Ratings and Rantings

Hey Todd Squad, Jason Todd here with a your weekly collection of comic content comments. First things first, I saw that next week I'm only picking up two books, so I'm bumping Kick Ass 2 #3 and Superman Beyond #0 to next week so I at least have four books. Also,  this just so happens to be the final week of the DCU being the way we know it, because this Wednesday, Flashpoint ends and the DCU Changes. Babs becomes Batgirl again, Roy regains an arm, Dick loses the cowl, Superman loses his marriage and many more changes, so with this as the final week of the DCU until it's retconned or something, let;s take a look at the final DCU Comics in this timeline, starting off with the final issue of Gotham City Sirens!

Gotham City Sirens #26

We start things off with Harley and Ivy attacking Catwoman, who immediately goes on the offensive. Batman shows up and tells Gordon to let the girls fight this out for ten minutes, as it's between them and surprisingly Gordon allows it. Selina holds her own until she finds out it's hammer time, courtesy of Harley. Once they have Selina down, Ivy says Selina shouldn't be surprised since she betrayed two women that saved her, but Catwoman laughs and says she's the one who saved them. She basically says that Batman was pulling the strings and got them all together with a master plan that maybe they'd do good in Gotham. Harley says what Selina's saying makes sense but Ivy still thinks she's lying. Catwoman then says she basically kept then out of Arkham until they forced her hand, and that she helped them because she thinks their both better than that and can do more for Gotham outside of Arkham. Once finding out Batman was pulling the strings, Poison Ivy gets upset and starts destroying buildings and such, demanding Batman come face her. Bats shows up but Catwoman buys Harley and Ivy some time to escape, as the two go their own ways, setting up for their new roles in the DCnU. The issue ends soon after with Catwoman getting ready to take on Bats to give her friends a head start. Well this was... something. The ending just came off weird for me here, it wasn't bad and I'm sure it was rushed due to the situation DC has but it felt forced and odd, I just couldn't enjoy it like I wanted to, so I'll give it a 6/10.

Catwoman: I kept you free. Until you forced me to put you in Arkham.

Teen Titans #100

We start this issue with the Teen Titans and the former Teen Titans taking on Superboy Prime and his Terror Titans. After a few are taken care of like Indigo, Sun Girl and the Zookeeper, Cassie attacks Prime. While those two duke it out, Kid Flash grabs Inertia and runs around trying to kill him until he's stopped by Raven. This story was so rushed it shouldn't have even been done. Plus the fact that's not the real Inertia bothers me endlessly. Anyway, we cut over to Superboy taking on the clones, when he tells Ravager to go grab the box from his room we saw a few issues ago, and she grabs it to find a sharp piece of Kryptonite. She stabs one of the Superboy clones with it, then gives it to Robin who looks joyed to kill a Kryptonian with a piece of Kryptonite. After getting rid of everyone else, all of the Titans attack Prime at once, because, it's not like he killed a bunch of Titans and Outsiders and was stronger than Superman. Once he's been defeated, Conner decides there's only one place that can hold Prime, and he and Supergirl put Prime in the source wall, his own personal hell. Well, that's a let down, Prime was an A-Lister now he's beaten by a bunch of Teenagers. Afterwards, we see Conner and Ravager talking, and he tells her if he goes crazy he needs someone like her to put him down, and she has her feelings hurt because she thinks Conner see's her only as a murderer. Aww, poor murderous Rose. The issue ends soon after with Raven and Beast Boy kissing and the Teen Titans posing, well alright. This was a big let down in my opinion, as Prime was amde to look like a chump. Superboy beat up the Teen Titans by himself, there's no way four Superboy clones plus Prime AND a team of equally matched Titans should've been destroyed so easily. I'd give this issue a 3/10 rating.

