Countdown to Final Crisis #2 (DC – Dini / Giffen / McKeever / Saiz / Palmiotti)
The Great Disaster has occurred, and all hell breaks loose as all the storylines in COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS come to a climax, threatening Darkseid and Jimmy Olsen and Mary Marvel and the future of their Earth!
Well, don’t know how Mary is doing… didn’t see her this issue. But kudos to the Countdown creative team, for not leaving us hanging. We have finally caught the meaning of a few of these catch phrases throughout the year. Darkseid yells “Jimmy Olsen Must Die!” in reference to his plan to make the Fifth World… too bad it didn’t work. The Death of the New Gods apparently ends with the burning corpse of Darkseid, at the hands of his son, but I have a hard time believing Darkseid is out for the count (in-particular due to some of the spoiler shots from Final Crisis). Ray Palmer is the key as he stops Darkseid’s plan by removing the “soul crystal” from Jimmy’s brain that was giving him the powers of the New Gods.
As a stand alone, this issue was pretty cool… a giant mutant Jimmy / Darkseid throw-down leading to Orion battling his father. Quite an issue for fans who have been following the New Gods. Quite a few positive things about the issue. I just think it was too little, too late for the series.
The main negative here has nothing to do with content issue #2 or necessarily the direction that the Final Crisis looks like it is going to take. It has to do with how much filler there was in Countdown over the past 12 months… Arena, Crime Bible, Monarch, etc. None of this really mattered at all. A decent ending for what was not a “worthy” continuation of 52.
Issue Grade: B+
Series Grade: C-
