Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, Jason Todd here with eight hopefully awesome comics for this weeks Ratings and Rantings! I'm not feeling the long introduction thing, partly because I'm watching All That on Teen Nick's The 90's are All That! and the other reason is because we've got a lot comics to get to, so let's get this party started!

Gotham City Sirens #25

We start things off with a scorned Poison Ivy, escaping from Arkham Asylum with the help of her plants. We see that she was approached by a man disguised as a guard who told her if she got out and tried to kill Catwoman, his employer would help her, since the employer also has a grudge with our favorite feline. The only thing is, the trap is in motion so Ivy has a time limit. She immediately heads out to find Harley, and she plans on killing her but when she see's Harley has scrawled pictures of The Joker all over her cell, she realizes that Harley is addicted to him, and she still wants to help Harley, probably because she does in fact love her. She offers Harley to help her kill Catwoman, and two thirds of the Sirens flee Arkham Asylum to find and kill Selina Kyle. It turns out that the employer is Penguin, who has a bone to pick with Catwoman after she stole money from him. The issue ends soon after with Ivy approaching Catwoman as they get ready for a fight, with Catwoman unaware that Harley is behind her ready to strike. Well that was a really quick issue. This was pretty much a segue issue to get Harley and Ivy outta Arkham and ready to get revenge on Catwoman, which will undoubtedly fail. But this was a fine transitional issue, I'll give it a 7/10 rating.

Poison Ivy: I am going to kill her. (Harley) Snap her like a flag in the wind.

Teen Titans #98

Supah Boy Prime returns! I love SBP, he's probably my second favorite Kryptonian after Power Girl to be honest. Anyway, things start off with a Black Hole almost taking Superboy in the middle of a battle, he escapes but the black hole somehow brings Superboy Prime back to our world. Upset that this is a world where he's a villain and has no family and no Laurie (his girlfriend) he vows to kill all of the Titans, just because I guess. We then jump over to see Kid Flash taking on three of the Rogues, he defeats them but Inertia (!) runs in for an attack, Kid Flash, angrily grabs Inertia and runs so fast that his skin peels away. We then see that Bart was in a "X-Men Danger Room" if you will but Red Robin is worried that Bart is using the room too much and it isn't safe for him. We then see Superboy and Wonder Girl break up, and she gives Connor a box back but we don't see what it is. Ravager see's this (and looks smoking hot...) and hits on Connor, even though she's surprised those two have finally broken up. She asks whats in the box and he says maybe he'll show her one day. Over with Raven we see that she feels like she's being phased out, her darkness being enlightened by Solstice's bright aura. Suddenly, trouble breaks out in the town and the Teen Titans head over to find none other than Superboy Prime with his Teen Titans, Headcase, The Persuader, Indigo (?!), Sun Girl, Zookeeper, and Inertia!!!! They split up and fight with Red Robin facing the former Titan, Indigo. Sun Girl takes on Solstice, Beast Boy and Zookeeper fight, Kid Flash takes on Inertia which according to Red Robin isn't the same one that was killed (Booo!), Ravager taking on The Persuader, Headcase faces off with Raven and Wonder Girl and Superboy taking on Superboy Prime...Superboy (Bald), Superboy (crew-cut) and another Superboy?! The issue ends with Prime, his Titans and three more evil Superboys getting ready to take on the Teen Titans. This was a pretty good issue. I love the though put into the choices, since Ravager and the Persuader do have a past as well as the rest. I also like the curiosity of what's in SB's box (Kryptonie I'd guess), and Raven's thoughts on Solstice. Really good issue that I enjoyed, I hope the next two are this good. I'll give this one a 8.5/10.

X-Man75: Tim is gonna LOVE all those Connors. (I know you were thinking it X..)

Green Lantern Corps #62

We start off with a look at the past, where thanks to a Star Sapphire, Soranik Natu and Kyle Rayner were shown their true loves in the confines of their minds. Soranik saw Kyle, but Kyle apparently saw the then-deceased Jade. He lies and tells her he see's her as well, and they went on with their relationship. We then catch up to the present where Kyle is morning Green Lantern Mogo. He's told not to take things so hard by Tomar-Tu, the replacement for Tomar-Re. Kyle thanks him and says that Soranik is really taking things hard and blaming him due to problems they had before the stuff with Krona happened, but Tomar seems to be there for Kyle. When Kyle's emotional tether with the Star Sapphire from earlier is connected, he see's her attacking a bunch of seemingly innocent people. He's sucked into a pink abyss and Tomar grabs his hand which brings him with Kyle. Kyle and Tomar-Tu land on a desolate planet, and Soranik lands soon after. It turns out Star Sapphire Miri has brought Kyle and Soranik there to have them try to stop her from taking over the planet. Tomar-Tu quickly realizes there have been no deaths, only collateral damage, and wonders why Miri has done all of this. Miri attacks Tomar and Kyle and Sora team up to save him, they then take on Miri's constructs and take out Miri. She then admits that she orchestrated all of this to get Kyle and Sora back together. Well duh. Kyle, ever the idiot blurts out in rage that he didn't see Soranik in the crystal which just pisses Soranik off even more. He explains that he saw Jade, but she was dead and he never expected to see her again, and he chose life by choosing Sora. She tells him to stay away from her and never come to her sector again as this issue comes to a close. Aww poor Kyle, well at least she got out before she died. This was another good issue, It broke up Sora and Kyle though, who were one of my favorite comic couples. So hopefully they meet up more in the new DCnU since the GL stuff is pretty much staying the same. But I enjoyed this issue, the introduction of Tomar-Tu and everything, but the ending was obvious when we found out tat Kyle lied about seeing Soranik in the love crystal, I'll give this a 8/10.

Soranik Natu: Never speak to me again, Lantern 2814.4. And stay the hell out of my sector! (The GL equivalent of get your shit outta my house.)