Robin: You have no idea what cutting loose is, Red Robin. But I'd like to see that.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #5

We start things off with Batman taking it to The Architect, Dillon May. Meanwhile, under Kane bridge, Black Bat and Robin are trying to disarm the bomb that was planted there by The Architect. With a plan forged by Cassandra, she and Damian detonate the bombs safely away from the bridge, keeping everyone safe. After the bridge is safe, Batman subdued the Architect and explains that the Gates went made from the suit, and extended use caused extreme decompression sickness which pretty much drove the Gates insane. After proving this, Batman asks how long Dillon has been in the suit, which enrages Dillon causing him to break free of Batman's bind. He dives at Batman but Bats removes Dillon's Helmet before cracking him across the face with it. We later see Dick checking in with Bruce via satellite, and explaining "Dillon May" was an alias and the Architect was actually Zachary Gate. Bruce commends Dick on his work and says with enough time he'll be an even better Batman than Bruce. The issue ends soon after with Bruce announcing he's coming home to see Dick and Damian soon and to have a talk, and a quick flashback shows Nicolas Gate being sent to Arkham with Alan Wayne still trying to help his former friend. Well... another rushed issue, it was fine but the Dillon May reveal was pretty obvious, hell X-Man75 pointed it out like three issues ago. I'd give this issue a 6.5/10.

Bruce: I never doubted it Dick. Given enough time I'm sure you'd make an even better Batman than me.

Batman: Arkham City #5

The final issue of the comic mini that bridged the gap between Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. We start things off with Batman finding more info on Hugo Strange, and we also see the biggest damn Robin I've ever seen in my life. I swear this Robin looks like Captain Atom in a Robin costume. Batman realizes he can't go after Hugo since he's hiding in plain sight, so he decides to confront him as Billionaire Bruce Wayne instead. At a press conference, Bruce makes it known that four years ago Hugo Strange vanished from Arkham Asylum, and now he's supposed to be in charge of Arkham City. But Huge plays it like a politician and says inept doctors made mistakes, but more importantly why does a rich playboy care about a Doctor he's never met? Bruce quickly replies that he doesn't think the criminals of Arkham City will stay in Arkham City for very long, especially with Strange in charge of things. Hugo stands by his guns and says that Arkham City has no weaknesses, and unless Wayne wants to expose any secrets, he has nothing else to say to him. After Arkham City opens, Zsasz is allowed to escape only to be caught, as to kill any fears of the people of Gotham. As the issue comes to a close we see Catwoman, as well as many villains in their new environments, carving a niche in Gotham and Arkham City, including Two-Face, Penguin, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, Harley Quinn and of course The Joker, as Strange thinks to himself how he's aware that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one in the same and how he's eagerly awaiting his return to Arkham City. Now this was a fun issue, it really set the tone for the game, which I can't wait to play. The art was great, especially for Poison Ivy and Two Face, and the story was simple but well written, I'll give this an 8/10.

Hugo Strange: I eagerly await your return to Arkham City.

Deadpool #42

We start things off with Deadpool arguing with Death, as she calls him lazy and says she's leaving him. Deadpool doesn't care that Death is leaving him, as he's content sitting around and being "disabled." Turns out Deadpool is dreaming, as the Foolkiller stands over him shouting for Deadpool to wake up and fight him. After not getting a reply Foolkiller knocks Deadpool down and reaches for his mask, when Pool reaches up and grabs Foolkiller by the neck. We then see Deadpool's dream and how he's changed and wants to find his dear old Death again, and how that's pretty much revitalized Deadpool to his old self as he wakes up and beats the hell out of Foolkiller and the rest of the inmates, until DP gets distracted which allows the Foolkiller to hit him with a stun baton, which leads to a dogpile on Deadpool. We then find out that Foolkiller is in love with Doc Whitby, and that's why he's jealous and angry of Deadpool. Also, she signed off on FK's parole, and he doesn't want to leave, so he plans on killing Deadpool and getting a permanent stay. Deadpool has a plan, and we later see that he and The Foolkiller switched masks and FK stays in place of Deadpool while the Merc with a Mouth is a free man. Actually, I was reading this comic and reviewed as I read, and guessed that before finishing because it was obvious, and I was right, because I'm obviously "The Man". The issue ends soon after with Deadpool leaving dressed as the Foolkiller, but not before Doctor Whitby tells Wade she loves him and now that he's free they can be together, as Deadpool realizes he's now the object of affection but someone who's crazy, and not crazy sexy, but scary ugly. Well this was a fine issue as well, nothing amazing but it was far from bad, albeit predictable. I'd give this issue a 7/10.

Deadpool: I'm killin' everyone!

