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The New 52 Event Omnibuses
DC Comics: The New 52: Villains Omnibus
In September 2013, every DC Universe comic book series will feature a special issue, revealing the origins, secrets and shocking fates of top super heroes including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and many more. Written and illustrated by top talent including Geoff Johns (GREEN LANTERN, THE FLASH, JUSTICE LEAGUE) Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, BATMAN INC., NEW X-MEN), Jim Lee (BATMAN: HUSH, ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, X-MEN), Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS, JOKER), Scott Snyder (DETECTIVE COMICS, AMERICAN VAMPIRE) and many more!
Just in time for the new year, these entry-point issues are collected in a single, massive hardcover edition that will be a great holiday gift for comics fans everywhere.
The first printing of this volume will feature a special 3D lenticular cover.
Just in time for the new year, these entry-point issues are collected in a single, massive hardcover edition that will be a great holiday gift for comics fans everywhere.
The first printing of this volume will feature a special 3D lenticular cover.
1184 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2013
9 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Greg Pak
1,649 books581 followersGreg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 9, 2014
Every evil had a beginning
AN INSANE MONTH TO BUY COMIC BOOKS
I didn't buy this hardcover edition, and I wasn't able to buy all single issues, due the particularity that besides what DC Comics may think, I haven't a money making machine, and it's quite hard to buy 52 single issues, coming out in the same month, plus my regular monthly purchase of comics that it's not small anyway. So, I had to choose which villains are more interested to read its issues, also taking in account that the comic books came out in a 3D Motion Lenticular cover option, more expensive than the regular printing ones, but the 3D ones were selling faster, so even I wasn't able to get 4 of them in that presentation.
So, I was able to stretch my comic books' budget to get 12 issues out of the 52 issues of the "DC's Villains' Month". And I'll do my ratings and brief comments about each of them, based on the single issues that I got. My overall rating is based on average result of the individual ratings of the read comics.
ABANDON ALL HOPE
Darkseid #1 (Justice League #23.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 5 stars
Great stuff showing the origin of Darkseid (and kinda showing some of High Father too) which can be fit in the typical story of the mortal battling against the gods, but it's quite insightful about what molded the psyche of Darkseid before becoming the New God of Apokolips. Also an interesting angle of how, each time some gods lost their way, Nature creates a balancing element. And even more amusing to see how Darkseid is able to watch opportunities where Nature was trying to bring balance. Powerful tale which shows you why you should be afraid, be VERY afraid of Darkseid.
Secret Society #1 (Justice League #23.4) (Regular cover)
Rating: 4 stars
Great story of the person behind the creation of the "Secret Society" in this New52 age, and how he was a key character for the formation and support of The Owlman, in Earth 3.
Desaad #1 (Earth-2 #15.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 2 stars
I like the New52 design for Desaad, elevating him from a lackey to a real monster, scary and with powers of his own to be feared. However, the story of what was he been scheming while he is stranded on the dimension of Earth-2 was barely okay without impacting as much as I'd expected.
Solomon Grundy #1 (Earth-2 #15.2) (Regular cover)
Rating: 2 stars
A bloody horror tale of how Solomon Grundy became the agent of The Gray, but while it's fair written, hardly was any impacting.
Black Adam #1 (Justice League of America #7.4) (Regular cover)
Rating: 4 stars
Interesting tale which brings a continuation of what you may read about the character on the TPB of "Shazam" and how he is rising to live again. It's intriguing that Black Adam seems that he isn't looking to be a ruler and/or tyrant. So, what he plans to do in the future it's kinda unpredictable.
Cyborg Superman #1 (Action Comics #23.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 5 stars
Easily the best story that I read of all 12 issues and also the more refreshing one since the creative team certainly did present a whole new "Cyborg Superman". Better, faster, stronger. But not only his powers but what he represents, what he is seeking now, for whom he is seeking it, but more than that, who is inside of this brand new body. In my honest opinion, using the basic concept of the previous known villain, they showed a character that he can became the most complicated menace ever faced by Superman in his 75 years of history. A masterpiece of storytelling and a priceless craftiness in re-imagining a villain.
