Week Six

In this week, we see that Booster Gold finally stoops so low that he actually hires a “villain” whose plans he can easily thwart, thereby pushing him from greedy, camera-hungry entrepreneur to underhanded sleaze-ball. Hal Jordan and John Stewart (the Green Lantern, not the comedian without the “h”) capture Evil Star over Chinese airspace, which, since the Crisis, has become a no-fly zone for any Americans, apparently (a fact that’s backed by the OYL issue of Green Lantern). The Chinese have also entered into an agreement with Kahndaq, which brings Black Adam into the mix to tell the emerald duo to piss off. Professor Morrow gets all of his stuff confiscated from his cell, leaving him in total isolation, save for a video camera which will now monitor his every movement. We must wonder who the “Great One” is that’s monitoring him, as I’m sure he’ll be back someday soon. Finally, on day two of week six, Booster Gold visits Dr. Rip Hunter in Arizona, where he finds an empty compound full to the brim with crazy scientist notes and ramblings and experiments, most notable of which being a wall graffitied up with insane scrawls reading, “It’s all his fault.” Think Ace Ventura, with Rip’s notes in place of the, “Laces Out” nonsense from Ray Finkel’s room. Whose fault is it? Booster Gold’s.

I think the most important part of this issue is Rip Hunter’s lab. The lock on it is a time lock, set to open on January 1, 52 B.C. After this plus Red Tornado’s last words last week, I’d say it’s a done deal. 52 is more than just the title of the issue or the number of weeks in a year. This is big. Inside the lab, we see even more clues and hints as to what is going on in this series. Here are a few samples. Most obvious, time is broken. What else? Find the last, last being underlined, “El.” Time Masters (arrow) Time Servants. The Scarab is Eternal? Further time is different. Dead by lead? Man of Steel. It hurts to breathe. 2,000 years from now. The Tornado is in pieces. Where is the Curry Heir? Who is Super Nova? Secret FIVE! Where is the Batman? Who is the Batwoman? What happened to the son of Superman? Te versus (Au+Pb). World War III? Why? How? The Lazarus Pit RISES (btw, awesome!). When Am I? I’m supposed to be dead? Immortal (with the “Im” scratched out) Savage. Who is Diana Prince? Someone is monitoring. They see us. They see me. The old gods are dead, the new Gods want what’s left. Khimaera lives again. Find the sun devils. What is spanner’s galaxy? Silverblade. Casey the cop. Infinity Inc. 520 Kane (already seen in the Question/Montoya arc!). There’s a strange blade on the floor with a twisty handle. There are cards on the floor with the numbers 51-56 (sans 52) splayed out. The number 52, circled, dozens of times, all over the big board.

It’s worth another look. It’s worth many, many looks. This series just got a whole helluva lot more interesting.

See ya in seven.