And that's it for this week's Ratings and Rantings everyone. This was a pretty lackluster week, and not the best way for the current DCU to end but what can you do, this was clearly a rushed plan. But next week should be interesting as we finally get a look at the DCnU. That's it for me though, I'll see you guys next week, until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger-man, Jason Todd, signing off!

Last week's weekly poll asked "Which Comic Movie did you like more/or want to see more if you haven't seen any?"

Last place with 8.3% - Green Lantern, It's DC's Blackest Night so far...
Second place with 25.0% - Tie between Thor and Captain America, maybe Avengers will do better?
Winner with 41.7% - X-Men: First Class, I almost voted for this as well, man this was a great movie.

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Justice League of America #1, Amazing Spider-Man #668, Superman Beyond #0 and Kick-Ass 2 #3

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, Jason Todd back with more of your favorite comic content comments, Ratings and Rantings! After my post yesterday on the new Ultimate Spider-Man controversy if you want to call it that, I'm back and ready to review my comics for this week. Surprisingly it's only three comics, even more surprisingly they're all Batman comics, and each features a different Batman! We have Bruce Wayne in Arkham City, Dick Grayson in Gates of Gotham, and Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond. So let's get things started with our Dark Knights of Gotham City!

Batman: Arkham City #4

We start things off with Batman arriving at Arkham City and jumping right into the line of fire, as Warden Sharp's guards were waiting for him. Once Batman gets away from the guards he hears the man that's really behind Warden Sharp and Arkham City, the man they've yet to reveal as Hugo Strange. It turns out he's cracked the frequency Bats uses in his cowl to talk to Oracle and Alfred and is taunting Batman through it. Strange has also got his task-force trained in to know Batman's fighting style, and their suits even absorb the impact of his explosive gel. When Batman is taking on the task-force, he's saved by a huge armored tank, bring driven by none-other than Catwoman. Once with Catwoman, Batman shuts off his comm link, so Strange can't hear him and Selina talking. Bats asks Catwoman why she's there, and the obvious answer is she's there to steal things. She also mentions running into and helping Poison Ivy, so she'll owe her one. Interesting, I guess that confirms Ivy for the Arkham City game. She mentions how she helped Ivy escape and she's staked out at the Central Gardens, before Batman warns her that even with allies like Ivy, Arkham City is dangerous, before he leaves Selina in her ride. We then see the Joker meeting with a Doctor he's keeping hostage to see if he's healing from the Titan serum, but his vitals are still destabilizing. We then see that Joker asked the Doctor to isolate the toxin from his blood sample, and the doctor hands it over to Joker, I wonder what THAT will lead to. After getting what he needs, The Doctor is led to his death by The Joker, oh you! Meanwhile, Batman attacks a group of guards that are waiting to ambush him, he then takes one and hangs him off the edge of the building, demanding to know who is the main man in charge. The guard tells him the man's name is Hugo Strange, as we cut to Hugo to see him in a room surrounded by monitors of Batman, looking pleased with himself as he promises to become immortal by taking everything Batman has and is, as this issue comes to a close. This was a great issue. We got to see a bit of Joker's plan, Catwoman popped up, we got a hint that Ivy will be in the Arkham City game, and now we definitively know (in the comic) that Strange is the man behind Arkham City. I'll give this issue an 8.5/10 rating.

Batman: Be careful Selina, this isn't a game.

Catwoman: You're telling me. Security has gotten tighter than my catsuit.

Batman Beyond #8

Just so you guys know, it was reported at the DCU Blog that the Batman Beyond series will start again in 2012, but this is the final issue of 2011. So we start this off with Batman fighting a mysterious villain named Inque. Imagine the Venom Symbiote beating up people, and there you go. After getting the best of Batman, Inque shoves herself down some poor guys throat and escapes using his body, until she makes him spit her out. Yeah, it sounds worse than it was. While Batman tries to pursue Inque, we find out a bit about her past. It turns out she was from a poor city and when she was a kid her country had a civil war which destroyed her city. And once her family went poor, they had to turn to the Black Market to sell their possessions, and once they ran out of possessions, the Black Market took Inque, as her parents were left behind to die. Once they made it to America, Inque escaped, and when she got sick she discovered she was pregnant, so she had a will to go on. Once she was offered a chance in an experimental procedure, she accepted, as she had food and shelter, but once they were concerned she would die from the tests, they returned her to the streets. She finally had her child while living in a charity ward and months after, she started to transform into the Inque she is now, so she gave her child to an Orphanage and waited to die, but she didn't. She then decided to use her powers as a service to make cash, and send the cash anonymously to her daughter to make sure she's well taken care of. She eventually revealed herself to her teenage daughter, thinking she'd understand, but she didn't. I actually stopped reading here, I just couldn't get into this issue. I tried but there was nothing endearing about this story that made me want to read about it, especially since it's the last issue of the year for Batman Beyond, it should've at least featured more Terry, some stuff with Dick Grayson or something. I gotta give this a N/A.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #4

