast, holding a crutch and still smoking from a hellacious butt-kicking that was so violent we didn't even see it. He demands more money for this job and after proving that if the landlord doesn't comply he'll be legally screwed he tells them he now wants triple for the job. After receiving his cash and removing his leg cast with a chainsaw, Deadpool calls up The Wrecker to let him know that now that his leg's all better he's gonna use it to kick his ass. From there we see an awesome splash-page that can only be described by saying Deadpool, Wrecker, fire, chaos and billions upon billions of bullets. Deadpool and The Wrecker's fight then collides into the building, much to the chagrin of the owners. Deadpool then realizes his arm is broken in two places and he has a broken rib stabbing him in the lung, so he decides to hide out in an old ladies apartment and let his body heal. Deadpool takes advantage of the old lady's hospitality and eats her food and whatnot, then asks how long she thinks she'll live since she's so old. He mentions how he's taking out The Wrecker to help her and the other tenants, when she mentions that the Wrecker living there is the only thing stopping the owners from selling the building and ut being knocked down to make condominiums. She then mentions The Wrecker was hired by the owners to intimidate everyone into signing papers to terminate their leases. Deadpool is shocked at this realization and even more shocked with The Wrecker shows up to eat Flaki soup with Deadpool and the old woman, which is apparently a weekly tradition between the two. We then see that this was actually a flashback to the first time the two fought. Damn, fooled me. Back in the present, Deadpool and The Wrecker take a break and get some water before continuing their earth-shattering fight. During the fight the owners get a call from the buyer who says he's definitely not interested after seeing a super-human fight outside of and in the building. The fight ends soon after as we see that Deadpool took the money the people paid him and gave it to the old woman who then bought the deed to the apartment on discount, all because Deadpool had a change of heart. She then gives Deadpool two gallons of Flaki as agreed on and he does one last thing for the old woman as this issue ends. Man, this was great Deadpool fun. I loved the swerve and seeing Deadpool still has his hero ways as well as a good heart. The fight with Wrecker was awesome and put over both him and Deadpool, and the stuff with the old woman was classically hilarious, I'll give this issue a 8.5/10.

Deadpool: You're a nice Old Lady.

Old Lady: Is not nice to call lady "old".

Deadpool: Even if they are old?

Old Lady: Especially if they are old.

Deadpool: Oh. Are you this wise because you're so old?

Old Lady: Yes.

Batman Beyond #3

This issue of Batman Beyond starts off with Terry, shocked to see that his mother and little bro have been turned into metal by the Matter Master. He's more relaxed when he finds out from Bruce via comm link that they aren't dead, as they are transmuted to, but not encased in metal. Bruce tells Terry to worry about the hostages instead of rushing Matter Master like the rest of the JLA. Matter Master then lays the smackdown on the JLA one by one while Batman gets the hostages away to safety. While Terry's trying to save the hostages, Bruce overhears that Richard Grayson is being pursued for the Hush killings in a throwback to the Batman Beyond Mini of last year, which distracts Bruce momentarily. Matter Master finished up the JLA when Batman jumps back into the fray. He attacks the dastardly villain and he starts to explode with energy. We then see Terry's girlfriend Dana at home, upset that she was stood up by Terry, but she seems to have a look of concern when her mother tells Dana that her brother is getting out next week. Meanwhile, Batman with the help of Bruce uses the JLA to his advantage like chess pieces and successfully contains a nuclear explosion that was going to be caused by a malfunctioning Matter Master. As he's defeated he transmutes into copper or something, as Batman tells him he could have used his powers for good and helped people, he replies with a faint, "look who's talking." Oh Snap! You tell him Matter Master. After defeating Matter Master, The league once again asks Batman to join, and after some consideration and a few conditions he names, Batman agrees to join the Justice League of America as this issue ends. This was another good issue of Batman Beyond, and I loved seeing him coached by Bruce so well yet making his own decisions since he is his own man. I'll give this issue a 8/10 rating.

Batman: One, if you need me for something, it better be big, because for me this city is job one. Two, if you're going on a mission and I say I'm busy, I'm busy, three, Gotham's off-limits unless I ask for your help.

Bruce: Actually, those are pretty good conditions.

And that's all I have for this week guys and gals. Thanks for reading and be sure to comment and vote on this week's poll. The results from last week's poll are below as always, and until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd, signing off!

Last week's poll asked "Which of these characters do you currently like the most?"

Last place with 17.6% - Arsenal, one arm, a heel turn and no daughter makes for dislike, DC!
Second Place with 23.5% - Black Cat, Bad luck keeps Felicia Hardy in second place.
Winner with 29.4% - Tie between Booster Gold and the new Venom, Flash Thompson!

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Batgirl #19, Batman & Robin #21, Birds of Prey #10, JL Generation Lost #21, The Outsiders #37,  and Venom #1