Go under the dome of DC’s major event of the year: Convergence.
"Citizens of my world! I have brought this Convergence upon you. Now is the time. The hour is near, judgment is here. Only one city shall survive, only the strong.”
With those words, the being called Telos announced DC’s latest crossover event, one that not only spells the end (sort of) of the DC New 52 after four years, but also the return of some of DC’s most beloved (and then some) multiverses, alternate worlds, and classic characters.
After a relatively low-key (and frankly pointless) #0 prequel issue last week, DC Comics finally rolled out its universe-redefining Convergence event, with Convergence #1 and a host of other tie-in titles.
After four years of nothing but the New 52 to read, the return of the old DC Universe is a welcome thing indeed. The New 52 was an ambitious project, to say the least. Completely rebooting and reimagining its entire comic universe with a whopping 52 titles was no easy feat for DC, and while certain books managed to hold their own, others floundered and got cast away.
In a recent interview with Comic Book Resources, DC Comics co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio said that after almost four years of publishing 52 books in the same continuity, and “focusing on keeping a universe that’s tightly connected and has super-internal consistency, and really one flavour”, the new post-Convergence DC universe will have a “core line of about 25 books that will have that internal consistency”, consisting of their bestselling books.
“The rest of the line, about 24 titles, will be allowed to really shake things up a little bit,” said Lee in the interview. “We’re really asking the creators to put story and character first, and really focus on canon more than continuity.”
So, while Convergence smacks of a desperate ploy to appease the old DC fans who have been clamouring for the end of the New 52, it also seems like they aren’t prepared to give up on the DC New 52 just yet. For now, however, the first wave of Convergence titles pits the pre-Flashpoint universe against the alternate Flashpoint universe while throwing in the funny animal world of Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo Crew and the Extremists supervillain team from Angor.
Slow to converge
Convergence #1 puts the focus solely on the Earth 2 superheroes from the New 52, as Jay “The Flash” Garrick, Alan “Green Lantern” Scott, Val-Zod (the African-American Superman of Earth 2), Yolanda Montez (the Red Avatar of Earth 2), a distinctly ordinary Dick Grayson, and Thomas “Batman” Wayne get pulled into one of Telos’ domes just as their world is being destroyed in the finale of the Earth 2: World’s End series.
After they spend about a quarter of the issue discussing their predicament and fighting one another, the otherworldly Telos shows up and announces that his “master”, Brainiac, has been collecting cities from different alternate worlds and placing them in domes upon his world.
Earth 2 was apparently the “final piece of the puzzle”, the last world to be “collected”, and now, he will be opening up ALL the domes and force each city to fight for its own survival.
While the prospect of Telos’ Multiversal Hunger Games is an intriguing one, Convergence #1 does little to generate any sort of excitement for the main event, especially if you’ve not been following the Earth 2 stories in the New 52. Though there is some thrill to be had with Telos’ references to pivotal DC events like Flashpoint, Infinite Crisis, Kingdom Come and Zero Hour, the issue otherwise adds little to what we already know about Convergence.
The sum of all things
Compared to the rather lacklustre Convergence #1, the other tie-in titles fair much better.
There are nine tie-in titles in total in this first wave, with each one adding more dimension and depth to the overall event than Convergence #1 does. Among them, Convergence: Speed Force stood out the most to me, focusing on pre-Flashpoint Wally West when he was still The Flash, and taking care of his twins Jai and Iris. The appeal of this book wasn’t just that it starred Wally, but the fact that – thanks to a quick run-around – he also gave us a glimpse of some of the other worlds involved in Convergence.
Also, with the book called “Speed Force” instead of merely “The Flash”, we can probably look forward to The Flash and his fellow speedsters playing a major role in Convergence later on.
When each city was “domed”, all the heroes inside lost their powers, so it was also particularly interesting to see how the heroes and people in each city in the various worlds coped with it.
Some rebelled against the doming, some were resigned to it, while others – especially the superheroes – saw it as a chance to finally live ordinary lives. The focus on these emotions was most apparent in Convergence: Titans (which focused on Roy “Arsenal” Harper) and Convergence: Nightwing-Oracle (which puts Barbara Gordon back in the wheelchair as Oracle).
The other titles are a lot more focused on their individual lead characters. Convergence: Batman And Robin in particular gives us a pre-Flashpoint look at Bruce and Damian Wayne’s relationship; Convergence: The Question is a welcome return for the Renee Montoya version of the character; while Convergence: The Atom has a slightly kooky story that focuses on a Ray Palmer who manages to retain one element of his powers – the ability to grow one hand bigger.
Convergence: Batgirl also brings back Stephanie Brown as a retired Batgirl who has been selected to fight for her city, Convergence: Harley Quinn harks back to her old villainous, Joker-loving period; and Convergence: Justice League pits an all-female JLA against the forces of a Flashpoint-universe Aquaman.
Welcome back, Superman
More than any of the other titles, however, Convergence: Superman (written by Dan Jurgens, with art by Lee Weeks) is the one that really hammers home the realisation that we’re not in the New 52 anymore.
The New 52 Supes was one of my least liked versions of the Man of Steel ever, coming across as a little obnoxious and a bit of a jerk at times (and don’t even get me started on his new costume). So to see the return of the Pre-Flashpoint Superman in his iconic blue spandex with red briefs on the outside and a pregnant Lois Lane by his side nearly brought a tear to my eye.
Sure, it all goes to hell once the dome is lifted and he has to start fighting his counterparts from the Flashpoint universe, but for the first half of Convergence: Superman, it was great to see the return of the big blue boy scout in all his former glory, as it truly reminded me of what we’ve been missing ever since the New 52 began.
Based on this first wave of books, it’s still too early to see what kind of universe or multiverse DC is going to end up with at the end. Chances are, certain elements of the New 52 will be retained, while others might just be cast aside for their more classic and maybe more popular alternate versions.
I for one would love to see Red Son Superman running around in the mainstream continuity, crossing paths with regular Superman from time to time. The Earth 2 gang certainly seems likely to survive, though my money is on Thomas Wayne biting the bullet at some point – surely DC can’t be considering having him AND Bruce Wayne as Batman in the same continuity.
This first wave certainly does set up some intriguing matchups between the different multiverses, though – and I can’t wait to see when the Kingdom Come and other Elseworlds concepts start coming into the picture.
What’s for certain is that DC has fired a first, formidable shot across the bow in this year’s multiversal crossover event matchup. Over to you and your Secret Wars now, Marvel.
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