Detective Comics #880

That cover is creepy as hell. We start out with Gordon calling a woman named Barbara Gordon, not that one, this is Barbara Gordon Sr., and warning her to stay put and be safe because The Joker is free and he's probably coming for her to get at Jim. She wonders why he would come after her and when she opens the door expecting the hotel security that Jim had them send, she instead is confronted by the Joker and Jim hears her screams. He pulls up to the hotel and runs upstairs to find her naked in the shower, rocking back and forth with a smile that shows she got some Joker Toxin. It turns out that the Joker was eating the Joker Toxin since it was being put into his food for him, and since he's immune, he ate enough to the point it secreted from his pores, giving him a deadly touch. That's pretty freaking genius. Batman then follows after The Joker, as Babs waits for him to come to her, since she's ready for him this time. Tim calls Babs to tell her that Barbara is doing better and Commissioner Gordon is still with her. Batman goes under the sewers to find The Joker and finds him, waiting for Bats. He takes advantage of Batman's night vision and shines a huge spotlight which disorients Batman. The Joker gets close enough to smell Batman and determines that it isn't his Batman, but one with feathers that will have to do. The Joker attacks while telling Batman that Gotham means a safe place for Goats, which are fed on by Bats and he isn't his Bat so he can't hurt him. Batman tells Joker that maybe that's right, but he's gonna get an "A" for effort, before decking The Joker. When Batman tells Joker to leave the Gordon's alone, Joker calls him an idiot and says his Batman would know that he didn't attack old lady Gordon, he's just waiting on his Batman to come out and play. The issue ends with the realization that the attacker was none other than James Gordon, Jim Gordon's son, and he attacks Babs Gordon (former and future Batgirl) as this issue comes to a close. This was a DAMN good issue. I didn't see the swerve coming which is weird because I should've after the last few issues, I loved the stuff with Joker, knowing his Batman as always, knowing that Batman was actually a former Robin, and probably even knew he was Nightwing. This was just a great issue, and Snyder can write the hell out of The Joker. I'll give this issue a 9/10 rating.

The Joker: I didn't do anything to the old bitch. My Batman would know my work.

Invincible #81

Things start off with Mark and Samantha watching the news as they report on the new land of glass that lies where Las Vegas once was, thanks to what happened in the last issue. When news breaks that the hero who tried to stop Dinosaurus was Invincible, Powerplex almost snaps. It turns out he's apart of a "Suicide Squad" like team of former criminals that were put together by Cecil Stedman, but Powerplex still shows that he may not be able to hold his anger at Invincible due to their past run-ins.We then see that Invincible has met with the Pentagon and feels that they feel he's to blame. In actuality they don't blame him, but they do realize things within the organization need to change, and Cecil also believes that Dinosaurus may have survived that explosion. We soon see that Cecil is right, as we see Dinosaurus' alter-ego hiding from the police after they find his armor. On the way home, Invincible and Atom Eve encounter a criminal named The Gravitator who uses a powerful Gravity Gun. Invincible makes short work of him and demands to know where he got his tech. It turns out the inventor-turned criminal from the last issue sold his tech to a criminal, and he's shocked when Invincible turns up at his doorstep. Invincible contemplates taking the guy to jail, but when he meets his fiancee, Hanna, he decides to take him to go see someone that will buy his tech instead. After dropping the inventor off, Invincible heads home when he's randomly attacked by Powerplex. Powerplex asks how long it'll take for Invincible to realize he's causing destruction and deaths, and surprisingly Invincible admits that he's aware and he thinks about all the people he hasn't been able to save everyday. Invincible refuses to fight Powerplex, but explains how each time people died, more would've died had he not been there to save them. He also says that he can't be blamed for killing Powerplex's wife and kid, he didn't bring them there nor did he blast them with electricity inadvertently,  Powerplex is the one who did it. Powerplex agrees and breaks down crying, and is soon captured by his former teammates. The issue ends soon after with Invincible explaining to Atom Eve that as a hero he's done his fair share of bad by making mistakes, and he starts to wonder if he should continue on as a hero. This was a fine issue, nothing amazing but far from bad. It was a little slow in my opinion, I'd give it a 7.5/10.

Invincible: I have no interest in being the two-hundredth hero on your payroll. I'm doing my own thing.

Venom #5

Things start with a villain known as "The Human Fly" that's kidnapping a bunch of people and saving them for lunch. It turns out his most recent kidnapping was of the Senator's daughter, which springs Venom into action. Sadly, the Human Fly takes his meals to a bell tower, so when he attacks Venom and knocks him into the bell, his suit starts to react to the sonic impact. Venom recovers and throws the bell at the Human Fly and manages to web up him and the bell before they hit the public below. Turns out he did the whole mission in less than a minute but was scolded because Agent Venom made the news. While at home, Flash thinks about his father and how much he hates him, and how he worked his whole life for his respect and never got a thing but insults and beatings. Flash then makes his way to go meet with his girlfriend, Betty Brant. They talk about her recently being saved by Spider-Man, and Flash being sorry for having to leave so much (to secretly operate as Agent Venom) and the two finally seem to be at a good place, until Flash's phone rings. It's his mom and she tells him his dad may be drinking again, and Flash vowed long ago that if he did start drinking again he wanted nothing to do with him. Flash doesn't want to go look for his dad but when his mom starts crying he feels obligated, and tells Betty he has to leave. Flash calls Peter to help him go find his dad, and after checking a ton of places, they still can't find Flash's dad. Flash gets a call and it turns out his dad is drunk at the police department, so Flash shows up to get his dad. Flash tells him let's go, because he promised his mom he'd bring him home, and his dad says he couldn't take him when he had legs, so he should think twice before talking to him like that. He continues to pressure Flash and tries to attack him while saying he has a weak cripple for a kid, but Flash simply lets him fall instead of giving him the beating he wants to. We then see that his dad has been drinking because he knows he's going to die soon since he has cirrhosis of the liver and has known for a year. It's because of this, and his father's disregard to those that love him, Flash decides not to see his dad again, and leaves the hospital. He runs into Betty outside and hugs her, and his phone rings, he accepts another mission as Agent Venom as this issue ends. This was another very good issue of Venom. It dealt more with Flash, substance abuse, and child abuse and it was written damn well by Rick Remender. If there's one thing I didn't care for it was how quick we were introduced to the Human Fly and he was defeated, I would've rather he escaped since at the moment Flash only has like two rogues. I'll give this issue a 8/10 rating as well.

Flash: No, SORRY, Pete! After the son of a bitch would lose his mind and beat me, I didn't ask what bat he'd be hitting up next!