Zod #1 (Action Comics #23.2) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 3 stars
A good story showing the childhood of Zod, and why he become the man that he is. However, I think that they didn't exploit its full potential. Still, an interesting reading.
Brainiac #1 (Superman #23.2) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 5 stars
Insightful story, telling the origin of Brainiac when he was just the organic being Vril Dox, and how he became one of the space beings to be more afraid of. Inspiring tale showing how alike were Vril Dox and Jor-El, obviously with key differences, but the similarities shouldn't be taken lightly.
Doomsday #1 (Batman/Superman #3.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 3 stars
Interesting story showing how the fearful creature known as "Doomsday" will be introduced in the New52 age. A great chance to see Lara (Kal-El's mom) in a really cool battle-armor with even cape! Also, introducing unpredicable interactions between Kara (Supergirl) with General Zod. While it can be kinda confusing trying to interpret the "old tale of the Last Knight of El" but still a cool comic to read.
Harley Quinn #1 (Detective Comic #23.2) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 3 stars
Insanely tale of how Dr. Harleen Quinzel became "Harley Quinn" in this New52 age, keeping several of the known elements of her first origin, but adding key elements which work well. Showing how dangerous and reckless can be underestimate the real intellect of Harley and her resourcefulness to provoke chaos and death.
Joker #1 (Batman #23.1) (Regular cover)
Rating: 2 stars
An okay story showing a facet of Joker's childhood (maybe, with the Joker, one never can be certain how reliable can be) and a mad plan to recruit a "child" of his own. Honestly, I expected way more than this.
Sinestro #1 (Green Lantern #23.4) (Regular cover)
Rating: 4 stars
While showing many of the story that everybody knows about Sinestro, the narrative is able to show brief but key moments of decision in the life of Sinestro.
AN INSANE MONTH TO BUY COMIC BOOKS
I didn't buy this hardcover edition, and I wasn't able to buy all single issues, due the particularity that besides what DC Comics may think, I haven't a money making machine, and it's quite hard to buy 52 single issues, coming out in the same month, plus my regular monthly purchase of comics that it's not small anyway. So, I had to choose which villains are more interested to read its issues, also taking in account that the comic books came out in a 3D Motion Lenticular cover option, more expensive than the regular printing ones, but the 3D ones were selling faster, so even I wasn't able to get 4 of them in that presentation.
So, I was able to stretch my comic books' budget to get 12 issues out of the 52 issues of the "DC's Villains' Month". And I'll do my ratings and brief comments about each of them, based on the single issues that I got. My overall rating is based on average result of the individual ratings of the read comics.
ABANDON ALL HOPE
Darkseid #1 (Justice League #23.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 5 stars
Great stuff showing the origin of Darkseid (and kinda showing some of High Father too) which can be fit in the typical story of the mortal battling against the gods, but it's quite insightful about what molded the psyche of Darkseid before becoming the New God of Apokolips. Also an interesting angle of how, each time some gods lost their way, Nature creates a balancing element. And even more amusing to see how Darkseid is able to watch opportunities where Nature was trying to bring balance. Powerful tale which shows you why you should be afraid, be VERY afraid of Darkseid.
Secret Society #1 (Justice League #23.4) (Regular cover)
Rating: 4 stars
Great story of the person behind the creation of the "Secret Society" in this New52 age, and how he was a key character for the formation and support of The Owlman, in Earth 3.
Desaad #1 (Earth-2 #15.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 2 stars
I like the New52 design for Desaad, elevating him from a lackey to a real monster, scary and with powers of his own to be feared. However, the story of what was he been scheming while he is stranded on the dimension of Earth-2 was barely okay without impacting as much as I'd expected.
Solomon Grundy #1 (Earth-2 #15.2) (Regular cover)
Rating: 2 stars
A bloody horror tale of how Solomon Grundy became the agent of The Gray, but while it's fair written, hardly was any impacting.
Black Adam #1 (Justice League of America #7.4) (Regular cover)
Rating: 4 stars
Interesting tale which brings a continuation of what you may read about the character on the TPB of "Shazam" and how he is rising to live again. It's intriguing that Black Adam seems that he isn't looking to be a ruler and/or tyrant. So, what he plans to do in the future it's kinda unpredictable.
