Origins and Omens flashback, part 2.

Hey gents and gentettes, as promised, here's the second and final part of my look back at DC's “Origins and Omens” stuff from 2009. If you have NO idea what I'm going on about, then click here to be whisked away back to the magical land of Yesterday, where all of your questions will be answered... Mostly. Okay, that takes care of the intro, let's jump right into the main event.


First up today is Nightwing #153.-The top picture could be Tim dressed as Batman telling Dick that he should be filling the mantle
-Obviously that would be Dick training Damian under the watchful eye of Talia in the Cave. I don't think that exact scene played out, but hey, they were close enough
-I could see the EVIL Jason Todd Batman holding a gun to Dick's head
-I don't recall Dick making out with somebody dressed in a Batgirl/Batwoman outfit... That's a real interesting picture, because that could very well mean that DC did indeed intend on healing Barbara Gordon. Either that or Dick is swapping spit with Stephanie Brown, which would be weird on like 6 different levels.


Robin #183-Okay, we have EVIL Jason Todd Batman menacing Tim
-Tim arguing with Dick during Battle for the Cowl
-Anarky HAS been a thorn in Tim's side
-And Tim also worked with Ra's Al Ghul.
-Hey, check it out, this one was totally right!


Secret Six #6-Wonder Woman did make a guest appearance in this series
-And I guess Bane did beat up some faceless goons...
-As for the Deadshot scene? I guess that could have happened... I can't recall it though


Superman #685-Mon-El did indeed fight Atlas
-He also teamed with Guardian(and I'm guessing Nightwing?)
-He also made sure to take some time for some good old fashion lovin'
-I can't say I remember a Green Lantern who looks surprisingly like Lex Luthor battling Mon-El... Lex as a Green Lantern would be ALL kinds of awesome though.


Teen Titans #68-Let's see, Kid/Red Devil did die
-Kid Flash(and his costume)did rejoin the team
-Static did show up, albeit briefly.
-THANKFULLY Wonder Girl and the Fake Blue Beetle never made out, because I would have vomited on the comic immediately!
-I don't think anybody got pregnant
-And I also don't remember Ravager trying to poke out Wonder Girl's eye.
-Huh, this was one of the rare instances where Scar was way off with her predictions... What gives, Scar?


Titans #10-Wally West did pretty much fade away because of the overwhelming powers of That Damed Saint, Barry Allen
-Roy Harper did wind up in a hospital bed(and eventually as a one-armed junkie who would go on to stroke a dead cat in an alley...)
-I can't say that I remember Brother Blood and Raven fighting recently, although it may have just blended into one of their other many, MANY battles
-I can't place the woman kissing Beast Boy, so I don't think that happened either
-And I don't recall the scene with Donna either... Is that supposed to be Indigo? Too bad that didn't happen!
-Wow, I guess the lesson here is that Scar can't accurately predict the future of any team with the word “Titans” in it...


Vigilante #3-Wow, I actually collected this series?!
-Vigilante did fight the Teen Titans
-As well as the Titans
-He also fired his guns, so kudos for that one
-And I vaguely recall some sort of bizarre cross-dressing killings storyline, so yeah, that happened as well


Wonder Woman #29-Wonder Woman did take a swim(really, she did!)
-A few Amazons did get pregnant
-Tom Tresser did leave WW
-And Warkiller/Achilles did spear a police car
-I don't recall WW with her hands covered in blood, although that very easily could have happened.


So that's it. Our brief trip to the 2009 version of the DCU is complete. I'd say that Scar's glimpses into the future were pretty accurate, except when the word “Titans” was involved... Then it was just a crap-shoot... Hopefully you enjoyed checking out these last two posts as much as I enjoyed crafting them. Anyway, feel free to comment, as well as to ask me what I was thinking by collecting that terrible Vigilante series... *shakes head* That's it, that's all, X out.

Vigilante #6

This is the conclusion of the Titans-Teen Titans-Vigilante crossover, "Deathtrap". Thus far I haven't been impressed with this x-over, so lets see if writer Marv Wolfman can salvage something here.

-This issue begins with Deathstroke the Terminator battling his insane son, and the villain behind the whole Deathtrap mess, Jericho. As Deathstroke and Jericho battle, Vigilante moves into position and watches the fight.

-Ultimately Jericho gets the upper hand, but is shocked to discover the Titans and Teen Titans surrounding the scene of the battle. Jericho accuses the Titans of being illusions, since he believes he killed the two Titans teams, but Raven reveals that the real illusion was the deaths of the Titans. "Deathstroke" then turns into Miss Martian, just to make this comic even worse for me.

