The penultimate issue doesn't feature Dick Grayson at all (!), but rather Deimos being defeated by Parallax (a kind of response to Zero Hour), who at first seems like he isn't going to have much of an impact but then returns a few pages later and handily finishes the job. Telos explains that this is kind of a bad thing, but essentially this is how the event is going to end, by officially stating all these alternate realities will get to continue existing after all. Well, probably. I guess the point was to make it official that all these prior continuities that DC has abandoned over the years can still exist, do exist, and because they've now been revisited, it's that much easier, should DC decide to again, to revisit them again. Convergence itself has lost its edge as the weeks have progressed, letting the general mayhem take over. Hopefully next week Jeff King has rallied and lets Telos have a proper ending, and positions everything that follows (you know, besides Earth 2: Society) in a suitable, dignified manner...
Convergence: The Flash #2 (DC)
The focus kind of dramatically shifts from Barry Allen to Tangent Superman, who is kind of dick concerning how seriously readers should be taking Convergence as a whole (although I guess that would be writer Dan Abnett speaking, technically). But since I loved the Tangent comics, and always love seeing those characters show up again, I don't mind at all. This might actually be the first time Tangent Superman isn't the villain, because originally he was the guy everyone mobilized against (I may be slightly misremembering). I love the Tangent variants because they're conceptually fascinating, and if anything, this exposure has helped them find more traction. Speaking of which, I think it's a little surprising that the Milestone characters weren't included. Is Milestone being revived somewhere? Did I read that? They tried Static Shock at the start of the New 52, but quickly backed off when all the creative hassles started happening. It'd be a shame if Milestone were abandoned. Other than Tangent Superman is the fact that...Tangent Superman points out that he can't harm Barry, because Barry needs to survive in order to...participate in Crisis On Infinite Earths. It's an interesting acknowledgment that perhaps some of these stories aren't somehow spin-offs of their own realities, that Brainiac and Telos have perhaps only interrupted the time-frames they come from. And presumably, these events won't be remembered once Convergence is over. Well, right?
Convergence: Green Lantern Corps #2 (DC)
Basically, Guy Gardner is a kick-ass hero with or without a green ring, so exactly what happens to him after the Crisis era anyway. I'm not familiar enough with the '80s Green Lantern era. Would Guy, John Stewart, and Hal Jordan working together be a first? Obviously, the Corps itself existed, but the idea of multiple human bearers working in tandem, I would think, was something that happens only starting with Green Lantern: Rebirth during the great revival. Anyone want to correct me on that?
Convergence: The Adventures of Superman #2 (DC)
Like The Flash, features a character very much aware of what Crisis awaits them. What separates DC's handling of events so distinctly from Marvel's is that although Marvel does sometimes build on events, they rarely outright reference a prior one if they can help it. DC has been referencing Crisis since Crisis, and "The Flash of Two Worlds" just as often (speaking of which, I guess it had to be during Convergence #6 that a direct visual reference was made to that one, which was pretty awesome). Supergirl otherwise spends all her time kind of being the big sister to Superman. Again, this particular revisit has been special because it's featured a version of Supergirl that hasn't existed for decades, even though there have been multiple versions of the same basic character since then. And even though I did miss that era, I miss her because of this....
The bonus material in this week's comics is expanded with some text previews of what DC has planned for June (DC You!), promising something for everyone (for real this time!), plus the usual batch of previews. Suicide Squad looks like it could possibly interest me, for the first time ever. Gotham Academy features, randomly, rhyming poetry, which quickly dissuaded me from something similar in a project I'm working on. Martian Manhunter, thankfully, looks as fascinating as character always seems to in solo adventures. Which begs the question, why it so hard for the company and fans to find him as fascinating as I do?
A Martian Manhunter comic seems like one of the better ideas they've had recently. I'm not sure what the point of this Convergence stuff was. They originally made it seem like it was going to be one of those reboots, but when you read these samples it doesn't seem like Convergence has any impact at all.
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