Cyborg Superman #1 (Action Comics #23.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 5 stars
Easily the best story that I read of all 12 issues and also the more refreshing one since the creative team certainly did present a whole new "Cyborg Superman". Better, faster, stronger. But not only his powers but what he represents, what he is seeking now, for whom he is seeking it, but more than that, who is inside of this brand new body. In my honest opinion, using the basic concept of the previous known villain, they showed a character that he can became the most complicated menace ever faced by Superman in his 75 years of history. A masterpiece of storytelling and a priceless craftiness in re-imagining a villain.
Zod #1 (Action Comics #23.2) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 3 stars
A good story showing the childhood of Zod, and why he become the man that he is. However, I think that they didn't exploit its full potential. Still, an interesting reading.
Brainiac #1 (Superman #23.2) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 5 stars
Insightful story, telling the origin of Brainiac when he was just the organic being Vril Dox, and how he became one of the space beings to be more afraid of. Inspiring tale showing how alike were Vril Dox and Jor-El, obviously with key differences, but the similarities shouldn't be taken lightly.
Doomsday #1 (Batman/Superman #3.1) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 3 stars
Interesting story showing how the fearful creature known as "Doomsday" will be introduced in the New52 age. A great chance to see Lara (Kal-El's mom) in a really cool battle-armor with even cape! Also, introducing unpredicable interactions between Kara (Supergirl) with General Zod. While it can be kinda confusing trying to interpret the "old tale of the Last Knight of El" but still a cool comic to read.
Harley Quinn #1 (Detective Comic #23.2) (3D Motion Lenticular cover)
Rating: 3 stars
Insanely tale of how Dr. Harleen Quinzel became "Harley Quinn" in this New52 age, keeping several of the known elements of her first origin, but adding key elements which work well. Showing how dangerous and reckless can be underestimate the real intellect of Harley and her resourcefulness to provoke chaos and death.
Joker #1 (Batman #23.1) (Regular cover)
Rating: 2 stars
An okay story showing a facet of Joker's childhood (maybe, with the Joker, one never can be certain how reliable can be) and a mad plan to recruit a "child" of his own. Honestly, I expected way more than this.
Sinestro #1 (Green Lantern #23.4) (Regular cover)
Rating: 4 stars
While showing many of the story that everybody knows about Sinestro, the narrative is able to show brief but key moments of decision in the life of Sinestro.
February 24, 2019
Another New 52 Omnibus. Essentially, fifty-two on-shot stories. All lack their normal super-hero opponents, who are otherwise detained, so many of the stories are origin stories. This detracts some from the later stories in the volume as the tales become revealed as formulaic.
March 16, 2017
52 villains in one big volume... quite the treat!!
Not all of them had interesting stories, but most of them were brought very well..
It surprised me that there were even so many that I didn't ever knew (that much of)...
This tome is a nice addition to the other omnibi on my shelves, and even nicer too look at... Take of it's softcover and you get a cool 3D hardcover!!
And as a bonus you of course get, like in the other ones, some extra art pages... which is nice.. but only a minor added value..
For me the plus was that most of the characters actually had great stories to tell and that there were great artists at work in here!
So a solid 4/5 from me!!
Not all of them had interesting stories, but most of them were brought very well..
It surprised me that there were even so many that I didn't ever knew (that much of)...
This tome is a nice addition to the other omnibi on my shelves, and even nicer too look at... Take of it's softcover and you get a cool 3D hardcover!!
And as a bonus you of course get, like in the other ones, some extra art pages... which is nice.. but only a minor added value..
For me the plus was that most of the characters actually had great stories to tell and that there were great artists at work in here!
So a solid 4/5 from me!!