-The Titans place a helmet on Jericho which is supposed to prevent him from jumping into any one's body, and turn him over to the cops.

-While the Titans are all patting each other on the backs and Beast Boy is practically making out with Cyborg, Vigilante breaks into the paddy wagon holding Jericho and drugs the cops inside. Vigilante then proceeds to poke out Jericho's eyes with a knife, since he promised Ravager he wouldn't kill Jericho. The issue ends with the two Titans teams finding the eye-less Jericho screaming about the voices in his head.

Wow... That was awful! This crossover really sucked! I thought for sure that this storyline would end with Vigilante killing Jericho, but the way things actually ended up was WAY worse. Now Jericho is blind? What the hell does THAT accomplish? Hell, they should have just killed Jericho off instead. At least that way he could have taken part in "Blackest Night". There's nothing left to do with a blind Jericho... Dumb...

Needless to say, the fact that Deathstroke didn't even really appear was just more salt in the wound for me. Then again, I doubt adding Deathstroke would have made a difference. Adding Batman, Lex Luthor and an army of flying monkeys wouldn't have made this x-over any better! I hate to say it, but it seems that much like Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman just doesn't have it anymore... I also think this will be the last issue of Vigilante I spend my money on. Through six issues and a crossover, the new Vigilante just hasn't managed to grab my attention. He's just another boring gun-toting uninspired anti-hero.

Oh, and before I end this review, I have to say that I wish Beast Boy would just bang Cyborg already! I can't be the only one who can sense the sexual tension between those two, can I? I mean, I get that they're friends and all, but come on already! No wonder Raven broke it off with Beast Boy, she could probably sense who he really wanted. For a score, I'll give this comic a 3 out of 10. My advice? Avoid this x-over at all costs!

Titans #13

This is the penultimate issue of the "Deathtrap" storyline. Hopefully this issue will FINALLY shed some light onto exactly what Jericho's evil plan is!

-This comic opens with Jericho taking the entire Hamilton Grande Hotel hostage in an effort to lure the Teen Titans and the Titans to him. Jericho rigs the place with explosives and shoots a hostage on TV to show he means business.

-The two Titans teams arrive and Jericho explains that if he lets go of the trigger he was holding the place would explode. Jericho has the Titans stand near the hostages, who are now wired with explosives so he can kill them all. Jericho explains that after he kills the Titans, he'll kill his father and be crowned the world's greatest assassin.

-Ravager tries to talk sense into Jericho, but he leaps out a window, sets off the bombs and jumps into the body of a cop he tied up earlier.

-All of the Titans appear to be dead, except for Cyborg who was out of commission due to Vigilante earlier in the x-over. Cyborg wakes up and charges out of the hospital screaming for Jericho.

-Vigilante also begins to stalk Jericho, tracking him to Central Park.

-Jericho himself continues to lose his mind as he believes the Titans are asking him why he killed them. From there he imagines Deathstroke taunting him, to which he tells the faux Deathstroke that he intends to kill him. At that moment, the real Deathstroke arrives on the scene and tells Jericho to give it his best shot.

I'm glad that we finally get to see Jericho's plan in action, although it all seemed kind of anticlimactic. Blowing the Titans up in an explosion? It just seemed kind of impersonal to me. Plus, would an explosion even cause someone like Donna or Wonder Girl to miss a beat? The whole thing seemed a bit ill-conceived. Of course I'm glad Deathstroke finally shows up, but I can't help but feel that he should have shown up a bit earlier in this x-over.

For a score, I'll give this issue a 7 1/2 out of 10. This issue was the best one of the entire x-over by far, but with that said, there was still plenty wrong. My money is still on Vigilante killing Jericho as this x-over concludes, but I really don't see what exactly that accomplishes. I guess Deathstroke would then be hunting for Vigilante. Unless something totally unexpected happens to end this x-over, I have to say this whole thing just seemed purposeless.

Teen Titans #70

This is part 3 of the 5 part "Deathtrap" storyline and is written by Sean McKeever. Oh, and this is going to be a very quick review, because it's getting late, and I want to get to "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes".

-Jericho is STILL planning something that hasn't been revealed yet... Hopefully we'll find out what he's up to by the end of this x-over!

-The Titans and the Teen Titans manage to down the Teen Titans out of control airplane with a little bit of help from Ravager.

