World War III

[deezer]

So today marked the beginning, middle, AND end of WWIII and brought us not one, but FIVE books devoted to it this week. So what did you all think of it?
I liked it a decent amount, I didn't really like how everything was J'onn's viewpoint of everything, but it was cool I guess. The changing of artists also threw me off a bit (especially the last one... Black Adam was drawn weird)

discuss!

[mikegraham6]

i've only read 52 so far, but when i opened the first page to WW3 book 1, i was a little pissed, it looks to me like i was suppose to read 52 first but when i open book 1 it looks like it takes place during the 52 book, therefore i already know it's conclusion and i still have 4 f'n books to read. are they just filler? they better not be, because i dropped 3 bucks each on these 4 books... but i wont judge until i've read them i guess...

[iSteve]

i've only read 52 so far, but when i opened the first page to WW3 book 1, i was a little pissed, it looks to me like i was suppose to read 52 first but when i open book 1 it looks like it takes place during the 52 book, therefore i already know it's conclusion and i still have 4 f'n books to read. are they just filler? they better not be, because i dropped 3 bucks each on these 4 books... but i wont judge until i've read them i guess...

One word - "Filler."

[mikegraham6]

One word - "Filler."

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

F*UCKING WASTE OF MONEY!!!!

[iSteve]

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

F*UCKING WASTE OF MONEY!!!!

52 was all we really needed this week.

[labor_days]

I knew I shouldn't have open this thread before reading my books. Stupid devil on my shoulder. Don't know why I let him talk me into these things.

[mikegraham6]

52 was all we really needed this week.

as if getting us to buy a book week in week out wasn't enough, these publishers are so greedy! After Civil War, i expect this sort of thing from Marvel, but DC is usually pretty good about this sort of thing, aren't they?:confused:

[alexg]

as if getting us to buy a book week in week out wasn't enough, these publishers are so greedy! After Civil War, i expect this sort of thing from Marvel, but DC is usually pretty good about this sort of thing, aren't they?:confused:


Rucka called it a month back...maybe THIS was one of the unamed things he was pissed off about. "Marvel doesn't try to be DC, why should DC be like Marvel?"

[mikegraham6]

Rucka called it a month back...maybe THIS was one of the unamed things he was pissed off about. "Marvel doesn't try to be DC, why should DC be like Marvel?"

BINGO! good call AlexG, i think you hit the nail on the head there:D

[pv_2]

This smelled like filler, so I was on the fence about buying it - but then I went ahead and bought 'em and ended up being pretty entertained - I enjoyed Martian Manhunter as tour guide of the DCU. Now, I won't disagree that only 52 was really necessary and that it was a cash-in - but as filler goes, it wasn't badly executed at least. I don't feel used like I did after reading, say, Civil War: Choosing Sides or Frontline #10.

[labor_days]

I enjoyed 52 and the WW3 books. Guys, come on. We had 49 issues of set up. This is the big fight. I thought it was well done and a lot of fun. Loved the way Adam was defeated. However, given enough time anyone can figure out the new "magic word". Certainly someone as persistant as Adam could figure it out.

[fred]

I almost picked this up because of all the hype and everyone reading it. I'm glad I didn't. It sounds like it really sucked.

[labor_days]

I don't think it sucked at all. I went into it expecting a huge fight with Black Adam. That's exactly what we got.

[fred]

eh - not so into prolonged fighting. it's probably better I stayed away

[labor_days]

I don't mind a prolonged fight if it's done well and the setup was good. Both of which I think they pulled off.

[fred]

nice - glad you liked it

[jo-relrollins]

funny enough my LCS was out of 52 but i picked up the WW3 issues. I know i missed something, don't know what. But what I can say is that the fight was a little too dragged out,and it seemed to be more of an Adam and Martian thing. Or was that just me who so it?

[labor_days]

Martian Manhunter was the narrator of sorts. The WW3 books simply fleshed the battle out a bit. What heroes were doing what and when, that sort of thing.

52 was all you needed to read though. The battle was quick, exciting and wrapped up nicely in 52.

