Reading Comics 162 "Convergence Week 8"

Convergence #8 (DC)

Something fascinating occurs in the finale of Convergence, something certainly I never saw coming.  This was an event billed as the point where DC finally learned to stop worrying and love the multiverse, something that has been a whole process since Crisis on Infinite Earths thirty years ago.  And this is really revolutionary for a major comic book publisher.  What it means is that it no longer matters if every title doesn't match up in the same context, which was actually something the New 52 itself started with the Geoff Johns Green Lantern that wasn't a reboot but rather a continuation of prior continuity, just as Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. was, as opposed to everything else, which was a series of reboots across the line.

Anyway, so Convergence was also an excuse to pander to all the fans still upset (boo-hoo!) that their favorite version of a given character technically no longer existed in the New 52.  This was achieved in the dozens of spin-offs that brought back various eras.  The best writers weren't constrained by the story given to them, in that these characters were meant to be pitted against each other in what otherwise might have seen as somewhat meaningless battles fated to mean nothing at all.  As it is, Convergence might have, ultimately, been viewed as perhaps the most gimmicky event in gimmick event history, especially after head writer Jeff King basically abandoned his character-centric approach about halfway through the main series.

That was the point where I started to lose a sense of what Convergence itself would end up representing, not just its goal but its own worth.

Early on, it was pretty easy to assume that the story would pivot on Dick Grayson and Telos.  Dick came from Earth 2, where he wasn't Robin or Nightwing or Batman, but just plain Dick Grayson.  Convergence was basically an effort to make him a superhero.  Word is that he'll be Batman in Earth 2: Society (I've already heard snide remarks about his version of the famed costume).  More than that, however, as an outsider he was the lone voice capable of questioning Telos, a new character introduced in Convergence as a kind of lieutenant for Brainiac, as well as a continuation of the avatar idea that has gained considerable traction in the New 52 (Earth 2's Green Lantern even takes on the role Swamp Thing occupies in that regard from what's increasingly difficult to call regular continuity).  Telos starts out as the main villain, the guy who pits everyone against each other, and thus the direct impetus for all the spin-offs.

Eventually, though, both are sidelined by would-be usurper Deimos from Warlord, which was actually the start of pushing Convergence forward from what it originally seemed to be.  Warlord himself meant very little to the story, but the inclusion of a character from his continuity, and one that became increasingly significant, was a sign that the series was reaching maturity.

Which brings me to Convergence #8.  Here is where everything wraps up, and a lot of observers have said it was in unsatisfactory fashion.  Yet the evolution of the event reaches its apex in the most unexpected but also expected way possible.  Brainiac finally enters the picture.  Through the course of the issue, Brainiac reveals his back story (something initially teased for Telos, who will undoubtedly show up in Earth 2: Society, where all the lingering mysteries will likely be revealed; Convergence itself was essentially an Earth 2 event anyway, picking up where Earth 2: World's End left off and continuing, as I've repeatedly noted already, in Earth 2: Society), including the many incarnations he's had through the years.  It should already have been notable that the New 52 Brainiac wasn't all that familiar (there was a Villains Month issue that I may have to track down, but I can't off the top of my head remember another appearance before Convergence), even though Geoff Johns had introduced a viable new version not so long ago that hadn't really been explored.

So Convergence was already as much a Brainiac story as anything else.  Except the final issue also completely turns his character around.  He's horrified of what he's become.  He wants to change (somewhat ironic, given how the event brings back the classic version of Parallax that didn't seem capable of such introspection even though it was almost immediately retrofitted in order to give Hal Jordan the redemption fans yearned for), and so he's the one who helps set things right (pointedly transforming Crisis from the point where the multiverse collapsed to one where this particular element never happened, which is another point that confused most observers; but that was the whole point of Convergence all along, wasn't it? and so complaining that it muddies the continuity of later stories...yeah).