X-Men Schism #2

That's quite a busty Rogue on the cover of this issue... anyway, things start with a Middle-Eastern leader speaking to his people about how the mutants want to control them, as he cites how he was controlled by Quentin Quire. He says this time is over as he shows gestures to a Sentinel as his people cheer, but when they fire it up, the Sentinel goes wild and starts blasting everything and killing the civilians. We then see Wolverine walking the halls of the base on Utopia when he runs into some of the Mutant Students. Idie says everyone is afraid of mutants because their monsters, Wolverine tries to tell Idie she's no monster but she says she's made peace with what she is... interesting. From there we see that nearly 75% of the sentinels around the globe are defective, per Kade Kilgore's orders. We then see that Kade has even more plans, as he tells the Hellfire Club he needs four billion dollars and ten of their most violent men, which they give Kade, who then puts his next set of plans into motion. Back with the X-Men, Wolverine tells Cyclops to send him into the field so he can help take down Sentinels with Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Domino and the rest, but Cyclops says he needs Logan there in case the non-defective Sentinels attack. Surprisingly their argument is interrupted by the appearance of Quentin Quire, in the flesh. Quentin asks for Sanctuary on Utopia since that's what all mutants are offered, but Wolverine grabs him by the hair and asks what button calls Steve Rogers. Lol, that was hilarious. Cyclops says they aren't turning him in, he'll be tried right there by his own peers, but Logan says their harboring a fugitive, luckily their argument is interrupted again because Steve Rogers actually calls The X-Men. During the video-call, Logan keeps Quire quiet and Cyclops lies, saying he has no idea where Quentin is at the moment. Afterwards, Wolverine pushes Quire to Cyclops and says he isn't happy about this situation. After Wolverine leaves, Cyclops goes off on Quentin and banishes him to his quarters, when Emma Frost tells him the Mayor has moved up the opening of the Mutant History museum in hopes of easing the tensions between humans and mutants. Cyclops quickly realizes things won't bode well for the mutants if something happens at this event because it will be televised. He sends some of the X-men, Colossus, Magneto, Namor, Iceman and Emma Frost, as well as the students, including a worried looking Idie. The issue ends soon after with the building about to be invaded by a fully equipped for war Kade Kilgore and his goons.I really like how they keep teasing arguments between Logan and Scott because we know they are going to have a falling out, it's just a matter of where and when. This was a fine issue, but nothing spectacular. It was more of a prep for issue three and the fallout from issue one, so for that reason alone I'd rate this about a 7/10.

Cyclops: And if I ever, ever, hear of you belittling Wolverine again, I will personally break you in half! Pray everyday, Quentin, That you will someday be even half the man he is! Because as It stands now, I wouldn't take six of you on your best day for one of him on his worst! (Dayum!)

The Amazing Spider-Man #666

Spider-Island starts here! We kick things off with a rejuvenated Spidey catching a few crooks and being thanks by the citizens and and few police officers. After that, Spidey even manages to help the Young Allies take down Hydro-Man, and even more surprisingly he doesn't make any puns! Afterwards he has back to work and we see he genius Peter Parker has even made an invention that allows him to change his Spidey costume to look like normal clothes, man this guy is getting more and more awesome. After showing an invention to Max Modell and his colleagues that allows you to freeze things cryogenically then thaw them at will, perfectly unharmed, Pete gets a call from his girlfriend, Carlie. When Peter answers Carlie says something weird is going on, and we see one of the criminals Spidey webbed up recently break out of the webbing, he tries to run away but Carlie backhands him and he's out cold. After hearing that Carlie wants to talk with him, Peter heads to his apartment, but forgets to look both ways since he's relied on Spider-Sense so long and almost gets hit by a bus, but he's saved by Phil "Hobgoblin" Urich, along with Norah. They mention that there have been a bunch of Spidey sightings, and sometimes three places at once, so Pete makes an excuse so he can go check things out, but first he has to stop to check with the FF While at the Baxter Building, Mary Jane calls to remind Pete that it's his Aunt and Uncle-In-Law's last night in the Big Apple, she also reminds him to check on Betty in the hospital since Flash got called out of town again. From there we see Flash kicking butt as Agent Venom before calling Betty himself. Betty answers her cell phone in the hospital (which is damn near impossible to get reception in in my experience) and she happens to encounter the story of a lifetime (she's a blogger, like myself except people read her stuff... badum tsh!) when she stumbles onto a ton of patients that are exhibiting the powers of a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Spidey goes to an Avengers card game, then goes to do more martial arts training with Shang-Chi. While training with Shang-Chi, Peter faces off with Julia Carpenter, the new Madame Web, as she informs him that they've been getting him ready for a new challenge, and he'll have to use a killing blow, which Peter refuses to do, since he vowed no one would die around him. She continues to tell Peter it's mandatory but he claims he'll find another way, and he finally heads home to meet with Carlie, whom he'd forgotten about. When she asks if they can talk he says he's been swamped and asks if it can wait until morning, and Carlie looks disappointed but says yes. The issue ends soon after, as we find out the man people behind this mystery phenomenon of spider-powers are a mystery woman and none other than Miles Warren, a.k.a. The Jackal! Now this was a pretty good issue, it set the stage and got a lot of questions started, I'm wondering what happens from here and who will be the first major heroes and villains to get arachnid powers, since I already know Carlie and Mary Jane will have them. But this was a nice start to Spider-Island, I'd give this issue an 8/10 rating.

The Thing: Aw. Why;d ya haveta go an' do that? We had matchin' outfits. We wuz adorable.

And just like that, this week's comics have been read, reviewed and ranted. So feel free to leave a comment and vote for this week's newest poll. Last week's poll barely had any votes so no use in posting the results, the clear winner with 80% was Justice League International. And that's it for me, so until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger man, signing off!

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Batman Beyond #8, Batman Arkham City #4, and Batman: Gates of Gotham #4.

Ratings and Rantings

Hey Todd Squad, yours truly, Jason Todd is here with another edition of your favorite weekly comic content comments, Ratings and Rantings! This week is a pretty busy one as we've got Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgin's Gates of Gotham series continuing on, we're gonna see Matthew Sturges take over the second to last issue of Power Girl, we've got the beginning to the War of the Green Lantern Aftermath by Peter Tomasi and a look at Deathstroke and his Titans. So, lets get things started with the Green Lantern Corps!