Things get started with Red Robin and Robin fighting The Architect. Batman contacts Red Robin and says the Architect;s next target is Kane bridge, and Red Robin mentions he and Damian are fighting him now, so Dick says he and Cass will be right over. The Architect is holding his own against the Robins, but Damian dropkicks him through a load bearing beam which causes the building to come down on top of them. From there we jump to a flashback, and see one of the Gates mourning the death of his brother. He doesn't believe his death was an accident and uses the same suit the Architect now uses to move the rubble underwater to find proof that his brother's murder was premeditated. We then see Alan Wayne telling Nicholas Gates he's sorry about his brother, but Nicholas says he thinks his brother was murdered and asks for Alan's help. Alan tells him he won't because secrets are power and that's something he'd never understand. Yep, Alan Wayne was a bit of a dick. Back in present times, Batman and Black Bat arrive to help Robin and Red Robin but the Architect has already escaped. Red Robin then tells the gang that the Architect plans to blow up the Kane Bridge, which will result in half the city being drowned. While looking for the plans for the bridge, Black Bat comes across Nicholas Gates' diary, and we see another flashback, this time of Gates in the Architect suit attacking Cameron Kane. Robert Kane overhears and shoots Gates in the back, and when Gates grabs Robert by the neck, his suit depressurizes which causes him to lose mobility, but the suit stays choking Robert Kane, who dies soon after. He's soon arrested, but the final lines in his diary say that he doesn't regret what he did, he only regrets he couldn't do more. The issue ends soon after with Batman going to stop the Architect at Kane Bridge, once and for all. This was a fine issue, nothing amazing but far from bad. The only big reveal I could see is that Nicholas is still alive but I doubt that, but I guess we'll see soon enough. I'd give this issue a 7/10 rating.

The Architect: I am the Architect, Gotham's forgotten son, but soon they will remember. (Seems like something Gates would say to me...)

And that's it for me, on a quick edition of Ratings and Rantings. Next week should be interesting as I'll have more books, many of which are the final issues of their runs before the DCnU starts. But that's it for me, feel free to comment and vote on this weeks newest poll, as well as checking out the results of last weeks. Until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger-man, Jason Todd, signing off.

Last week's poll asked "Which Marvel Hero would you like to see get Spider-Man's powers in Spider-Island?"

Last place with 9.1% - Captain America, Super Soldiers don't need Spider Powers I guess...
Second Place with 18.2% - Tie between the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool and the Gamma Giant, the Hulk
Winner with 54.5% - Wolverine, the best there is at spinning webs, bub.

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Batgirl #24 (Sad to see it go), Detective Comics #881, Red Robin #26, Teen Titans #99, War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath #2, Morning Glories #11, Amazing Spider-Man #667, and Deadpool #41! Eight comics next week!

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 everyone, Jason Todd here with another edition, albeit short, of Ratings and Rantings! This week's post only has a measly two comics to review, but this post will also feature this month's second Top Five 5 questions, so that works! So with that to look forward to, I don't wanna keep you loyal readers waiting, so let's jump right in and get these two issues reviewed.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #2

