Saturday, March 5, 2011

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

20 comments:

  1. Heeey JT!!

    I was excited to read "Streets of Gotham" when it first started. But, soon lost interest when they weren't focusing on important people like you stated. So, to hear it's being canceled isn't much surprise. I'm just shocked it made it this far.

    Now on to the good stuff, your reviews!!

    First, I LOVE the cover for Green Lantern #53. It's so colorful, lol. Yes it's the artist in me that makes me enjoy colorful things, lol. As for what's going on in the issue, I have no idea, lol, BUT I'll take your word on the rating you gave it. Lol.

    And now to my favorite thing to read, Brightest Day. I have nothing to say, lmao. Reading your review has really left me speechless. It sounded like a bunch of chaos going on. And really, a pregnancy outburst? What do they think this is a soap opera? Come on Johns you can do a hell of a lot better than this! I'll say this much, I'm glad I dropped this a LONG time ago.

    As always your Deadpool review is great to read. Lol. Sounds like a really good read. And Deadpool is quickly growing on me just from reading your reviews. So I may have to borrow some of those trades you picked up honey baby!! :)

    Annnd last but not least, good review for Batman Beyond. This is something I wish I would've stuck with but, I'll be sure to pick up the trade when available.

    Can't wait for next weeks R & R. Even though we both know I have some catching up to do.

    Oh and Deadpool would DEFINITELY win that four way fight.
    That is all. Great reviews this week JT.

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  2. Ahhhh, the return of the dreaded N/A... You KNOW it's bad when JT doesn't even want to finish it! I have a better idea for that money you're thinking about burning... Hows about you send it my way and I'll continue to provide you with craptacular Brightest Day reviews!!! It's a win/win! :D

    I actually received Green Lantern #63 in the mail yesterday, and it's the last one on my subscription! Yay!!! I hate that comic so much I doubt I'm even going to read/review it, so I'm thinking you're going to be my GL go-to man. Do you think you can handle the pressure, JT?!?

    Poor Roy... This past year really has been lousy for him... Can't even win a poll...

    Oh, and I have to disagree with the wonderful Miz Falisha on this week's excellent poll. I could easily see Daken manipulating Deadpool onto his side, while Bucky and Wolvie fight. Daken and DP then go after the winner of that battle and Daken swerves DP, finishing him off and winning the battle. That's my two-cents though!

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  3. i didn't like BD 21 buuuuuut it's not THAT bad... i mean, the pregnancy it's not the worst part: Mrtian manhunter desapearing under the streets of star city. i'm really getting tired of these huge and senseless WTF???

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  4. ....and now I can drop "Green Lantern". It will free up some money so I can add "Birds of Prey" to my pull list to give to my daughter....

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  5. Woooo comments galore! First things first

    Falisha - Thanks babe for all the comments on each comic, You can definitely grab those Deadpool trades from me, I'm sure you'd enjoy them, cause Deadpool is hilarious. :D

    X - I could see that but DP ALWAYS has a plan, I mean ALWAYS, and for that reason alone is why I voted for the Merc with a Mouth. And I'll gladly be your Green Lantern source, anything that makes you HAVE to read my blog :P Also, call my woman the MIZ will you? Those are fighting words, Jabroni.

    Marco - Thanks for the comment buddy, I wouldn't even know about that though, I literally stopped reading the second MM opened that chicks mouth and looked down her throat to see if she was preggers.

    MOCK! - And thank YOU for the comment as well, I'd definitely swap of GL for Birds, it hasnt been as great as the first vol. of BoP but I'd recommend it since it's been pretty good anyway.

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  6. Eh. Daken has that weird pheromone power going on, so I'd think he could manipulate DP pretty easily. I mean he was able to manipulate Wolvie, so I doubt our beloved Pool would stand a chance. Plan or no plan, my boy Daken would play DP like a damn fiddle! :P

    Well then, you're it, JT! I shall be coming here to see just what Hal the Great has been up to. I await Hal the Great's death so I can start collecting the main GL series again!

    Not THE Miz, but Miz, as in Ms! *shakes head*

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  7. Dude, do you REALLY think DP would fall for the pheromone thing? He's banged everyone and everything, he's had crushes on aliens, chicks, men, Bea Arthur and even a female version of himself, there's no way that Daken's pheromone's would even affect DP!