War of the Green Lantern Aftermath #1 of 2

We start things off shortly after Hal Jordan has been banished from the Green Lantern Corps and the planet of Oa, with the Guardians saying how he should have never been able to kill a Guardian and wondering if the rings are still compromised. Guy gets upset that the Guardians are crying over Krona, and Kilowog says he did they right thing and they banned him, and next they'll let the traitor (Sinestro) keep his ring. Sinestro says he doesn't want the ring and tells them to get it off, but one of the Guardians says the ring chose Sinestro and they will discover why, until then outbursts will not be tolerated. The Corps continue to yell out responses until the Guardian yells, but that doesn't scare Kilowog one bit. Kilowog says remove Sinestro's ring or he's done, and when the Guardians don;t reply, Kilowog takes his ring off and throws it to the Guardians, saying he resigns but Salaak catches it. He tells Kilowog he's received over 300 resignations and none will be honored today. How can you tell someone they can't quit? Anyway, the Guardians tells Sinestro he's coming with them, and he refuses. Soranik Natu gets upset and says there shouldn't be a debate, and when Kyle tries to calm her down she snaps on him, telling him to butt out. Salaak scans the corps and many of the members have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, so he tells them to not make any rash decisions until everyone is checked out and they bury their dead. The Guardians leave and Sinestro goes with them, with hopes of them removing his ring. We then see Ganthet, missing the hand which wore his Green Lantern ring thanks to Krona, as he says he's ashamed to face the Corps, and doesn't know if he's a Lantern without his ring or if the Guardians would even take him back. Well considering their all distraught over Krona with all the crazy shit he did, I'd say yes. Saint Walker shows up and makes a construct of Sayd for Ganthet, and it heals his hand as he talks to the construct, while in reality Sayd is still in the position of Larfleeze. We then see John Stewart and some GL's going to rebuild stuff on Oa, but they try to attack him for killing Mogo, until Kyle shows up and stops them. By the way, for some odd reason, one of the Lanterns looks EXACTLY like Green Arrow... I'll chalk it up to this issue not having the best art ever. Kyle explains that John channeled Black Lantern power using his Indigo ring to kill Mogo, but John says he knew what he was doing, and he'd do it again to trade one life for billions. Kyle says he could've found a way and John says that's because he's a dreamer, and he gets to be one because guys like John have to make all the tough decisions and live with them. He tells Kyle if he can't understand that then don't pretend he's his friend, and Kyle says he won't and flies off. Over with Soranik Natu, Hannu guides her to a group that includes a telepathic Green Lantern, he says that he saw the Guardians emotions and he knows they're afraid that a GL can kill them as easily as Hal killed Krona, so he thinks their so desperate they've run to Sinestro for help. They then ask Soranik to help them break into the Citadel and execute Sinestro as this issue ends. So this was a fine issue, I wish we'd gotten more info on Hal, but the stuff with Kyle and John, the Guardians and the stuff with Kilowog was interesting. It also sucked that Guy was in like one panel for the entire issue. The art REALLY hurt this comic in my opinion, Sinestro looked more like a red cartoon devil than the pink, smug villain we're used to. Hell, Soranik barely looked like herself, I'll give this issue a 7/10.

John Stewart: I traded one life for billions. There were no other options.

Power Girl #26

The second to last issue of Peej is being written by Mr. Matthew Sturges, I'm not familiar with his work outside of Salvation Run, but I'm hoping he can keep Power Girl as good as Judd has for these final two issues. We start things off with a really good speech by Power Girl, delivered to a ton of women dressed as Power Girl, a few as other heroes, and a few guys dressed as Bats and Superman. We then see a bunch of women in line to see and speak to Power Girl, one even cuts and says she's a student and her studies have shown that Power Girl is the most powerful female hero, and somewhere Wonder Woman the Teenage Amazon is talking to her black cat. Peej says she can't verify that information or people may try to use it against her so the student gets all huffy and walks away. There's a funny moment where a little girl says she wants to touch Peej and get super powers, so she pokes Power Girl while saying "I'm poking you", so of course when the little girl starts to float seconds later, she thinks that's why. Turns out the student, Rana, is actually a super villain and is trying to abduct Peej to study her, so she had the building where the Power Girl meeting was, lifted into space in a tractor beam. Well... that's persistence!Rana gets Power Girl subdued by using some magic creatures and tells Power Girl her planet needs a hero and names some reasons why. Peej says they could've had the JLA come, but she says they need heroes and not quickie police action. She says Earth has hundreds of heroes and her planet has four, haha, it's funny cause it's true. When Power Girl says she can't help, Rana says she'll just use this tube she stole, which will copy Power Girl's molecular structure and give it to Rana. Rana climbs in and starts to get some of Peej's power but surprisingly it's interrupted by the young girls and women Power Girl gave her speech to. They release Power Girl but Rana attacks her, clearly having gained some power. Power Girl tells her she isn't trying to save her people, she just wants power herself, and that makes her a villain. Rana manages to knock Power Girl down but she's then attacked by the young women from earlier, they mention Rana left her machine on. They use their new powers to help Power Girl dispose of Rana. The issue ends soon after with the two girls, no longer with powers, hang out with Power Girl, as their unaware the small girl still has the powers of my favorite Kryptonian. Well this was a pretty good issue, I loved the beginning of the comic and I liked that the girl was trying to "save her world" and Peej compared her to Lex Luthor, excellent point. Overall I liked this issue and it makes me want to read the final one knowing that Power Girl was left in good hands, so thanks Matthew Sturges. I'll give this issue an 8/10 rating.

Power Girl: And what I want to talk to you about is not Power Girl, but rather, Girl Power.
and
Margot: And I hate wearing pants. If you're a superhero, you don't have to wear pants.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #3

We start off with Batman (Dick) standing in the debris of Wayne Tower, as Hush laughs at him for allowing this to happen. Dick delivers a punch across Hush's face but realizes that he's going to have to solve this because Hush won't help him, and neither can Bruce. Batman goes to meet up with Robin and Black Bat, and Penguin notes how four generations walked through the doors of the Iceberg Lounge, and how the rumors must be true, Batman is indeed slipping. As that happens we get random flashbacks to the Gates family, and Bradley tells his brother that the Waynes, Elliots and Cobblepots are using them until they have what they need, and then they'll be brushed aside and forgotten. Back at the Bat-Bunker, Tim tells everyone how the suit was created by the Gates of Gotham, Bradley and Nicholas Gates. They also discover that Dillon May was the last known owner of the suit, and it was stolen from him six months ago. Dick then decides he's going to go question Hush some more on the Gates, and tells Tim and Damian to go check with Dillion May and see if he knows anything about the suit. We then see that Dick has Cassandra read Tommy's body language when he's with the Architect, and she discovers that he wasn't afraid when he was with him which may be important. We quickly discover that Red Robin and Robin, while looking for clues have stumbled into the Architect's trap, and the issue ends soon after we find out that Nicholas Gates' brother was killed due to the drama that escalated between the Waynes, Cobblepots, Elliot's and the Kane's. This was a good issue, I hate the font they use for the flashbacks because it's harder to read in my opinion, but this was a fine issue, I'd give it a 7.5/10.

Red Robin: Well, deny it all you want, But I think we both know the real reason you don't like her... (Cass), is that she's just one more person your father picked over you. (BURN!!!)

Titans # 37

We start things off with Deathstroke explaining how this whole team was apart of his bland to get blood cells from Supergirl and build a machine that would help stabilize his son Jericho's cells and keep him from dying. The reason they broke into Arkham was even to free the Mad Hatter so he could help Slade come up with painkillers for Jericho, which are now starting not to be much help. They then put Jericho inside the machine and he comes out completely healed surprisingly. If there wasn't a reboot coming I'd say toss Roy in there and give him a damn arm. Once this is done, Slade tells his Titans they were all chosen for a reason, and that's because now he can bring back Lian, Black Adam and the rest of their loved ones, all he needs is the bodies. The Titans agree, with the exception of Cinder who doesn't want to bring her loved ones back to this world. Jade steps up to her and says she's not letting her get in the way of bringing back Lian, so Cinder clocks her then tries to destroy the machine. Osiris tries to stop her but Tattooed Man talks her down, saying if he can bring back his son he will and she's not going to ruin that. Roy then tells Jade he thinks Cinder is right, and he's been hiding from the fact that Lian's gone with drugs, but now he knows she's in a better place, and he wants to walk away from it all, the Titans, the machine, everything. Jade attacks Roy, saying she needs her daughter back. Which splits the team with Cinder and Arsenal vs. Cheshire, Ink and Osiris. The issue ends as Jericho, realizing he indirectly caused all of this, turns on Slade and says Slade and Jericho will both pay for their crimes as he uses his powers to take control of Slade. This was a pretty good issue, the stuff with Superman and Palmer was boring so I omitted it, but the rest was kinda interesting, plus I like stories where everything gels together and this one did, so I'll give this issue a 7/10 rating.