We start things off viewing the past of Gotham, as we see Alan Wayne and his fellow cohorts decide to make structures that would one day become known as the Gates of Gotham. We then fast forward to present day and see Batman, Robin and Red Robin meeting with Commissioner Gordon at Arkham, where Hush has apparently been attacked and abducted. Batman figures that since someone broke into Arkham to get Hush, then they still need him. And since they attacked the last living Elliot, then the Cobblepot and a Wayne family heirs are their next targets. We then see Hush underground with his captor, he tells him that he respects what he's doing, but if he makes it out of this alive, to stay away from the Waynes, because Hush is going to kill him if he doesn't. Hush then gets a punch to the back of the head for his troubles. Rule #31 Hush, never talk trash while you're in a straitjacket. Next we see Robin and Black Bat, staking out Penguin, in what I believe is their first ever meeting. Damian confirms this by telling Cassandra he's heard about her, and how she was destined to lead the League of Assassin's to glory. He tells her he's not impressed, and in typical Damian fashion insults her by saying "he's not the one his father relegated to Hong Kong." Cass ignores him and goes into action after finding a back entrance into the Iceberg Lounge. We then see Batman, as he breaks into the Elliot Family Manor. He mentions how he's down the street from Wayne Manor but can count on one hand how many time's he's been to Elliot's house in his life, and that was as Nightwing. Dick thinks to himself how little he knows about the Elliot's and Gotham in general, and how even though he's no longer a sidekick, he misses not having someone to go to with all the answers. Back with Black Bat, we see her talking to Red Robin via comm link, who mentions how many times he's thought of killing Damian but would having to explain it to Bruce is what stops him. From there, Cass asks him how his search is going, but Tim isn't really getting and hood results. Over in Iceberg Lounge, Penguin soon discovers a bomb, and the club empties as Black Bat and Robin rush in, meanwhile Tim is notifying Batman that a bomb has been discovered in Wayne Tower. Bats quickly makes his way to the Tower and finds none other than Hush ties up with a bomb strapped to him, and realizes he has to choose between saving the tower or saving Hush, which Hush loves because he wants to destroy the Wayne's legacy. On the other side of town, Damian disarms the bomb in the Iceberg Lounge, or so he thinks, but instead the timer speeds up. Damian is sure he can do it but Cassandra grabs him and drags him out of a window at the same time Batman does the same to Hush, as both Wayne Tower and the Iceberg Lounge are blown to smithereens. Batman, asks Hush how the Tower is apart of the Gates of Gotham, and Hush laughs, asking how someone so naive of Gotham's past can hope to save it's future, and reveals the Gates of Gotham aren't a what, but a who, as this issue ends. Man, this was a great issue. The thing I didn't care for was more of the flashbacks, but the actual scenes in present day with Dick, Tim, Damian, Cass and Hush were damn interesting. I'll give this issue an 8/10 rating.

Robin: A waste of time. I should be out hunting, not protecting a fat man who wishes he had feathers.

Deadpool #39

This cover explains everything about this issue. This issue starts with Deadpool warning the teacher and her students at this Daycare to get lost because the Incredible Hulk is on his way, and he is ANGRY. As an enraged Hulk tries to attack Deadpool, we see some army guys that are trying to neutralize the situation, they decide that blasting the Merc with a Mouth with a smart bomb would calm down Hulk because he wouldn't have Deadpool to be angry at anymore. That seems like a good idea until Deadpool tells the kids to get on a school bus so he can get them away from the Hulk, which of course to the untrained eye, looks like he's taking hostages. Deadpool barely escapes from Hulk with the busload of children, and makes his way towards the army guys. They see Deadpool and don't see the children, due to DP telling them to put their heads down for safety, so they shoot at the bus. Deadpool swerves which causes the blast to hit the Big Green Machine. Deadpool get's sad because now Hulk's gonna go after the army guys who shot him by mistake, when he nuked Hulk twice, on purpose. When the teacher as Deadpool if he works for the army, he replies he's just a guy that wants to die, to which she says it's his lucky day and pulls out a gun, then shoots Deadpool point-blank in the head. The bus flips over and somehow lands on top of our Crimson Comedian. He regains consciousness an hour later and Hulk tells him he lied about the nukes, as none have gone off yet. Hulk tells him the children are fine, but he's still pissed off because he could've killed them in his fit of rage that Deadpool induced. Deadpool pleads with Hulk to kill him and Hulk tells him he's insane. Deadpool agrees and Hulk says he can't let him go on like this, and punches Deadpool so hard he literally EXPLODES into a wave of meat and blood. Deadpool surprisingly STILL comes back, although in a full body cast, as Steve Rogers meets with his Doctor, and they discuss how Deadpool's sentence has landed him in Crossmore Prison in England, which has been converted into a mental institution as this issue ends. This was a fun issue, It was a lot of comedy and fighting which I enjoyed, and I was going to give it an eight, but seeing Deadpool splattered was so damn cool I'll give this a 9/10.