December 29, 2017
To ci dopiero zbiór. Wszyscy istotni złoczyńcy we wszystkich seriach dostali możliwość zagrać pierwsze skrzypce przy okazji Wiecznego Zła. Są tu zawarte genezy wielu z nich, ale część po prostu nadrabia zaległości sprzed ataku Syndykatu Zła i opisuje jak weszli w kontakt z Sekretnym Stowarzyszeniem. Co prawda niektóre zeszyty zawierają wszystkiego po trochu (Deadshot na przykład), a inne zapowiadają kolejne nakłady przygód (Darkseid), a jedyne co da się powiedzieć po przeczytaniu wszystkich to to, że prezentują bardzo nierówny poziom. To dobre streszczenie New52 : wychodziło sporo różnych serii, ale jedynie mała część jest warta zapamiętania.
April 27, 2018
To celebrate the second anniversary of the New 52 reboot and in conjecture with the Forever Evil event, DC Comics decided to replace the on-going titles with fifty-two villain one-shots for a month coined the Villains' Month (2013 September). DC Comics: The New 52 Villains Omnibus collects each and every fifty-two special issues in one massive tome.
With fifty-two issues, scores of writers, graphic artists and colorist it is extremely difficult to rate this massive anthology. For the most part, I'm pretty much liked about eighty per cent of this massive anthology. The art throughout is beautifully rendered and rather even throughout the enormous collection. However, the writing, for the most part was rather well, but in certain cases was much to be desired. The problem wrong with this omnibus is that roughly half of these issues are one-shots while the rest serves as prologues to Forever Evil or for their tie-in miniseries, so there was no closure in their stories unless you decide to continue with this massive event. I do, however, like the villains that they chose and to get to know them better – if only for one issue.
All in all, I think DC Comics: The New 52 Villains Omnibus is a wonderful collection of villainous origin stories – it is a good reference book to any newbies that wants to know the origin stories from the popular characters like the Joker from Batman #23.1: Joker, to the new like Court of Owls from Batman and Robin #23.2: Court of Owls, and the obscure like Dial E from Justice League #23.3: Dial E.
With fifty-two issues, scores of writers, graphic artists and colorist it is extremely difficult to rate this massive anthology. For the most part, I'm pretty much liked about eighty per cent of this massive anthology. The art throughout is beautifully rendered and rather even throughout the enormous collection. However, the writing, for the most part was rather well, but in certain cases was much to be desired. The problem wrong with this omnibus is that roughly half of these issues are one-shots while the rest serves as prologues to Forever Evil or for their tie-in miniseries, so there was no closure in their stories unless you decide to continue with this massive event. I do, however, like the villains that they chose and to get to know them better – if only for one issue.
All in all, I think DC Comics: The New 52 Villains Omnibus is a wonderful collection of villainous origin stories – it is a good reference book to any newbies that wants to know the origin stories from the popular characters like the Joker from Batman #23.1: Joker, to the new like Court of Owls from Batman and Robin #23.2: Court of Owls, and the obscure like Dial E from Justice League #23.3: Dial E.
November 7, 2019
Co to było!? Z tak masywnym tomiszczem jeszcze nie miałem przyjemności się zadawać. Przekrój przygód złoczyńców nam tu ukazany jest zaiste ogromny. Mamy tu praktycznie wszystkie ważniejsze kanalie, z jakimi ścierali się topowi bohaterowie z katalogu DC i każdemu poświęcono odpowiednią ilość miejsca. Mamy więc dużo opowieści typu origin, mamy też mocno zakręcone przygody.
Ponad 1000 stron mieści w sobie wiele dobrego, aczkolwiek nie obyło się bez wpadek. Ten omnibus jest dla mnie jak słodkie ciasto z truskawkami, ale po rozpoczęciu konsumpcji okazuje się, że w środku są też rodzynki. To coś czego personalnie nie lubię, więc ogólnie dobrze obrazuje to stan całego New 52, które jest bardzo nierówne. Z jednej strony mamy kilka dobrych serii, którym udaje się wyjść z twarzą i są takie, które zakończyły się szybciutko po jednym tomie.
Podobały mi się tutaj naprawdę wiele zeszytów, ale nie będę się tutaj rozpisywał nad każdym, poszczególnym tomem. Warto przeczytać historię Czarnego Adama, Cyborga Supermana, Zoda, Lexa Lutora, Darkseida, Riddlera, Lobo czy Bizarro. Reszta jest co najwyżej średnia lub mierna. Najbardziej wynudziłem się chyba na Córce Jokera, Brainiac, Creeper czy Relic. Każdy zeszyt to inny styl graficzny, więc każdy znajdzie coś dla siebie.