-Ravager tells the combined Titans that she wants Jericho to get the help he needs, not killed by some nutjob like Vigilante, who is spying on the gathering from afar.

-Jericho shows up, possesses Raven and teleports away with Ravager. Ravager tells Jericho to turn himself in, but he refuses, telling Ravager he still has to kill all of the Titans. Well, I guess it's important to have goals... After Jericho realizes that Ravager won't help him, he teleports with Ravager to the two Titans teams.

-By this point, the Titans realize that they are being watched by Vigilante and they attack him. After Jericho and Ravager arrive, Vigilante tries to get at Jericho but is beaten down by Ravager. Jericho escapes(again!)and the Titans decide to take Vigilante with them, telling him that he won't be allowed to kill Jericho... Yeah, that'll work!

-The issue ends with Jericho arriving at a fancy hotel(?)in Central Park making various nefarious threats to no one in particular.

Meh. This was OK, but I just can't buy Jericho as a bad guy. My mind just won't accept it. I keep waiting for Deathstroke to jump in a window or something and scream, "I'm really the villain behind this whole story!!!". Besides that, I just don't understand why Vigilante was included in this storyline. He really doesn't fit. Unless it's revealed that he's secretly one of Deathstroke's offspring or something along those lines his inclusion here just sticks out like a sore thumb.

I can honestly say this x-over isn't living up to the lofty expectations I had for it before it began. Maybe things will really pick up as this x-over comes to an end, but I seriously doubt that's going to happen. I will say that I was very happy that Ravager finally showed up here. Unfortunately I think her appearance may be a case of too little, too late. For a score, I'll go with a 6 1/2 out of 10. I suppose this x-over almost has to end with Vigilante killing off Jericho, but as of right now, I really don't care one way or the other.

Vigilante #5

This is the second part of the Vigilante, Teen Titans, Titans crossover, "Deathtrap".

-We open with Jericho still up to no good and plotting some kind of nefarious scheme.

-The Titans attack Vigilante after he attacked Cyborg, who Vigilante mistakenly thought was still under the influence of Jericho. Ultimately the Titans apprehend Vigilante, but he escapes after he distracts the Titans by blowing up some cameras that he planted around the Titans Headquarters.

-Before the Titans can find Vigilante they receive an emergency call from the police to help stop some criminals with high tech weaponry.

-The criminals were sent by Jericho for the purpose of bringing the Titans to his location so he could blow them up. Jericho detonates a bomb near the Titans, but they manage to escape any serious injury.

-In the meantime, Vigilante discovers Jericho arguing with Deathstroke, not the real one, but a figment of Jericho's imagination. Vigilante attacks Jericho, but almost gets himself killed in the process.

-After dealing with Vigilante, Jericho calls the Teen Titans who were heading to New York to meet with the older Titans. When the Teen Titans answer the phone, they give Jericho access to their airplane, which Jericho uses to attack the Titans.

I really didn't care much for this comic. There was just too much stupid stuff going on here. For example, how do the Titans allow Vigilante to walk out of their headquarters, practically right under their collective noses? That was pretty sad. The Titans hear some explosions, turn their backs for a second and Vigilante is gone? How long have the Titans been heroes? Shouldn't they have been paying a bit more attention to their captive? I guess not.

Besides that, Jericho calling the Teen Titans and sending a computer virus to them was also a bit too convenient for my taste. First off, since when did Jericho become an expert in computer viruses? Secondly, how did he know the Teen Titans were in New York when he called them? And finally, what kind of computer virus would allow Jericho to send the Teen Titans plane after the Titans without Jericho actually being anywhere near a computer?

So far, this crossover has been VERY underwhelming. I'm still waiting for Deathstroke and Ravager to show up, because I'm just not buying Jericho as the main antagonist for this storyline. I just can't buy Jericho as a mega-villain. For a score, I'll give this comic a 5 out of 10. Hopefully, the next part of this story will bring Deathstroke into the fray, because he is sorely needed here!

Titans #12

This is part 1 of the Deathtrap crossover.

-We learn right off the bat that Jericho has left Cyborg's body after he knocked out Beast Boy.

-After leaving Cyborg and Beast Boy, Jericho possesses a police officer and heads to a spot in Central Park, where he is overlooking... Some kind of building. What this building is or why it's important is never really explained.

-We find out that Jericho is being driven insane by some of the more powerful minds he's come in contact with over the years. One of the more vocal voices is that of his father, Deathstroke the Terminator. Deathstroke derides Jericho non-stop, until Jericho decides that the only way he can silence Deathstroke's voice is by killing him.