Deadpool: I'm just a guy that's tryin' to die, lady. (Best...pick-up line...ever.)

And just like that, this super quick edition of Ratings and Rantings is all done. And before I get out of here I wanna remind you all of the Top Five 5! Thanks to Paul C. and in honor of the recent Green Lantern movie (I guess...) they are all Color Corp Ring based! For those of you that don't know how it goes, you send me your top five picks for each category at KevinKavalier@gmail.com and I'll post the answers this Sunday and compare everyone's results. Make sure ya send your picks in ASAP so you don't forget. The topics are below, and here's hoping you guys participate before the deadline of Sunday 2:00 pm EST. And lastly, be sure to vote on this week's newest poll and check out the last poll results below the Top Five 5 topics. Until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd. You stay classy, Todd Squad.

Note: None of your picks are limited to DC, they can include Marvel, Image or whatever you like.

5 Characters You'd give a Green Lantern (Will) Ring?
5 Characters You'd give a Red Lantern (Rage) Ring?
5 Characters You'd give a Yellow Lantern (Fear) Ring?
5 Characters You'd give a Orange Lantern (Greed) Ring?
5 Characters You'd give a Blue Lantern (Hope) Ring?

Last week's poll asked "What bothers you the most about the DCU Reboot?"

Last place with 9.1% - Everything!
Second Place with 18.2% - Tie between Nothing at all! & Missing Artists and Writers (Bryan Q Miller, Marcus To, Nicola Scott, Etc.)
Winner with 54.5% - Missing Characters (Power Girl, Ravager, Steph Brown, Cass Cain, Etc.)

Next Week on Ratings and Rantings

Gotham City Sirens #24, Amazing Spider-Man #664, and Venom #4! (Three comics? What is happening?)

Ratings and Rantings

Hey everyone, Jason Todd here with another edition of Ratings and Rantings! This week's post only has three comics to review, and all are DC comics, but each of them has a ton of potential. We've got Power Girl written by one of my favorite writers, Judd Winick. Also by Judd we've got Batman and Robin #23 which features the return of my favorite character, Jason Todd, so you KNOW I can't wait to read that. And last but not least we have the amazing Scott Snyder's Batman: Gates of Gotham which features Batman (Dick), Robin, Red Robin and Cassandra Cain! So with three comics but a ton of talent involved, this should be a great post, or so I hope. And since I don't have anymore witty banter to stall with, let's jump right into these reviews!

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 of 5

Awesome cover by Trevor McCarthy with the Bat-Family in the pane glass windows behind Batman. Everyone from Damian to Babs, Steph, Catwoman, Cass Cain, Tim, Jason, Alfred, Huntress and more. We start things off with Alan Wayne and a few of his colleagues looking over plans for Gotham City to be built. We then jump forward to see Batman trying to get information out of a man named Ronnie, who was at the Gotham harbor when someone brought in three-hundred pounds of Semtex. Well damn... anyway the guy spills that it was Penguin who brought it in, but as he does a bridge blows up. Batman radios to Red Robin and tells him the new Trigate Bridge blew up, but Red Robin replies it's not just Trigate, it's a trio of bridges also including 22nd Street and Madison. Batman tells Red Robin to take whichever is worse and he'll see what he can do at New Trigate. Batman manages to save a few lives but the end result seems to be thirty-one dead and twenty-five being hospitalized with concussions and/or burns. When talking to Commissioner Gordon, Batman mentions that Ronnie pointed the finger at Penguin before the explosions but it doesn't seem like a Two-Face crime. Gordon mentions he should lean on him anyway and Batman says he will. Batman checks in with Red Robin for clues but Tim hasn't found anything either. Dick then mentions that the trigger man says "The Families of the Gates of Gotham will fall", to which Tim let's Dick know that the bridges used to be called "The Gates" back in the day. Batman then pays Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot a visit, questioning him about the Semtex. Penguin denies that he did the explosions because he has no intention of blowing up a bridge that has his name. He reveals that Madison bridge was originally called "Cobblepot Pass." Batman recites that the trigger man said The families of the Gates of Gotham will fall and then used explosives Cobblepot helped him get to take out his bridge. Penguin tells Bats he never met the man but he hears he wears a rather interesting costume. Dick later meets with Tim to discuss their findings at the Bat-Bunker, and surprisingly, Cassandra Cain shows up. She mentions she was the one chasing the Semtex in Hong Kong and she should have been able to stop it. Damian then enters the room as they explain that the Wayne's are the family behind the New Trigate bridge, and the bridge on 22nd Street's heritage belongs to none other than the Elliot's, the family of Thomas "Hush" Elliot. The issue ends with us seeing Hush in Arkham being approached by someone in a costume asking if he'd like to come out and play. Awesome! I liked this comic, it was slow and methodical but built up well, plus it has Hush and after his treatment in the last few years I hope our boy Scott Snyder can give him a push in the right direction. I'll give this issue a 8/10 rating.