Dr. Sivana: Osiris, kill that bitch. (The best thing he's ever said...ever.)

And that's it for me everyone, just four comics this week, with pretty average scores for the most part. Next week should be a big week, which I'll be looking forward to. So, that's enough for me everyone, feel free to comment and let me know what you guys think. Also, don't forget to vote on this week's new poll and check out the results to last week's poll below. So until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger-man, Jason Todd, saying, Stay cool my babies!

Last week's poll asked "Which event are you looking forward to the most?"

Last place with 7.7% - Spider-Island swings into last place.
Second place with 15.4% - X-Men Schism falls into second place and...
Winner with 76.9% - The DCnU Reboot, proving that this blog has a lot more DC than Marvel readers.

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Gotham City Sirens #25, Green Lantern Corps #62, Detective Comics #880, Teen Titans #98 (RETURN OF SUPERBOY PRIME!!!),  Invincible #81, Amazing Spider-Man #666, Venom #5, and X-Men Schism #2! (Eight books, next week is gonna be VERY interesting.)

Ratings and Rantings

Hey Todd Squad, Jason Todd here with a big week for Ratings and Rantings. We've got seven hopefully awesome comics, including the first issue of Schism, the last issue of War of the Green Lanterns, the prelude to Spider-Island, one of the last issues of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, and SO much more. So enough of this lead-in, let's get to the meat and potatoes of the post, the reviews!

Green Lantern #67

We start off with action as Hal, Kyle, John, Guy, and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps charge the Guardians that are possessed by the color corp entities. They quickly realize they have to get the entities to make an emotional contact so Hal heads to the Book of the Black to free Sinestro, Atrocitus and the rest. Kyle draws them escaping from the book in one of the pages and it happens because that's how the book works. Once their free, the respective rings go to each of the Corp Leaders but before they can put them on their overridden and the rings all go to Krona. Krona uses his power to knock Ganthet away and then tries to kill Hal. Hal mentions that Krona's rage is wrong because the Guardians made a mistake and everyone is flawed. Sinestro overhears Hal's speech and before Krona can kill Hal, Sinestro interjects and says that Hal would die for the Corps (he already has...) and Sinestro said he would as well. By standing up to Krona, Sinestro is deemed worthy of a Green Lantern Corp ring, which even shocks him, and he and Hal team up to blast Krona. Krona says he's defeated Hundreds on Lanterns and they aren't turning the tide, and Hal somehow inexplicably uses his ring to kill Krona, who has the power of six rings, but whatever. Atrocitus oversees the killing blow and yells that Atrocitus was his to kill, meanwhile I yell that he should put on some damn pants. When Krona explodes, because that's what happens when you die via ring apparently, the rings fly free to their owners. Interesting enough, Indigo-1 yells asking where Abin Sur is, and Larfleeze yells "Keep the orange one away from me." yet both seem unaware of their actions after they get their rings. After the fight is over, Sinestro is still wearing the GL ring, whereas his Sinestro ring has went to someone else. (Maybe the Weaponer can take over his Corps?) The Guardians note that no Ring should've been powerful enough to kill a Guardian, referring to Krona being killed by Hal, and also note that they will decide what to do with Sinestro and his new ring. The Guardians then determine that Hal Jordan is dangerous, he hid his actions before Krona's attack and killed a Guardian, and they dishonorably discharge him from the Corps and take his Green Lantern ring! The issue ends with Hal being transported from Oa to a random spot on Earth, saying "This isn't how it was supposed to end." I figured with the Sinestro news, that Hal would lose his ring but that was shocking... I wonder what happens now and how he gets it back. I'm also curious as to how Hal killed Krona and where Sinestro's ring went, I'll give this issue an 8.5/10.

Guardian: In the past, we may have considered Hal Jordan the greatest Green Lantern, but now... he is the most dangerous.

Deadpool #40

Things start with the Merc with a Mouth being locked in an asylum, screaming that he's not crazy. We then jump to seeing that his defense attorney is none-other than Jessica "She-Hulk" Walters, and she kept him out of "The Raft", a prison for criminals with super-powers, but since Deadpool is Super-Human, he doesn't fit the criteria, and therefore belongs in a normal asylum. We then see Deadpool apparently has a friend in a Dr. Whitby. Deadpool tries to break out and Whitby allows him to use her as a hostage, but when DP finds out he's in England, he's a bit shocked and manages to get shot in the face, which knocks him unconscious for thirteen minutes. Whitby gets upset, saying Deadpool isn't crazy, if anything he's a troubled man, and it's a wonder he can move or speak. When DP wakes up thirteen minutes later in a glass cell, he tries to break out of the room and fails. Meanwhile, we see Dr. Whitby making an inmate do a puzzle, the inmate is in for committing Mass Murder, and the puzzle she's making him do apparently is a puzzle version of a picture of his murdering spree. Interesting that she'd take that approach to make him feel bad about the murders, and he replies that he doesn't like the puzzles, as Whitby walks away with a smirk. She then walks over to Deadpool, and he tries to chat her up so she'll free him, but when she comments on his scars, Deadpool realizes he doesn't have on his costume, and starts to get upset and claims people are laughing at him. He gets enraged, but Whitby tells him that his cell is unlocked. Deadpool takes this time to leave his cell and apparently injures ten other inmates so bad they needed to be hospitalized. Whitby takes this time to try to psycho-analyze Deadpool before we then cut over to one of the guys DP attacked, who wants to get back to the asylum for revenge, as this issue ends. Well... I couldn't get into that issue, not enough laughs, very slow story, unnecessary She-Hulk appearance. So yeah, this wasn't the best issue of Deadpool I've read, I'll give this one a 4/10.

Deadpool: Hey, didja see it when I stabbed that dude with his own femur?

