Countdown to Final Crisis #3 (DC – Dini / Giffen / McKeever / Lim / McKenna)
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!
We finally got it! The big battle issue! Woo Woo!… wow… yea… the excitement lasted about 2 minutes after I got done with the issue and started thinking about Countdown on the macro. There is a big Superman – Darkseid throwdown, a Mary Marvel vs. the Challengers brawl and a Ray Palmer / Jimmy Olsen combination catches Darkseid off guard. Good art, good action… but a little late to save most of the previous 49 issues of this series. I do hope that DC Zero and the Final Crisis run has a lot more meat to it than what we have seen in Countdown.
Now, after getting that bad karma out the way, I want to say that I think there is one statement in this issue that could cause ripples through the DCU. Just as Darkseid and Supes are ready to go to blows, Darkseid mentions that he is insulted that the rest of the JLA weren’t there yet. Superman responds by saying they would just get in his way anyway. I can see Batman responding to that sometime in the future. Plus: the Origin of Amazo.
Issue Grade: C+
Series Grade: C-