Batman: What is this, pleather? You know how flimsy that gets in the rain?

Power Girl #24

Power Girl starts with a very interesting story about an Arab-American man who's on a plane when it starts to go down to to engine failure. It turns out the man is a meta-human and has never told a soul about his powers and doesn't want to stand out. He does decide to use his powers and level out the plane to save all the passengers, including himself. He says he's aware that people would try to blame him or say he took down the plane but saving everyone is more important than that, and as he saves them, everyone looks out the window and would know they were safe thanks to the heroes who'd also stopped the plane from crashing, Batman, and Power Girl. Once they landed our Arab-American hero, Rayhan, was blamed as a terrorist and arrested, and six months later he's still in custody for something he didn't do. He's been denied an attorney and no one believes his story. They continue to interrogate him but he never changes his story, he's just a man who was afraid to use his powers because he knew people would fear him because of who he is. He asks if his father is okay since they've given him no outside contact, and wants nothing but to know if his father is okay, and he's told they'll see if they can find out, but they don't usually reward people who don't give them answers. We then see that the newly red-head Karen Starr's company, Starrware, is making huge rounds in the news. This leads to Karen Starr having a National Security Agent put with her which drives her insane because she's not used to having someone tell her what to do. She complains about it to Batman later to which he replies this is her fault. She's made Karen Starr a smart, powerful and media-savvy woman and she's now one shaved head away from being  Lex Luthor, which has led to her being watched. But Batman says the world needs a Karen Starr, and that he'll help her anyway he can, which leads to us seeing Karen Starr attending a red carpet benefit with none-other than Bruce Wayne. We then see Rayhan in prison still, asking to see his father, but his guard deny him the chance. He says that from what they've told him he'll die soon, and they can send as many guards or put as many power dampeners on him they have to, but he wants to see his father, but they still deny him. We see that Rayhan has been able to break out at anytime but he hasn't out of respect for this country, but upon being told he couldn't see his dying father, that's as the final straw, so he bust out of the prison. Rayhan gets to the hospital and wants to see his father but they won't let him up without I.D., he says they can send security with him but he wants to see his father, but he's suddenly swooped up by Power Girl. She holds him while Batman moves in to put a power dampener on him but Rayhan fights back which takes Batman and Power Girl by surprise as the issue ends. I LOVED this issue. The storyline is genius, a nice guy who has power is immediately viewed as a terrorist because he tried to help and all because of his race. It's sad but a true thing in our society and Judd did an excellent job of putting us in Rayhan's shoes, a man who did nothing wrong and paid the price, I'll give this issue a 9.5/10.

Batman: You're a shaved head away from being Lex Luthor. You're going to be watched.

Power Girl: I guess it would be easier if I pretended I was a drunk playboy.

Batman: It would. But not nearly as effective.