[kwok_talk]

I went in knowing nothing at all except of what we saw in the ads:
1. Guy with fire for hair
2. Black Adam is mad
3. Someone is Robin

I got plenty of #2, which I enjoyed fine. I thought there was going to be more about #1 and #3, which didn't really happen. I'm glad I read it, but would have been fine if I didn't.

[mikegraham6]

Best part of WW3? the Countdown ad in 52 that had the joker holding Jimmy Olson's press pass:D

[paper]

I...I dunno. I enjoyed much of the Martian Manhunter stuff. And it got better as it went, but I was a little lost on a few plot points. Still entertaining. I preferred JLA, which I didn't really expect.

[paper]

Best part of WW3? the Countdown ad in 52 that had the joker holding Jimmy Olson's press pass:D

Agreed. They should just do a book of Countdown teasers. They're fun.

[jo-relrollins]

okay i just really read through it. wasn't sucky,kinda dragged out. couple of questions:

1.(statement) guess this set up the Martian Manhunter book that started way back.

2. Why was those guys time hopping?

3.Whats the new word,if its not SHAZAM?

4.Where was Robin?Did i miss it?

5.(this is the big one)-I have all four WW3's,should i pick up 52 number 50?

[paper]

3.Whats the new word,if its not SHAZAM?



::ahem::

"Duckies"

[fred]

bringing it back
nice

[marshallg]

One word - "Filler."

I'm with you iSteve, I was a bit underwhelmed and this could've been handled in 52 and 1 or 2 WWIII books not 4.

[kwok_talk]

okay i just really read through it. wasn't sucky,kinda dragged out. couple of questions:

1.(statement) guess this set up the Martian Manhunter book that started way back.

2. Why was those guys time hopping?

3.Whats the new word,if its not SHAZAM?

4.Where was Robin?Did i miss it?

5.(this is the big one)-I have all four WW3's,should i pick up 52 number 50?

I think the others can help better, but for #4 I think Nightwing (which was Jason Todd?) was in issue #1 for like 2 pages (lame). As for #5, my LCS guy said I should have picked up #50 too. WWIII essentially happens between the beginning and end of #50 (at least how I understand it)

[darron]

::ahem::

"Duckies"

You beat me to it (By a few hours, no less).

I was gonna say "Fluffernutter"


I really liked all of the Martian Manhunter stuff....I think he's a great character. I really miss him on the JLA.

[paper]

Yeah, the Manhunter stuff was really all I got out of this. I was gonna skip WWIII this week and get it next week (if you guys liked it), but I found a $20 bill in a parking lot today, so I figured I'd give it a go.

[labor_days]

1.(statement) guess this set up the Martian Manhunter book that started way back.

2. Why was those guys time hopping?

3.Whats the new word,if its not SHAZAM?

4.Where was Robin?Did i miss it?

5.I have all four WW3's,should i pick up 52 number 50?


1. I suppose so. Using MM empathic abilities wasn't the worse way one could extrapolate the emotion & mood of the battle. Particularly when the heroes are waiting for the signal to cross the Chinese border. That was good.

2. Don't know yet. Booster & Rip Hunter are working on something. Most likely it has to do with the "52".

3. Adam's word has to be something his pride wouldn't allow him to say, like "Forgiveness".

4. That wasn't the real Nightwing. I believe it was Jason Todd.

5. Yes. Should have read 52 first. But too late now!

[paper]

I'll bet it's something really lame like "please."

[labor_days]

Heh, I don't think Adam would say "please" either.

Was it just me or did anyone else get the sense that at the end of 52, as Adam is trying to figure out the word; Adam knows it's something he can't bring himself to say?

I sorta felt bad for the mass-murdering lunatic.

[jo-relrollins]

1. I suppose so. Using MM empathic abilities wasn't the worse way one could extrapolate the emotion & mood of the battle. Particularly when the heroes are waiting for the signal to cross the Chinese border. That was good.

