Back in 2008, DC billed their "Final Crisis" event as "The Day Evil Won". Let's be honest though, the story was so jumbled and confusing that the only memorable moment was the fatal confrontation between Batman and Darkseid (in which neither of them really died, but it was still a badass Batman moment). That's how I viewed it at least.
Cut to five years later, DC had since rebooted their universe with Flashpoint and the New 52, and their first major event, "Forever Evil", could very well draw parallels with "Final Crisis" in terms of concept. It has the major heroes out of commission while the main villains recruit every other villain on the planet to serve them; hell, they even did another Villains Month like five years ago.
After a lead-up storyline with the "Trinity War" crossover (which I previously reviewed), the first issue of the event had started out promising, with the Crime Syndicate busting out the villains, blotting out the sun by eclipsing the moon, taking down much of the world's electrical grid, kidnapping Nightwing and revealing his identity to the public, and basically giving the whole planet an "obey or die" ultimatum. All the while, we are also introduced to the main protagonist of the series that practically no one would see as the hero, even though he would view himself to be: Lex Luthor. Unfortunately, I think this issue was buried amongst all the Villains Month comics and the hype and frustration that came with it. Still, "Forever Evil" started the way an event should; it introduced the villains and the level of threat they are along with the protagonist realizing he has to do something.
The Crime Syndicate (re)debuted at the conclusion of "Trinity War", and over the course of the series, I thought Geoff Johns did a good job at reintroducing and reinterpreting the evil Justice League, my favorite being Ultraman. If anyone personified the opposite elements of Superman, it was this version of Ultraman.
- Instead of strength, the house of "Il" represented strength, i.e. he's out to prove he is the best instead of trying to bring out the best in others.
- Instead of being powered by the sun, it hurts him, which is why he has to keep the sun eclipsed.
- Instead of Kryptonite weakening him, it actually strengthens him. In fact, it actually seems like an addiction. Just look at this panel:
Kryptonite. It's a hell of a drug.
The other Syndicate members do a good job at displaying how opposite they are from their League counterparts, but Ultraman is the best representation if you ask me. But Power Ring gets an honorable mention. Given Johns has been writing Hal Jordan for almost a decade, it was interesting to see how different the Earth-3 version was here; he's cowardly and definitely the guy who doesn't want to be there but only is because Deathstorm (whose name they basically stole from the Black Lantern Firestorm from the pre-Flashpoint universe, but I'll let that slide) say he'll help him get the ring off but he never does. In a way, you feel a little happy for him when Sinestro kills him, cause it's more of a mercy killing.
Then you have the personal drama within the Syndicate, particularly the love triangle between Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman, who is pregnant. Whose the father? Well, we'll get to that later.
On to the series protagonist. This is really the first time I've seen Lex Luthor in a heroic position, and I mean one where he doesn't have to team up with heroes to fix one of his screw-ups. It's also the first time I've really seen any focus on Lex's internal thoughts, as we learn what motivates him and how he views other heroes and villains. But one of the best aspects of the series is his interaction with Bizarro. Bizarro in the New 52 is Luthor's attempt at a Kryptonian clone, but it would take ten years to complete perfect clone. At the time of "Forever Evil", Subject B-0 (nice play on words Geoff) is only half-way complete, with chalky white skin and limited intelligence. However, Lex has to release him because he believes he'll need some Kryptonian strength to defeat the Syndicate. While Lex only sees Bizarro as a tool to begin with, eventually he opens up to his creature about his past and the creature responds kindly, establishing a real emotional partnership. When Bizarro ends up getting killed in the final issue, you can feel Lex's pain:
While many heroes of the Justice League are imprisoned in the Firestorm Matrix by the Syndicate, at least a few of them make it out, the most prominent being Catwoman and of course...Batman! How did the Dark Knight avoid capture? He escaped through a sewer grate. Yeah, the big bad Crime Syndicate got outsmarted by a sewer grate. That's how badass Batman is.
As the story progresses, Lex and Bizarro are joined up by other major DC villains like Captain Cold, Black Adam, Black Manta, Deathstroke, Sinestro, Catwoman, and even has to make an uneasy alliance with Batman. Unfortunately for Batman, he's outnumbered by the villains and has to let Lex be in charge. Even so, it's up to this Injustice League to bring down the Syndicate.
Now a lot of people complain about the pacing of the story and how it involves more talking than action. While I find that statement stands, I've tried to look at him from the characters perspective. They're essentially going up a Justice League that doesn't take shit from anyone; if Lex plans to take them out, it's basically a "one shot"/"do or die" situation for the fate of the world. So for those expecting tons of action and battles, there's not a lot, but when it's there, it is definitely on.
