Dc Universe Zero

Um... wow.

You'd think Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns getting together with a whole string of artists to write an opening one-shot to the biggest epic DC has made since the first Crisis would be massive in its quality.  And you'd be right.  This was incredible.

And it's 50 cents.  That just warrants "Book of the Week" right there.

Ok, I admit, there's no cohesive story here and is really just a mish-mash of promos for various upcoming stories (Blackest Night, Legion of Three Worlds, RIP, etc.) but what a mish-mash it is.

Here's what rolls through:

We start off with a single two-page splash of Superman and the Legion fighting off some very familiar Shadow Demons.  I must admit this is the one I'm really not looking forward to, mostly because it signals the return of Superboy-Prime.  I hate Prime.  I hate his whiny moping.  I hate his arrogant bluster.  I hate that he can somehow handle the entire DCU on his own just by raw power alone.  I typically love what Geoff does with characters but I really REALLY hope this brat dies for good by the end of Blackest Night.

Batman's talking to the Joker in his cell and the Joker is all cryptic about the Black Glove and taunting Bats about somebody making him "pay."  We know Bats is scared.  The Joker knows Bats is scared.  Bats knows Bats is scared.  Still, Batman still says he isn't and then puts on his best 9/11-era Dubya and goes "Bring it on."  It's a well placed scene that reminded of both the opening in the Killing Joke and a similar scene last All-Star Superman with Superman and Lex.

Wonder Woman is rustling a minotaur when Apollo and an unknown Greek God (possibly Zeus) lament that the Amazons have failed to end war and hate on Earth.  Well, maybe the other guy is Frank Miller because their plan to replace the Amazons with the cast of 300.. because when you think about promoting peace and love, you think the Spartans.  "This is peaceful!"  "This... is... SPARTAAAAA!!!"  I'm sorry... I just had to do it once.

Anyways, the next we see is the one I think EVERYone and their sector partner have been waiting for: the Blackest Night.  This is definitely  the one I anticipate the most.  A transport holding Hector Hammond, Shark, and Black Hand goes up, with Black Hand gone and the GLs investigating.  Where's Black Hand.  Well, I shouldn't tell you but it starts with an "A" and rhymes with "Shmanti-Monitor"...

Next we get Spectre turning a guy into worm food... literally... and implications that all is not well in the union of Crispus Allen and Mr. God's Vengeance.  I'm not entirely sure where this is all going down but we know all too well about the LAST time the Spectre went nuts...

Now, we come to the big crux of it all: Final Crisis.  Libra assembles an assortment of villains to speak of this new God of Evil that shall graft their heart's desire.  Darkseid?  Neron?  Tom Cruise?  Who knows... but it'll fun to see.  Libra here acts with a bombast and ludicrous flair that really shouldn't work, but does.  He's like Jimmy Swaggart if Jimmy wore a yellow hooded cape, gimp outfit, and glued weird knobs all his costume.  He's so Grant Morrison, you just have to love it.

Finally, we learn the identity of our mysterious narrator: the returning Barry Allen.  No, not Barry from a time warp.  Not Barry from another Earth.  The Barry that turned into lightning at the end of the first Crisis.  He's back.  Will this turn out okay.  Will DC muck it up?  I don't know, but as far as this book goes... it was sweet.

I really liked this one-shot.  I liked how the captions turned from black to red to the Flash's insignia as the story progressed.  I liked the art a whole lot, especially the Spectre scene.  I liked the little exchanges and quick 4 or so page scenes.  I was somewhat ambivalent about Final Crisis until now.  NOW I'm excited.  This book was just grade A.  Grant and Geoff had a major dealing in trying to pump up Final Crisis after the weakness of Countdown.  And they did.  And how.  Kudos.