2. Don't know yet. Booster & Rip Hunter are working on something. Most likely it has to do with the "52".

3. Adam's word has to be something his pride wouldn't allow him to say, like "Forgiveness".

4. That wasn't the real Nightwing. I believe it was Jason Todd.

5. Yes. Should have read 52 first. But too late now!


Now i realize I'm too late. Theres another store in my area,i'm gonna check with them. Thanx for ur help,kinda fills me in. I guess i'll truely get when i pick up number 50,funny enough my LCS opens at 11 and i showed up at like 11:40am and still missed it,haha.

[horatio616]

Aww man I was lured in by the nice covers and plus I was in a hurry. I thought this was taking place at the END of 52 not between panels 2 and 3 on page 12 of 52 #50. I'm not blaming anyone but myself. I shouldn't have made an impulse purchase of four friggin' books just for the covers. Plus, if I had thumbed through it and noticed how rushed and amateurish the art was, I wouldn't have bought them. It reminded me of an issue of Archie Comics' Mighty Crusaders or something. I was thinking about getting the 52 trades, but if the art is this bad, no thanks.

On to the bigger issue, which is Black Adam. I was a little disappointed to hear that he'd reverted to type, after becoming somewhat of an antihero for years. The DC Universe already has nutso Superboy, so do they need BA off his rocker too? This mass murder, cold-hearted DCU stuff just isn't for me. I didn't like it in Identity Crisis, didn't like it in either Infinite Crisis or the new JSA, and I don't like it here. The DCU is such an odd place for me now. Over the years they've destroyed Gotham, Coast City, and San Diego, dumped Chemo on Bludhaven, murdered superheroes all over the place, and now murdered a whole country, but then they glop all this silver-agey nostalgia on top of it and expect it to taste good. Some might like it, but not me. If you're going to go hardcore, do it. Don't put a candy-coated shell on top of a bitter center. It's not a good combo!

Maybe I've just had too much death this week!

[labor_days]

My biggest complaint about the WW3 books was that the OYL reveals felt a bit awkward and incompressible. That really doesn't explain Supergirl's time with the Legion at all!

I had a gut feeling there was going to be a 52 backlash this week. What could have DC done to satisfy everyone?

Black Adam's motivation and the machinations behind WW3 have already been laid out prior to this event. How much more exposition do you need?

Adam did a lot of shit in 7 days time; Adam murdered millions, ripped off people's faces, killed heroes, destroyed the Pyramids, fought the Doom Patrol in Italy. Attacked a US Naval carrier and hurled said carrier into the middle of Manhattan.

Annihilated the Great Ten, incapacitated the Chinese military. To the point where China was readying a Nuke strike and the US was willing to not retaliate. Adam beat the hell out of the Marvel family and fought nearly every hero to a standstill.

For a huge fight involving a God it was pretty satisfying. If anything more people should have died fighting Black Adam.

What the hell were non-superpowered heroes doing trying to fight Adam? Madness!

[horatio616]

What the hell were non-superpowered heroes doing trying to fight Adam? Madness!

I was wondering why Alan Scott was trying to tackle Black Adam from behind. Didn't make a lot of sense.

[labor_days]

Scott and the other heroes were trying to lift Adam into the air so that Marvel's lightning blast wouldn't kill all the other heroes on the ground. Zatanna communicated the plan telepathically when Marvel left the Rock Of Eternity.

[iSteve]

My biggest complaint about the WW3 books was that the OYL reveals felt a bit awkward and incompressible. That really doesn't explain Supergirl's time with the Legion at all!

I had a gut feeling there was going to be a 52 backlash this week. What could have DC done to satisfy everyone?

Black Adam's motivation and the machinations behind WW3 have already been laid out prior to this event. How much more exposition do you need?

Adam did a lot of shit in 7 days time; Adam murdered millions, ripped off people's faces, killed heroes, destroyed the Pyramids, fought the Doom Patrol in Italy. Attacked a US Naval carrier and hurled said carrier into the middle of Manhattan.

Annihilated the Great Ten, incapacitated the Chinese military. To the point where China was readying a Nuke strike and the US was willing to not retaliate. Adam beat the hell out of the Marvel family and fought nearly every hero to a standstill.

For a huge fight involving a God it was pretty satisfying. If anything more people should have died fighting Black Adam.

What the hell were non-superpowered heroes doing trying to fight Adam? Madness!