    Haha, Hal the Great is gonna have you waiting for a damn long time.

    Don't try to change it up now, this is America! Not some crazy country where we use miz as Ms, the only Miz we got is the WWE Champ!

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  8. Yes. Yes I do think it would throw DP. I mean Daken has used his pheromones to simply confuse people and misdirect them, so I could see him misdirecting Pool into joining up with him. Now I COULD see DP accidentally defeating Daken with the help of some sort of shenanigans, but yeah, based on everything(fighting skillz, powers, intellect, etc) I've STILL got to go with Daken.

    Yes... Sadly I believe that to be true. Can't Chairman Johns get convicted of killing a Wally West fan at a comic con or something?!

    That last sentence made my brain hurt... :P

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  9. Only time, and Dan Way, will tell, but as of the poll, looks like I'm currently backed by "The people."

    Haha imagine THAT headline, man, that'd be hilariously bad.

    As did mine, but I'll count it as a win. :P

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  10. HA! I guess Dan Way WOULD be the guy to ask about this particular battle! Well, I'd have to say that since Daken is his "baby" he'd give Daken the win. I mean hell, he's let Daken get over on pretty much everybody, so yeah, I say that the brilliant Mr. Way would be on my side!

    He'd probably do it with one of those new hardcover Green Lantern Rebirth books too...

    Yeah, you can have the win. Every now and then I have to give the peasants something to keep them happy. Consider this "win" my gift to you, JT. :D

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  11. Maybe you forgot the part where DP has gove over EVERYONE as well, or the part where Daken was outsmarted by Wolverine and Bucky, OR the part where Deadpool was Deadpool, and thus, untouchable. :P

    Haha, death by beating someone with your own book?! Man, that's just ruthless.

    Yeah, well it's not a b-day gift ya jerk, btw that peasants like was very Alberto Del Rio-like, you should google him and check out some of his promos.

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  12. Aww no problem at all hun. And well, in that case how about you give me a couple trades and I'll give you Vol. 2 and 3 of fables to read. Lol. Yes I'm actually going to let you read it before me....UNLESS oh wait, never mind, I forgot Dragon Age 2 comes out Tuesday. Lol, you can just give me the couple trades of Deadpool. :)I'll be reading while you play the game. Lol.

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  13. Bah, your Deadpool logic is faulty! Hasn't Daken already dispatched Pool anyway?! Anyway, I'm kind of surprised that Wolvie is currently in LAST place in the poll! I figured the most popular character would get the win, so Wolvie in last is a bit of a surprise.

    That's the perfect way to kill somebody, especially if you're crazy!

    Hey, that's perfect! Consider that your b-day gift, JT! :D

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  14. Lol, no he hasn't. I believe he cut his hand off or something but that's nothing, DP regrows limbs ALL the time. I'm also shocked that Wolverine is in last, I'm even more shocked that Bucky is tied with Daken though.

    You'd know eh? :P

    Nah, no ya don't buddy! I'm waiting for a REAL b-day gift :P

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  15. The infamous N/A returns, haha! The "quote" for that issue was great as well. Reviews like that one always brighten my day (no pun intended!). :D

    Looking forward to next week's R&R and especially the Venom review. I'll be counting on you to let me know how that series turns out!

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  16. Lol you knew it was coming one of these days, and whenever Brightest day drops it shows its fin and the Jaws theme plays.

    Glad to do that, I take it you won't be picking it up for a while, if at all then eh?

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  17. I'll check out the trade, unless you guys tell me that it's so amazing I've gotta go check it out right away! Which it definitely has the potential to be, since it's got a great writer and one of my favorite artists.

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  18. I must have jinxed it because I see Wolvie has pulled into a tie for first. Call me Timmy I guess...

    No comment... :/

    But that WAS your real b-day gift! :D

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  19. Damn, you're officially Mr. Drake. Man, Wolverine did make a hell of a comeback.

    Haha I'm sorry, you're not crazy, just eccentric :D

    Nah, it wasn't It wasn't AT ALL!!! :P

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  20. Wow, Pool sure ran away with the win, didn't he?! Poor Daken didn't stand a chance!

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