Batgirl #23

Things start off with the GCPD being ransacked by three of the five Order of the Scythe members. They manage to get back the suits of the two members Batgirl defeated recently. Batgirl, recently back from her trip to the U.K., finds out that her former unwanted sidekick, the Grey Ghost, has been killed in her absence. Batgirl then gets some info from Detective Nick Gage about his past as a Reaper. We find out that when he was a Reaper, a heist went wrong and it lead to his fiance getting killed. Gage then tells Batgirl that Grey Ghost's dying words were "find Batgirl" and gives her a recording he left for her, explaining the Scythe's plans. I can't help but feel Clancy was killed here because of the reboot, and had it not happened he would've been around much longer. When Batgirl finds out that the two former super-powered suits she took down are being broken out of prison, she heads there. After calling Batman and Robin, and finding out the Dynamic Duo and the Birds of Prey are all busy, so Batgirl decides to go in alone, against the five super-powered villains. Before she goes in, she tells Gage to give Babs Gordon a call, because although she'd never say it, she digs Detective Gage, as Batgirl drops into the prison as Gage looks confused. Batgirl takes a beating but finds out Order of the Scythe Suits are there to keep everyone busy and murder their client, so Batgirl yells out "SHAZAM!" Surprisingly this brings her allies, in the form of Supergirl. Stargirl, Bombshell and Miss Martian. Now that's a Teen Dream Team if I've ever seen one, just add Ravager. The Furious Female Heroines take it to the Reapers and quickly dispose of all of them. Supergirl mentions making this team-up a regular thing, that I hope alludes to a future comic, which I doubt. The second to last issue ends as Batgirl goes to find out who the "client" is, as we see it's none other than her father, the Cluemaster. Well that was a surprising swerve, I'm wondering how the final issue of Stephanie and Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl series will end, but it's going to be bitter sweet. This was a fine issue, but of course it seemed rushed for obvious reasons, I'll give this issue a 8/10.

Batgirl: SHAZAM!

Jabberwock: Wait... Guys, she isn't magic, right?

Red Robin #25

Tim Drake's getting raped, or that's how we start anyway. More and more like Dick Grayson each day, eh Timothy? Anyway, he's "saved" from being raped by the half-sister of Ra's Al Ghul, by Cassandra Cain. Cass manages to subdue both Promise and the younger Al Ghul. Cassandra then frees Tim and stabs him in the back with a sword that protrudes through his chest. Once his blood pours onto the floor, it's confirmed as his and a door opens, allowing Cass to be immortalized among the past Assassination Tournament winners. As Cass takes her place, a laser takes a shot at her but she's tacked out of the way by Tim, who faked his death with the help of Cassandra, a collapsible katana, and a blood pack that contained a pint of Tim's blood mixed with glycerin water. Pretty damn clever, Timmy. Tim talks to the mysterious man that's lived for centuries and apparently wanted him dead, and he asks where Tim see's himself in twenty years. We see images of his grave, a futuristic Batman in Red and Black, and Tim sitting at a Giant computer, which all seem viable. Tim claims he doesn't plan that far ahead, but the mysterious voice says Tim has likely just thought of three scenarios, but Tim will actually be by his side. Tim then realizes that the base their in is going to explode soon, so he and Cassandra high-tail it out of there as it explodes. After realizing he has no answers and a ton of questions, Tim tells Cassandra thanks for helping, and she asks if he'll help with Cricket, to which he replies that he will after tying up some loose ends. We then see Tam Fox slap the taste out of his mouth after finding out her father's death was a ruse constructed by him to help find a criminal. She says she fell in love with Red Robin because he was cool, but the man under the mask is just cold. We then see Red Robin and Black Bat get their asses handed to them by Cricket in Hong Kong, a ten-year-old kid who is fast enough to seem as if he has power from the Speed Force, and is one of the deadliest fighters on the planet. Tim uses the six weeks healing from his dislocated shoulder and jaw, and three broken ribs, courtesy of Cricket, by getting a new apartment with his own base, and of course, "assassinating Captain Boomerang"?! as this issue ends. This was another good issue, I like how the loose ends are tying up, but the Cricket ass-whooping didn't help him or Cass.. so that was weird to just throw in there. Anyway, the next issue of Red Robin is the last one, and we finally get to see Tim get revenge on the man that killed his father, so that alone should be worth the price of admission, I'll give this issue a 7/10.

Red Robin: He left Cass with something worse: the promise that he'd fight her "for real" next time. (Dayum, burn by Cricket!)

Green Lantern Corps #61

John Stewart, taking angry black man to a whole new level. (That's what they SHOULD'VE put on the cover.) We start off seeing thousands of Green Lantern rookies taking their rings off one by one and throwing them into a gigantic green hill of rings. One rookie thinks she deserves it, so she flies off with it. We see that her name is Qurina Vint, and she's the first person from her planet to be inducted into the Green Lantern Corps. She's a cop who got her ring during the Mogo fiasco, even though she was in the middle of a drug bust gone bad. Qurina flies off and finds John, who still feels bad about killing Mogo, and she says maybe he can relate since he's the only person who feels less welcome there than her. John agrees, and she explains how she was a cop on her planet and she feels she can do it on a cosmic scale. John tells her if she wants to prove her worth to veterans and such then she should report to basic training with Stel. She agrees but she gets a message on her ring that says she has an emergency in her sector, and since she's the only Lantern for that sector now, she goes to help, and John follows after her. When they arrive to the planet, they realize it's pretty much a civil war, so the first thing Qurina does is remove the weapons from both sides. That causes them to send airships for attacks instead, so John has Qurina keep everyone from killing with each other and heads to talk to the leaders of the two factions. Of course John solves everything and by the end of the mission, tells Qurina to remember that her ring isn't the only weapon she has, her brain should always be used just as much as the ring. The issue ends with Qurina saying she plans on attending Stel's training and she notes that she plans on telling anyone who will listen that John Stewart mourns what he did to Mogo more than anyone will ever know. Well this was a find issue, nothing happened of course, because it's the second to last issue before the reboot, but it was fine for what it was, I'd give it a 7/10.

John Stewart: When your only tool is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail. Don't ever forget that this weapon on your hand is only as good as the one between your ears.