Omnibus zawiera kilka szczegółów, które mogą zepsuć zabawę przed lekturą Forever Evil, więc miejsce to na uwadze, bowiem kilka zeszytów dzieję się po pewnym wydarzeniu rzutującym na całe uniwersum DC. Mamy więc tu Tajne Stowarzyszenie i te ich monety. Ale i tak polecam omawianą pozycję. Naprawdę się opłaca i prezentuje się nieźle w tej żółtej okładce.
Ponad 1000 stron mieści w sobie wiele dobrego, aczkolwiek nie obyło się bez wpadek. Ten omnibus jest dla mnie jak słodkie ciasto z truskawkami, ale po rozpoczęciu konsumpcji okazuje się, że w środku są też rodzynki. To coś czego personalnie nie lubię, więc ogólnie dobrze obrazuje to stan całego New 52, które jest bardzo nierówne. Z jednej strony mamy kilka dobrych serii, którym udaje się wyjść z twarzą i są takie, które zakończyły się szybciutko po jednym tomie.
Podobały mi się tutaj naprawdę wiele zeszytów, ale nie będę się tutaj rozpisywał nad każdym, poszczególnym tomem. Warto przeczytać historię Czarnego Adama, Cyborga Supermana, Zoda, Lexa Lutora, Darkseida, Riddlera, Lobo czy Bizarro. Reszta jest co najwyżej średnia lub mierna. Najbardziej wynudziłem się chyba na Córce Jokera, Brainiac, Creeper czy Relic. Każdy zeszyt to inny styl graficzny, więc każdy znajdzie coś dla siebie.
Omnibus zawiera kilka szczegółów, które mogą zepsuć zabawę przed lekturą Forever Evil, więc miejsce to na uwadze, bowiem kilka zeszytów dzieję się po pewnym wydarzeniu rzutującym na całe uniwersum DC. Mamy więc tu Tajne Stowarzyszenie i te ich monety. Ale i tak polecam omawianą pozycję. Naprawdę się opłaca i prezentuje się nieźle w tej żółtej okładce.
paused-will-finish
July 9, 2017In September of 2013, DC did a “Villains Month” in which villains “took over” most of DC’s books for a month. They indicated this with a graffiti-style “renaming” of each issue using the villain’s name on each issue cover. This Villains Omnibus collects all of those issues into a single volume.
These stories take place in the New 52 continuity. In particular, roughly half of these take place during the Forever Evil crossover event. In this event, the Crime Syndicate (an evil, alternate universe version of the Justice League) has taken over the world, plunged it into darkness, and sent the world’s superheroes into hiding. Now, the villains of the world are running amok.
For now I am only aiming to review the 25 stories (out of the total 52) that tie into the Forever Evil event. I am reading them issue by issue and will review them as I go. At the bottom of my review I will include a list of all of the stories included in this omnibus.
Deadshot:
This is an entertaining story that tells Deadshot’s origin. And it’s quite an origin story. If you think Bruce Wayne had it tough as a kid, take a look at Deadshot’s childhood. Their stories are similar in a few ways (young boy with a big imagination watches as his parents are gunned down in a random act of violence), but of course their manner of coping and their resulting trajectories vary quite a bit (this is, after all, often the only difference between a hero and a villain). There is even a subtle mention of how, in an alternate universe, perhaps Deadshot’s trajectory, if altered only slightly, could’ve lead him down a more heroic path. So is he a tragic hero or a likeable villain? Maybe neither, maybe both. I enjoyed this story, but then I am usually a sucker for origin stories. This story also serves as the first chapter to a mini-arc regarding the Suicide Squad and their re-emergence during the worldwide blackout of the Forever Evil event.