-The Teen Titans get in touch with the Titans and tell them what Cyborg/Jericho did to them in "Teen Titans" Annual #1. The Teen Titans then begin to make their way east in order to meet with the Titans to decide what the next step should be.

-Cyborg realizes that Vigilante is still looking for Jericho and that Vigilante is under the idea that Cyborg is still possessed by Jericho. The Titans stage a battle against Cyborg in order to draw Vigilante to them. The Titans figure that Vigilante may have some information that could be useful in their search for Jericho.

-The Titans plan works, but unfortunately Vigilante gets the slip on them and proceeds to blow Cyborg's brains out... Oops!

First off, what happened to Judd Winick? I though he was the writer of this series... I guess not. Sean McKeever wrote this issue and he'll also write the Teen Titans issues of this crossover, while Marv Wolfman will be responsible for writing the Vigilante portions of this crossover. This was a decent start to this crossover, it really wasn't anything spectacular, but it was good enough to have me interested in finding out what will happen next.

I STILL hate the fact that Jericho is the villain here, but what can you do? Jericho just doesn't seem like a villain to me... I didn't buy evil Jericho back in the old "New Titans" series, and I don't buy it now. He's just too nice a guy for me to consider evil! I'm still waiting for Ravager and Deathstroke to show up, especially Deathstroke, because, in case you haven't guessed, I am a BIG Deathstroke fan.

For a score, I'll give this comic an 8 out of 10. This comic basically did all the things it had to, show us who the villain was(Jericho), get all of the players involved(the Teen Titans, the Titans and Vigilante), as well as leaving us with a good cliffhanger(Cyborg getting blown away). I know I'll be looking forward to the next issue of Vigilante(where part 2 will be)in order to find out what happens next.

Vigilante #4

Overall- My opinion of this comic can be stated in one word, that word being "meh". This comic picks up after Titans #11, where we discover that Jericho has taken control of Cyborg. Vigilante is hunting for Jericho, as a result of Jericho's role in the election day assassinations from the "DC Universe: Decisions" mini-series. Vigilante decides to break into the Titans headquarters in NYC in order to find out if the Titans have any clue as to the whereabouts of Jericho.

While searching through the Titans computers for information, Vigilante gets busted by Donna, who handily defeats him. Vigilante tricks Donna into thinking he was hired by the FBI to find out information on Jericho since the Titans weren't cooperating with the FBI's investigation into Jericho. Vigilante gives Donna a phone number to call, and when she does, he slips away. Wow, that scene sure made Donna look dumb! However, Vigilante doesn't realize that Cyborg/Jericho was spying on the whole conversation, and Jericho is interested as to why Vigilante is after him.

Vigilante escapes to a park, but is followed and attacked by Cyborg/Jericho, who demands answers as to why Vigilante was interested in him. Vigilante doesn't say a word, so Jericho decides he'll just possess Vigilante and discover the answers that way. Vigilante shoots Jericho/Cyborg before he can be possessed, and escapes into the Museum of Natural History. Jericho/Cyborg follows him and they fight once again. Since he isn't getting any answers from Vigilante, Jericho/Cyborg just decides to kill Vigilante and be done with him. However, the FBI shows up, and Jericho/Cyborg flees the scene, leaving Vigilante battered and at the feet of the FBI.

I'm sorry, but I just didn't care about this comic book. The story isn't doing anything for me, the character(Vigilante)isn't doing anything for me and the artwork is also pretty lousy. Not quite the trifecta a comic book wants to have... I'm tired of the whole mysterious Vigilante storyline. The mystery of who Vigilante is has been playing out since Marv Wolfman's last run on the now departed "Nightwing" comic book. Enough is enough! It's not like we're going to get some earth-shattering revelation when Vigilante's identity is FINALLY revealed, it's going to be a c-string character at best, so just get it over with. In a way, the mystery of "Who is Vigilante" reminds me of when Fabian Nicieza was writing "New Thunderbolts" and he introduced the new Swordsman. Common sense said the new Swordsman HAD to be Hawkeye, and being a huge Hawkeye fan, I was pretty excited to see the big reveal. After MONTHS of waiting, we finally find out that the Swordsman was Andres Von Strucker... What a let down THAT was! Vigilante's identity is almost certainly going to be a similar letdown, so I say just get it over with already!