O.K. Labor Days, I think you're winning me over with your points. As I mentioned in another thread, I wasn't feelin' the love for WW III, but that's not to say there weren't things to appreciate about it. I liked the tie-ins to a number of the OYL stories. It may not have explained them all, but I appreciated the references. The problem that I still have with the mini-series is that I don't think that it was necessary. We could have read 52 and not read WW III and nothing essential would have been missed. I wish it had been more necessary as a storyline.

[mastap]

That really doesn't explain Supergirl's time with the Legion at all!

Despite everything, this pissed me off the most

[labor_days]

As I mentioned in another thread, I wasn't feelin' the love for WW III, but that's not to say there weren't things to appreciate about it. I liked the tie-ins to a number of the OYL stories.
The OYL bits were a nice nod I suppose. However, to me they didn't make much sense because I don't read Nightwing, Aquaman or Firestorm. Supergirl and SG & the Legion, I do read but those scenes didn't answer anything that wasn't already explained somewhere else. But hey, someone out there was curious about Aquaman.

The problem that I still have with the mini-series is that I don't think that it was necessary. We could have read 52 and not read WW III and nothing essential would have been missed. I wish it had been more necessary as a storyline.
True but to DC's credit, they told the fans that the mini wasn't necessary to the Black Adam/WW3 story. DC specifically said all you needed was 52. The mini was supposed to answer some OYL questions and flesh out the surrounding events of WW3 a bit. The mini was 1 for 2 as far as I am concerned.

[iSteve]

There's a Newsarama article out about the consequences of World War III - ONE MORE YEAR LATER: WORLD WAR III AND CHANGES IN THE DCU (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=109485)

http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/WAcker/Week49/WWIII-Cv1_t.jpg

[kwok_talk]

Thanks iSteve, that answered a whole lot of questions that I had not knowing much about OYL and DC minor characters. I’ll have to reread WWIII at some point b/c it might make some more sense to me…maybe.

[labor_days]

There's a Newsarama article out about the consequences of World War III - ONE MORE YEAR LATER: WORLD WAR III AND CHANGES IN THE DCU (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=109485)


Haha. Even Newsarama can't figure out what the hell Donna Troy was doing since IC.

I am also glad to have read 52, Checkmate and Seven Soldiers. I've really come around to DC's tangled continuity since first jumping in a year ago. No longer am I completely confounded by the DCU. It's pretty fun once you get a handle on it.


BTW, Around Comics latest episode (http://www.aroundcomics.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1708&Itemid=112) is all about 52 and WW3. They touch on all the things I've come to like about DC's continuity/history.

[mikegraham6]

this felt like a big copout. they realized that they bit off more than they could chew with the whole one year later/52 thing. 52 was suppose to explain what happened to all the DCU character during OYL and they realized they couldn't fit it all into 52 so they had to stuff a lot of it in the WW3 mini (half of which doesn't explain anything--- e.g. why does Jason Todd decide to dress up like nightwing???). it felt like a ripoff to me, i didn't need these extra issues and while it was cool to see black adam rip off arms and faces, those two scenes weren't worth the 12 bucks i spent on these books.

3 Questions:
-Did aquaman become that squid man?
-Did we find out what BA's new magic word is? (my guess is: LAME!)
-Is 52 a failure because they couldn't fit all they wanted into their 52 issue format? (just because it hit it's weekly schedule, it doesn't neccesarily mean it still set out what they wanted to accomplish)

[labor_days]

Adam's new word is left to our imagination. It is implied that the magic word is something Adam's hubris would not allow him to say.

I liked the way Adam's story ended. When Adam utters Isis' name to effect the transformation, I felt sad for the person he'd become.

[horatio616]

Adam's new word is left to our imagination. It is implied that the magic word is something Adam's hubris would not allow him to say.


"Whoops!" or "My bad."

[hillary-clinton]

I wanted Black Adam to come alive and rip my arms and face off while reading that book. Why was that stuff important? To reboot the Martian Manhunter? I wish the DCU would have ganged up on him for being boring. The standalone issue of 52 was all I needed because it was badass. Why did Booster Gold take that rocket?