Speaking of the pacing though, due to the delays of the main series, it was another reason many found this series lived up to its name by going on "Forever". The last issue was supposed to be released in March, but wouldn't end up coming out until May. The thing is though that April was meant to be a "catch-up" month for DC's books, but those still released on time and a majority of them hardly talked about the repercussions of the event. Hell, there was this whole big tease DC had going during the event on whether or not Dick Grayson would die. But that surprise was ruined due to the announcement of the new "Grayson" series starting in July. So by that point, I was wondering if the final issue of a series I had generally been enjoying would even be worth the wait or have a satisfying ending. Well, even despite the wait, Geoff Johns managed to pull it off.
I've said before in my "Trinity War" review that even if you know something may happen, Geoff Johns would be able to throw in some surprises you may not see coming. "Forever Evil" is no different. For one example, at the end of the penultimate issue, it was revealed that the hooded prisoner the Syndicate brought with them from Earth-3 was indeed their Lex Luthor. The big twist though? Earth-3's Luthor has the powers of Mazahs, the Earth-3 equivalent to Shazam. The former may not have been a surprise, but I don't think anyone expected the latter. But it turns out that Earth-3 Lex can actually absorb the powers of the villains he kills, sort of like Rogue from X-Men, saying that he took the Mazahs powers from Will Batson and eventually killed and stole the powers of both Johnny Quick and Deathstorm. Not only that, but it turns out that he's the actual father of Superwoman's baby. I'll be honest, I did expect it to actually be Owlman's.
While the Injustice League was battle Mazahs and the other Syndicate members, Batman, Catwoman, Dick, and Cyborg had to save the Justice League from the overloaded Firestorm Matrix before it explodes. To do so, someone with a personal connection with Wonder Woman had to use her lasso and put it around Firestorm to depower him and free the League members. The person to use the lasso is of course...Batman! It's this moment I really find interesting in the series. People who watched "Justice League Unlimited" saw Bruce and Diana had feelings for one another. It's possible that has transitioned over to the New 52 universe. I have to wonder the details though. Before she got with Superman, did she and Bruce already have a thing, or is Bruce burying his feelings deep like he always does? Besides that, during the climax of "Trinity War" where all the heroes were fighting due to the influence of Pandora's Box, Clark spoke out of jealousy that Diana and Bruce would be together if he was out of the picture. Maybe Clark senses something between the two or knows that Bruce cares for her. But perhaps the biggest takeaway I got from this was Catwoman's reaction when Batman says him using the lasso would work. Unlike the pre-Flashpoint universe, Catwoman's feelings for Batman have gone unrequited in the New 52. Along with "Forever Evil", there are also moments where Batman has to rebuke her feelings in the recent "Gothtopia" storyline in Detective Comics and in the new weekly series "Batman Eternal." Not only that, but in a flash-forward issue of Batman #29, we see that Selina, the new kingpin of Gotham, has a real grudge against Batman now, which we will see plan out in the "Eternal" weekly. I guess Selina could only be rejected so many time. I'm just saying that Batman being able to use the lasso has opened up many potential storylines.
But there are plenty more potential storylines being set up. For one, Lex Luthor is able to deduce that Bruce Wayne is Batman after doing some research on Dick Grayson. Of course with comic book logic, Lex will probably be the only villain to figure that out. I would applaud Lex for that, but it's just too bad he can't figure out the very most easily-to-figure-out secret identity of Superman. But I guess one superhero identity at a time.
Then there's the big, big, BIG set-up. In the middle of the series after Power Ring is killed, the Syndicate find out that the ring has sent out a beacon, one that would end up drawing the being that destroyed Earth-3 to the prime Earth. By the end of the storyline, Ultraman and Superwoman are imprisoned, Owlman is on the run, and the other Syndicate members are dead. The League try to interrogate Ultraman and Superwoman about what destroyed their world, but the former is too emotionally distraught from being defeated to stop weeping while the latter just won't talk, only to laugh when she feels her baby kick. During my "Trinity War" review, I discussed how I believed that being was Darkseid. In fact, it's Superman's theory as well. But as the book ends, we are introduced to the true being, and while it's not Darkseid, he's apparently a rival and he's definitely a multiverse level threat. Who is it? Hey, I've spoiled some details in this review, but this is one thing I'll leave unsaid. I will say though that this probably does tie-in with DC's current "Futures End" weekly, the upcoming "Earth 2: World's End" weekly, and whatever event those two books will be leading up to next April.
So despite delays potentially hurting the impact of the series, the finale really saves it, not only closing out the first phase and major event of the New 52, but placing clues to future storylines for the second phase and another event with a year's worth of build-up. But with characters insights and plenty of twists, Geoff Johns delivers another quality crossover event like he has before with "Blackest Night" and "Flashpoint." I will say though that I think to really enjoy the story, you would have to read it back-to-back with "Trinity War" as we see both how exactly the Crime Syndicate arrive and the state of our heroes before the main event.
STORY RATING: 9/10
RECOMMENDATION RATING (in conjunction with Trinity War): 9/10
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