And the thing is, Convergence achieves something even more remarkable.  Two of the three villains...are completely redeemable.  In a superhero comic???  Yeah.  That just happened.  With the depiction of Lex Luthor in the New 52 included, DC is launching an idea that completely skewers even the worst reviews of the recent Forever Evil, that villains in comics don't have to be one-dimensional, mustache-twirling lunatics.  Comic book fans have a curious relationship with supervillains.  In a lot of ways, they seem to love the villains most of all.  One of the signs of Marvel fandom is eternal devotion to Doctor Doom, who is one of the most generic villains ever.  And yet the violence villains brings to the table frequently horrifies fans.  Apparently the giant backlash to Jeph Loeb began with Ultimatum, which gleefully tore apart the Ultimate line.  And of course there's the backlash to Man of Steel (Superman would never do that!!!).  Among many other examples.  If most fans were aware of what Garth Ennis was doing in the pages of The Boys, they'd faint (or something more ridiculous).  Yet they were more than happy to laud praise on Alan Moore when he perpetrated the worst act of violence in comics history (Batman: The Killing Joke).  It's an odd subject to even breach.

But suffice to say, DC is finally distancing itself from the rampant, mindless carnage of the past (making it all the more...curious, the latest backlash that resulted from evoking Killing Joke in an alternate cover for an issue of Batgirl).  (I'll never understand...)  And all of which is to say, Convergence ended on a high note.  It did what it set out to do, and it had surprises along the way, stuff nobody would have expected from it, building on history, making history, and even being history.  Bravo, Jeff King and DC.

Convergence: Blue Beetle #2 (DC)

As with the first issue, the conclusion to this one was a highlight of Convergence for me, both with the trio of lead characters (Beetle as well as the Question and Captain Atom) and the guests from the Legion of Super-Heroes, who were cleverly presented as a deluge of opponents rather than with an attempt to present them individually, which normally would be what I'd want to see from them, but for once the numbers game worked in their favor.  Too often the Legion is just assumed to be a bunch of characters always in the right...but in reality, they're a bunch of teenagers, who are bound to make mistakes, not in the way Convergence: Superboy demonstrated, but as only, well, a bunch of teenagers could do it.  And that's another way the Legion could work much better than it's managed to in recent years (Grant Morrison achieved a similar fresh take within the pages of Action Comics).  Also features a preview for the new Black Canary, which is building strong buzz for good reason, a series that will embrace the new opportunities post-Convergence.  So what I'm saying is, if you didn't read Convergence: Blue Beetle originally, you should probably correct that oversight.

Convergence: Detective Comics #2 (DC)

In the previous issue Superman: Red Son ended up having a better showing than the Robin and Huntress from a previous Earth 2.  The second issue balances the scales, and throws in Batman for good measure.  As with the last time, the artwork of Denys Cowan remains perhaps the main selling point.  The ending has Dick Grayson becoming Batman.  This keeps happening, it seems.  Anyway, the preview here is for The Flash, featuring Van Jensen's debut as writer.  He'd actually written the past near-dozen issues along with Robert Venditti (both were also writing Green Lantern titles at the time), but I never saw as good writing from that time as is apparent in this preview.  The only thing I'd change now is the art.  I don't normally have a problem with Brett Booth, but there are a few instances in these few pages where I wished he'd made different choices.  Once Barry suits up, however, these problems disappear.

Infinity Inc. #2 (DC)

I originally became interested in this one because of Ben Caldwell, but probably because of the upcoming Prez he's not really in the second issue.  Which otherwise is still worth reading.  Infinity Inc. was a concept I was exposed to early in my comics experience, and so I was happy to see it return.  A lot of these characters ended up repopulating DC in the years following the end of the team, but the original concept of their being the children and successors of the Justice Society was lost (although it would be pretty interesting, once and for all, to read a series featuring Alan Scott and his two kids Jade and Obsidian, even if the rest of the team comes along for the ride) along the way.  Brainwave emerges as the most interesting character in the bunch, having been the biggest victim of the dome and subsequently the one with the biggest issues when it came down.  His entry into the fight (their opponents are a legitimate weak point, or are at least not compatible with the leads) is the high point of the issue, which also features a preview of Batgirl, which has picked up considerable buzz since it was revamped with a much less loose connection to continuity (another early schism that helped make Convergence possible).  I was not particularly impressed with what I saw, but I'm sure there's an audience.  I'm sure because clearly there is.

And just like that, Convergence is done.