Where was everybody when Black Adam killed millions of people in 36 hours or whatever it was? SLEEPING ON THE JOB?

Did Dan Didio walk into his room of infinite monkeys with typewriters and grab the first four piles of paper he found?

[deezer]

Is 52 a failure because they couldn't fit all they wanted into their 52 issue format? (just because it hit it's weekly schedule, it doesn't neccesarily mean it still set out what they wanted to accomplish)

I don't think so at all. Sure, this stuff wasn't necessary, but I feel like they'd planned to do this so they didn't work on fitting everything into the weekly comic. Or I could just be an idealist as usual.

[bill_clinton]

Hey yall
I'm new to the board. I love the podcast.
Now let's get down to business, any hot ladies wanna cyber?



Oh hi Hillary, I didn't see you there

<oh shit>

[hillary-clinton]

Bill how dare you!!

Martian Manhunter is the DCU's Strong Sad.

[acomicbookgirl]

Best part of WW3? the Countdown ad in 52 that had the joker holding Jimmy Olson's press pass:D


I'm so annoyed with that page its not even funny.. After seeing that in every comic I got, Countdown better be the shit.

[bill_clinton]

Bill how dare you!!

Martian Manhunter is the DCU's Strong Sad.


hey hey

don't get so hyperactive mama. I was talking to Socks about this very thing the other day and he said: 'Meow'. I think he meant that you need to calm down. Also, you should know the word cyber only means 'help me do charity work'

[fred]

Bill how dare you!!

Martian Manhunter is the DCU's Strong Sad.

Then the Hulk is Marvel's Strong Mad

[the-screw-on-aaron]

Then the Hulk is Marvel's Strong Mad

yaaaayyyy H*R I didn't know you guys were fans! I love that freaking show:D ! Trogdor forever!:D

World War III was really good at all away around it really cleared up some of the big holes in one year later and that's what I wanted out of 52, the ending was fantastic, the battles were fun what more could I ask for?

Each day we die a little more- Strong Sad

[humphrey-lee]

this felt like a big copout. they realized that they bit off more than they could chew with the whole one year later/52 thing. 52 was suppose to explain what happened to all the DCU character during OYL and they realized they couldn't fit it all into 52 so they had to stuff a lot of it in the WW3 mini (half of which doesn't explain anything--- e.g. why does Jason Todd decide to dress up like nightwing???). it felt like a ripoff to me, i didn't need these extra issues and while it was cool to see black adam rip off arms and faces, those two scenes weren't worth the 12

To me it felt just like filler and more of a money grab. Seriously, they couldn't have just trimmed the main of 52 a bit to spread this over four issues and make it a month long war? I mean, I know that Batwoman stuff had such HUGE implications to the overall story and did so much to establishing her as a presense in the DCU (ah, sarcasm) but I'm sure they could have gotten rid of that completely and not missed a beat. Seriously, this was them going ahead and trying to grab an extra 300K in sales for a week and really nothing more. And besides, hasn't Black Adam been taken down by the JSA alone like twice in their own series? Hell, they even did it once in a single issue. Whatever, I don't even buy it so it's not like I have much invested in it.

[six-gun]

Okay, the world's falling apart, Diana Prince is working at the DMA and Bruce Wayne is sailing around the world. Why the frak aren't they involved in WWIII? I'll give Clark a pass because he's de-powered but there is no way that a villian with the power of seven gods rampaging around the world wouldn't at least elicit a response from the two.

THe whole thing just seems like they're trting to keep the most popular characters out of the 52 narrative (even though Batman had his own issue) and let that conciet overrule the logic of the story.

[conorkilpatrick]

Okay, the world's falling apart, Diana Prince is working at the DMA and Bruce Wayne is sailing around the world. Why the frak aren't they involved in WWIII? I'll give Clark a pass because he's de-powered but there is no way that a villian with the power of seven gods rampaging around the world wouldn't at least elicit a response from the two.

Because the war happened in a week and the secret mountain temples in Nanda Parbat probably don't get CNN?

[fred]

I've also found that secret mountain temples suck when it comes to cable access.