Amazing Spider-Man #665

We kick things off with Peter Parker and his former-crush turned one of his best friends, Betty Brant, and how they always try to hang out the first Friday of each month for movie night. But in typical Spider-Man fashion, he has to break off the monthly movie date with Betty due to always being busy, between working at Horizon Labs, being a member of both the Avengers and the FF, and his original Spider-Man duties, he's pretty damn busy. Betty gets upset at Pete standing her up and says that she misses back when he was a struggling photographer, which upsets Peter since Betty has been on him for years to make something of himself, so he kind of snaps on her and hangs up. Betty's boyfriend, Flash Thompson (secretly Agent Venom), then comes to check on her before he leaves for a secret Venom assignment. He promises her he'll take her to see her movie when she comes back, but sadly it's only going to be playing today, (it was in theaters for ever but Pete kept standing her up), and Flash remarks that it's in the worst part of town but if that place is still standing, he'll taker her when he gets back. Betty decides she can take care of herself, and after Flash leaves she heads out to see the movie. On the way to the theater, she of course manages to get grabbed, and the next thing wee see is Glory Grant running through a hospital saying she's there to see Betty. Glory calls Pete and tells him what happened and he immediately thinks of the time he let a criminal run past him and that led to Uncle Ben's death, as he puts on his Spider-Man suit and goes to look for whoever hurt Betty. In the waiting room we see Robbie Robertson, Glory Grant, Mary Jane, Carlie Cooper and more of Pete's friends, even J. Jonah Jameson shows up. We see that Flash has been contacted and is on the way back to New York and Aunt May and Jay Jameson are waiting for him at the airport. Betty apparently wasn't sexually assaulted but has a cracked rib, head trauma and swelling on her brain. Jonah has brought a neurosurgeon from Mount Sinai, and he notes that he's lost Marla, he refuses to lose Betty, who is like a daughter to him. He says if you think he's been tough on crime before, wait until now. We then see Spider-Man, beating a small-time crook senseless, looking for answers of Betty's attacker, and he finds her pendant that her mother gave her. Spider-Man demands a name from the crook and finds out the guy who attacked Betty's name is Harlan Finch. We see Spider-Man beat the hell out of a ton of criminals, all the while demanding leads on Finch. Flash finally shows up at the hospital, and is upset he wasn't there and was on a mission as Venom. May eventually notices Peter isn't there yet, MJ tries to cover for him since she knows he's Spider-Man, but Aunt May says to stop making excuses for him because this is too much. Peter finally finds Harlan but before he can get him, Aunt May calls and dishes a guilt trip, saying she hasn't been this disappointed in him since the night Ben died. She says how he disappeared the night Ben died instead of staying with her, of course she doesn't know he went after Ben's killer, but Peter apologizes. Peter abandons his chase for Harlan and manages to make it to the hospital before Betty wakes up. When Betty wakes up, Peter returns her locket which makes her quite happy, and the two finally enjoy their movie night, as Peter sits next to Betty in her hospital bed as this issue ends. Now this was a great issue, Dan Slott usually brings it and this was no different. Everything about this comic was great, you felt Peter's rage, Betty's disappointment, Flash's guilt, everything worked here, I'll give this a 10/10.

Spier-Man: Who sold you this?! HIS NAME! NOW!

X-Men: Schism #1

We start things off with Wolverine arriving home, with spears and ninja stars (shurikens) sticking out of his chest. He finds out he apparently has a combat class to teach, per Cyclops' orders, but Wolverine is sleepy and tired so he dismisses the class. He goes to finally catch some Z's, but Cyclops tells him he has a speech to deliver in Switzerland, and for some reason Wolverine needs to be there, so he agrees to come with Scott says he can sleep on the plane. They arrive at the Conference and they talk about Scott's speech, all the while making jokes at one another's expense and showing that their relationship has come a long way, which makes the impending break up more meaningful, so nice work Mr. Aaron. Scott's speech is apparently to get everyone to deactivate their Sentinels, considering they've claimed the lives of so many mutants and humans alike. During his speech, someone walks in and interrupts, and that someone is Quentin Quire a.k.a. Kid Omega. Quire uses his psychic powers to make every politician there speak out their horrible deeds, including someone beating their children because they enjoy it and a man cheating on his wife of thirty-five years as she low dies from Leukemia. Everyone blames the X-Men for what's going on since Quire referred to himself as the future leader of the X-Men before committing his deed and disappearing. This leads to at least six Sentinels being activated and told to attack any male mutants, which includes Wolverine and Cyclops. They dispose of the Sentinels and manage to catch Quentin pop up on television, saying how he singlehandedly made the Earth's leaders into puppets and he did it for mutantkind. Afterwards, we see Mr. Kilgore announce that due to the recent developments, Kilgore Brand Small Arms are now half-priced. As Kilgore leaves, he see's his son, Kade Kilgore, is in his car with him and has a gun pointed at the elder Kilgore. He mentions how he's slowly taken over the company, being a child prodigy and all, and has even taken Kilgore's driver and bodyguard Bessy from him. Kade then shoots his father and lets him fall from the hover-car as he remarks that he just killed his father and took his company and feels no remorse, before telling Bessy to take him to the clubhouse to meet with the others. Back on Utopia, while Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor and Magneto discuss the current news, Wolverine drifts away and gets a box from Kitty Pryde. He then takes it to a teenage mutant, a young fourteen year old named Idie that was going to be in his combat class. He gives her a doll, which relates to earlier when he said a girl her age should be playing with dolls, and she remarked that she had one once but it was burned when she was accused of being a witch. It seems Wolverine has taken a shine to the young woman, the same paternal shine he took to both Jubilee and Kitty. So Wolverine and Idie eat ice cream together and bond a bit. This is interrupted when the news reports that many countries have started to build even larger, more powerful Sentinels. Cyclops tells Emma to get on Cerebra and tell everyone with an X-Gene whats going on, Storm thinks he's acting too fast but Cyclops says he wants to be prepared. We then see Kade Kilgore at his clubhouse meeting with a bunch of hooded figures, as he mentions how he's the one who freed Quentin Quire, although Quentin is unaware. The issue ends as the twelve year old Kade Kilgore takes his spot as the new Black King of the Hellfire Club. Now this was a really good issue, I'm new to the X-Men comics but I never felt lost or unaware of what I was reading, which is good. I'm wondering how the actual Schism between the team will start, as I know it will now include Kilgore, Quire and a bunch of Sentinels, but this was a great start, I'll give this issue a 9/10.

Wolverine's sign: Logan's quarters, Warning: trespassers will be stabbed repeatedly.

And just like that, that's all for this week's edition of Ratings and Rantings. I had a pretty good week with Schism and Spidey especially, and DC's bittersweet since Batgirl and Red Robin are ending soon, but all in all this was a nice week for comics. But I'm outta here, thanks for reading and be sure to vote on this week's weekly poll. So until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd, until next time, Keep Cool my babies!

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Batman: Gates of Gotham #3, Power Girl #26, Superman/Batman #86, Titans #37, and War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath #1,

Ratings and Rantings

Hey Todd Squad, yours truly, Jason Todd, here again with your favorite weekly comic content comments, Ratings and Rantings! We've got another short week ahead of us but it should be action-packed, considering the big Batman/Robin/Red Hood team up, the Titans taking on the JLA, and the last issue of the Batman/Powers showdown, so let's get this thing started.