To be honest with you, the only reason I even read this comic tonight was to get it out of the way, because I knew it wasn't going to be very good. I was right. For a score, I'll give this issue a 4 out of 10. I just don't have any kind of connection to this series right now. If I never read another issue, it wouldn't phase me one way or the other... Most likely, after the "Deathtrap" crossover ends, I'll probably stop collecting this comic. It just doesn't make any sense to spend time/money on a comic book I just don't care about.

Vigilante #3

Overall- This comic still isn't doing much for me. I'll give a review, but it's going to be very quick. Vigilante finds Nightwing and asks him where exactly the Titans are holding Jericho, since Vigilante wants to question Jericho about the N.Y. mob scene. Nightwing won't give up the info, and the two fight. Vigilante escapes after shooting Nightwing point blank in the chest(don't worry, Nightwing's uniform is strong enough to handle a point blank slug). Vigilante then runs afoul the F.B.I. and has to escape from them. Vigilante then gets jumped by Nightwing and the two fight again. After some fighting, Nightwing inexplicably decides he trusts Vigilante and tells him that Jericho is being held at the Titans base... Huh?!? Nightwing then leads Vigilante to a boat and wishes him luck with Jericho, before leaving for Gotham... What the hell??? But weren't they just fighting??? On top of that, I remember Vigilante holding Dick Grayson hostage for several days back in the Nightwing series... And yet Nightwing trusts him... OK... Besides that, there's also a serial killer running around NYC killing people and then cross-dressing the bodies. The killer is intrigued by Vigilante and decides to hang around NYC in order to run in to him... WHAT?!?!

The Origins & Omens portion of this comic book added absolutely nothing to this story and the future images basically showed us events that are scheduled for the next issue(Vigilante vs. Cyborg and Wonder Girl), so it wasn't really a very deep glimpse into the future. I was really hoping we'd get some kind of revelation about Vigilante's identity here, but alas, that was not to be.

I'm really trying to give Marv Wolfman the benefit of the doubt with this series, but I'm sorry, this issue really wasn't very good. I'll probably stick around another 3 issues or so, but unless Marv really does SOMETHING here, I'll be cutting my ties from this book. Give us Vigilante's identity or some great villains or something, Marv! The cross-dress murders??? I'm sorry Marv, but you've got to do WAY better than that! For a score, I'll give this issue a 4 out of 10. Boy, the last few comics I've reviewed have really been pretty lousy... On a positive note, I'm also reading Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps back issues nightly. So far, I've really enjoyed GL, and I like GLC a lot more than I expected to. I'm just about up to the Sinestro Corps War crossover in those two series.

Vigilante #1 & 2

Overall- Basically, I decided to purchase this series for two reasons. #1, I heard that this series will be involved in the upcoming Teen Titan/Titan crossover. As for #2, I enjoyed Marv Wolfman's work on Nightwing not that long ago. It was in those Nightwing comics this current Vigilante was (re-)introduced. To be honest with you, these 2 comics left absolutely no impression on me. I'll give a quick rundown of what I read, but I'm going to be pretty brief here.

Apparently, Jericho orchestrated some kind of election day bombings in a DC mini-series a few months ago. I can't remember what the title of the mini-series was, mainly due to the fact that I didn't buy it! When I remember the name of this mini, I'll probably pick it up, since several comics I read keep referencing it. Anyway, it seems that some members of the mafia helped Jericho carry out the bombings and that since the bombings, someone has been rubbing out mobsters in New York.

So, Vigilante decides to find out who orchestrated the bombings(he initially doesn't know Jericho was responsible), and discover the source of the brewing mob war... Convoluted enough for you? The bottom line here is that Vigilante discovers that Jericho is responsible for the bombings, but at the end of the second issue, he also finds out that Nightwing was supposedly working with Jericho. Yeah, I kind of doubt that... But, this revelation sets up a confrontation between Nightwing and Vigilante next issue.

I personally found these comics pretty boring. Vigilante himself is a pretty bareboned, boring character. We know nothing of his past, except that he doesn't seem to be the original Vigilante, and that he is more than willing to kill the bad guys. Basically, Vigilante is the Punisher in a helmet. I'll stick with this comic through the Titans crossover, but unless this series dramatically improves, I kind of doubt I'll be collecting this comic for very long.

For a score, I'll give both issues of this series a 3 out of 10. I really think Marv needs to flesh Vigilante out a little bit... Who is he? Why does he do what he does? What is his relationship to the original Vigilante? Without knowing anything about Vigilante, it's kind of hard to care about him, or this comic book.