Batman and Robin #23

And now the moment I've been waiting for, Batman and Robin #23, written by Judd Winick, the Return of Jason Todd. We start things off seeing Batman, Nightwing and Robin, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd catching a few criminals. While we see this we hear Batman and Nightwing discussing Jason, and both seem to have a lot of faith in the second Robin. In the end, Batman tells Nightwing that Jason is Robin, and he needs him to be the best he can be. We then jump forward to see The Red Hood, inmate number 357-428 (the first and last issues Jason appeared in as Robin), in a holding cell with Batman (Bruce Wayne) staring back at him. Jason has red hair, meaning the Morrison thing will stay in continuity, but I don't mind it because he kinda looks like Roy with long hair, it makes no sense but I won't mention it anymore because I'd just get annoyed. Anyway, Jason welcomes Bruce back to the land of the living, saying he knew he wasn't dead anyway, because Bruce wouldn't go out like that. Jason talks about what he remembers on his return to the land of the living, before asking Bruce how he is. Batman gets straight to business and mentions Jason asked for a transfer from Arkham to a correctional facility, which peeves Jason a bit, because he wants a talk before they get down to business, he even asks how Damian's mom is. Interesting... Bats tells Jason he's in Arkham for his safety, and Jason replies that Arkham is for the criminally insane, and he isn't insane, in fact he killed criminals. Jason says he's not insane, he's homicidal, and he will kill again, so lock him up with criminals, not in Batman's kennel for freaks. We then see Dick and Damian talking to Bruce in the Bat-Bunker, as Dick asks why Jason would want to go to a correctional facility where he'll have to fight off all the enemies he's made over the years. Bruce tells them because Jason has a plan, and they need to be prepared, because by the time they figure out what it is, it'll be too late. From there we see Jason showering when he's cornered by some goons, one of which had their brother killed by The Red Hood. Jason doesn't seem to be worried and even throws a few barbs their way which only upsets them further as Jason leaves. Later we see the main guy that was trying to confront Jason has been hanged in his cell, obviously that would point at Jason being his killer. While out reading during recreational time, Jason is attacked by a few prisoners, one with a shiv. Jason, being the well-trained Bat-family member he is, defends himself and makes even more enemies in the process. Over time we see more and more people try to take Jason out, he apparently has a price on his head, but they each end up dead. Over in Gotham, Batman and Robin take down a gang and overhear that their leader has committed suicide while locked up. Batman then calls the Warden, upset that he hadn't been contacted like he told the Warden to do if any problems arose. Meanwhile there's been nine suicides and six murders since the Red Hood was transferred there. The Warden tells Batman that 82 prisoners are now dead and over a hundred are ill due to poison in the food and that he suspects Red Hood after finding poison in the food. Batman says he's on the way but the Warden says The Red Hood has been moved back to Arkham and is currently en route. We see Jason as he talks about how he's always loved trouble, and how if you put him in a building with a bunch of criminals that deserve death and think he's gonna behave himself than you don't know him to well, and now he's on his way back to Arkham, unless something else comes up. Suddenly the squad cars escorting him are blown up and all the guards escorting Jason are killed. Jason asks who the hell just killed everyone and we see some giant animals toting guns for some reason and say their the ones breaking Jason out as the issue ends. Well that was weird. I loved the beginning with Bats, and I was hoping Jason would be redeemed but I'm not surprised he killed all those criminals, it's what he's been doing for years now. I don't know what to think about the whole, Jason being broken out by talking animals or whatever but I enjoyed most of the issue up until that point, PLUS I'm a big Jason fan so I'll give this a 8/10 and hope Judd has a plan for where this is going.

Jason Todd: You look good. And I don't just mean that because you were dead.

And just like that, three comics have come and gone. That's all for me this weeks guys and gals, thanks for reading and as always comments are appreciated. Below are the results for last week's poll and be sure to vote on the newer poll as well whenever I get a chance to put it up. Until next time, I'm your friendly neighborhood Blogger-Man, Jason Todd, signing off. You stay classy Todd Squad!

Last week's poll asked "Which Brightest Day character's series are you looking forward to the most?"

Last place with 0% - Swamp Thing and Firestorm... sad... just plain sad. Champion eh?
Second place with 12.5% - Aquaman and None of them... That's a pretty bad look for Aquaman too..
Winner with a whomping 75% - Justice League Generation Lost, so get Judd on it and let's go!

Next Time on Ratings and Rantings

Deadpool #37, Venom #3, Gotham City Sirens #23, Green Lantern #66, Green Lantern Corps. #60, Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #10,