Titans Annual 2011

 We start things off as Isis and Osiris make their presence felt in a Kahndaq war, heavily tipping the scales in favor of their country. Iris thinks to herself how different Osiris has been acting since he killed The Persuader back in 52, as Osiris kills a bunch of retreating soldiers. Meanwhile the other Titans run into the JLA who tell them their under arrest for murdering Ryan Choi, Deathstoke, with his eye back somehow tells the JLA the back off or he'll detonate a nuke he has aboard the ship which will take out China. Cheshire and Roy tell Slade to give it up because he won't blow up a country, but Slade mentions that the JLA will back down because they won't risk Roy's life, not after Choi or Star City, and that's the only reason he let Roy join the team in the first place, and this was his plan all along. Once the JLA realize they can't stop the explosion or contain it, Batman (Grayson) tells them to fall back. We then see Tattooed Man at Slade's base when he's met by Dr. Impossible and Sr. Sivana who show him that Slade's basically created the fountain of youth pretty much,and the Titans have helped him put it together with their plans over the past few months. They then give TM a transportation device that sends him to Slade and the Titans, as they are currently trying to re-recruit Osiris. Osiris see's Slade and attacks but Slade gets him to calm down when he mentions he still may be able to bring Black Adam back and after some smooth talking, things go according to plan. Soon after, we finally see the Titans and the JLA throwdown, and when Cinder blasts Congorilla, Starman blasts her back which causes her to blow up, but somehow she's able to pull herself back together, kind of like Clayface. Meanwhile, Slade and Palmer face off while Donna and Jade fight while discussing Roy, and Batman and Arsenal one one another. Tattooed Man joins the fight and is hesitant to fight the good guys but he has a debt with Slade so he does, and brings down Supergirl with his magic. Slade then pulls out a Sword coated with Kryptonite and attacks Supergirl, and we see this was a gift from Lex after saving his life back in the first Titans mission. As the two teams fight, Isis is fed up and causes a tornado to move both teams off her land, she then says outsiders are no longer welcome there and bans the J.L.A from Kahndaq. Batman wants to stay and fight and says they should've killed Slade years ago but Slade says they never will and that's why he'll keep winning. The JLA leaves while Arsenal thinks to himself maybe he does have hope again, hope that he can kill Slade. The issue ends with Slade using blood he got from Supergirl as the final stage of his "Fountain of Youth", as he plans on healing someone he cares about, and we see a flesh decaying Jericho as the issue ends. Damn this was better than I expected, and now I gotta get the last two issues of Titans... but I liked the big fight and seeing Roy and Dick throw down, as well as Donna and Jade. I'll give this issue a 7.5/10.

Donna Troy: You were always bad for Roy.

Cheshire: You're just jealous you couldn't keep him. Maybe you were a lousy lay? (Burn!)

 Batman Beyond #7

We get started with Batman being grabbed by Derek Powers a.k.a. Blight and he uses his phosphorus touch to grab Batman's head and literally melt away at his mask and onto his skin. Batman frees himself by using a Batarang to break part of Powers' containment suit, which will likely kill him. Powers' assistant, Mr. French calms him down long enough to explain that if he doesn't get this suit patched soon he'll die, and Batman uses that opportunity to escape. Batman arrives back at Wayne Manor to tell Bruce that Powers was behind everything, but Bruce is already aware. Bruce heads down to purchase his company anyway and uses that as a chance to lure out Blight, who takes the bait. Batman joins the frenzy and he and Blight face off once more. Batman manages to overpower the containment suit on Blight and makes it explode, which makes Blight turn into a gas and drift away or something. The issue ends soon after once Bruce Wayne makes it known to Terry that he intends to rename Wayne/Powers enterprises to Wayne Incorporated. Well this was a quick issue, there was some other stuff with Terry's friends and stuff that I didn't care to review, so yeah this flew by. It was okay, nothing special, I was kinda bored near the end but maybe that's because I know there may not be left in this Batman Beyond series come September, anyway I'll give this a 5/10.

JT: These subway stories are pissing me off....

Batman and Robin #25

Okay, so I bought this variant cover because A.) It's awesome as hell and the same price as the original, and B.) It didn't feature my namesake getting his face kicked into a brick wall. Anyway, we start off with Scarlet telling her captor that Jason Todd is coming to save her, and he's gonna kill the woman who kidnapped her. We then see Batman, Robin and Red Hood heading to save Scarlet, along the way, Jason won't shut up with the quips, which annoys Robin. The entire thing is hilarious, especially when Jason says maybe Damian will loosen up once he hits puberty. Before they arrive to save Scarlet, Jason blasts his way out of the Hovering Batmobile and gets a lead over Batman and Robin. Red Hood asks the kidnapper where she wants to meet him, and they decide to meet at Thomas Wayne Middle School. Once he gets there, they demand he drop his guns and strip and Jason does surprisingly, making ever female member of the Todd Squad blush. Anyway, they see Jason is unarmed and free Scarlet, and Batman and Robin spring into action, as they'd been hovering over in the camouflaged hover mobile. Bats goes to save Scarlet but some goons grab her first, and the first, second and fifth Robin's start to take out the goons, as Batman tells Jason no killing, and Jason acquiesces. We see some interesting thoughts on Dick from Jason as they fight side-by-side to take out all of the armed henchmen. Damian saves Scarlet but as he's repelling up to the Batmobile, Jason shoots his line and catches Scarlet, saving her himself. They then head to his Red Hoodcopter, because everyone knows he has one apparently. Batman and Robin pursue Jason as he and Scarlet escape but he detonates a bomb that he apparently planted months ago, and tells Batman and Robin they can save lives or come after him, and of course the Dynamic Duo have to go save civilians while Red Hood and Scarlet escape as this issue ends. Now this was a great issue, I loved all the banter between Red Hood, Batman and Robin. I loved seeing the snarky Jason one-up the Dynamic Duo. Sure a lot of questions weren't answered like who that chick was and why she wanted Jason, but who cares. This is my favorite of the three issues, and this is my blog, so I'll give this a solid 10/10.

Red Hood: Wow. This is one tight-assed sidekick. Not a lot of quips gonna be coming out of this Robin, huh, Dick?

And that's it for this week's R&R everyone! Next week should be a much bigger week as seen below, so feel free to check out the results of last week's poll below, no poll this week since Vizu is down though, so that's it for me guys and gals, until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger Man, Jason Todd. And in the words of Conan O'Brien, Be cool my babies!

Last week's poll asked "Which DCnU series needed a reboot the most?"

Last place with 9.1% - Superman and Teen Titans, because walking around doesn't get boring. :P

Second Place with 27.3% - Wonder Woman, I've said it once, I'll say it again, she just got a reboot sadly.

Winner with 54.5% - Justice League of America, because no JLA team should have Congorilla... ever.

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Batgirl #23, Green Lantern #67, Green Lantern Corps #61, Red Robin #25, Amazing Spider-Man #665, Deadpool #40, and X-Men Schism #1! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!