4 stars
Two-Face:
This is a mediocre story involving primarily a dialogue between Two-Face and Scarecrow. I like the way the dialogue was handled in that it felt like a realistically distrustful moment of cooperation (even if the cooperation only went as far as not killing each other) between two psychopathic killers. The net result of the dialogue is to foreshadow that the Crime Syndicate is at work pulling together some kind of secret supervillain team called the Secret Society.
2 stars
Ventriloquist:
This story, by Gail Simone (author of New 52’s Batgirl reboot), is downright creepy. Somehow, amidst the apocalyptic darkness of the reign of the Crime Syndicate, Ventriloquist has set up a theater in Gotham that offers electricity and food. The beacon of her theater lights draws fearful, desperate people, both predators and prey, like moths to a streetlamp. What they see when they enter the theater and sit down to watch Ventriloquist’s show is simultaneously bizarre, simplistic, and hair-raising.
In addition to the present-day storyline is a flashback in which we see Ventriloquist’s childhood as she describes it to her puppet friend. A clever narrative device is used in which everything that she says is the exact opposite of what we see on the page during the flashback. The reader has little doubt that she is insane, but is left wondering whether she is deliberately deceiving herself, or just deceiving the audience, or perhaps her personal memory of history is really just an upside down version of reality.
There are also shades of Twilight Zone (the 1962 episode “The Dummy”) and Chucky (of the 1988 film “Child’s Play”) as her doll speaks and moves but it is at times unclear to the reader whether the doll is doing these things of his own free will or whether he’s being controlled by Ventriloquist.
And finally, what Ventriloquist does with her victims, well… you’ll just have to read the story and find out.
I loved this story as an enjoyable, short, spine-tingling glimpse into the mind of the criminally insane.
5 stars
A list of the stories included in this omnibus, courtesy of reviewer Constantino Benavides on amazon (YES or NO indicates whether it is included in the Forever Evil crossover event or not):
Justice League 23.1 Darkseid NO
Justice League 23.2 Lobo NO
Justice League 23.3 Dial E NO
Justice League 23.4 Secret society YES
Justice League of America 7.1 Deadshot YES
Justice League of America 7.2 Killer Frost YES
Justice League of America 7.3 Shadow Thief NO
Justice League of America 7.4 Black Adam YES
Justice League Dark 23.1 The Creeper NO
Justice League Dark 23.2 Eclipso NO
Aquaman 23.1 Black Manta YES
Aquaman 23.2 Ocean Master YES
Earth 2 23.1 Desaad NO
Earth 2 23.2 Solomon Grundy NO
The Flash 23.1 Grodd YES
The Flash 23.2 Reverse-Flash NO
The Flash 23.3 The Rogues YES
Green Arrow 23.1 Count Vertigo NO
Swan thing 23.1 Arcane NO
Teen Titans 23.1 Trigon YES
Teen Titans 23.2 Deathstroke YES
Wonder Woman 23.1 The Cheetah YES
Wonder Woman 23.2 Frist Born NO
Action comics 23.1 Cyborg Superman NO
Action comics 23.2 Zod NO
Action comics 23.3 Lex Luthor YES
Action comics 23.4 Metallo YES
Superman 23.1 Bizarro YES
Superman 23.2 Brianiac NO
Superman 23.3 Hél NO
Superman 23.4 Parasite YES
Batman/Superman 23.1 Doomsday NO
Green Lantern 23.1 Relic NO
Green Lantern 23.2 Mongul NO
Green Lantern 23.3 Black Hand NO
Green Lantern 23.4 Sinestro NO
Batman 23.1 The Joker NO
Batman 23.2 The Riddler NO
Batman 23.3 The Penguin NO
Batman 23.4 Bane YES
Batman and Robin 23.1 Two Face YES
Batman and Robin 23.2 The court of owls YES
Batman and Robin 23.3 Ra's al Ghul NO
Batman and Robin 23.4 Killer Croc NO
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.1 The Ventriloquist YES
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.2 Mr. Freeze YES
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.3 Clayface YES
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.4 Joker Daughter NO
Detective Comics 23.1 Poison Ivy YES
Detective Comics 23.2 Harley Quinn YES
Detective Comics 23.3 The Scarecrow YES
Detective Comics 23.4 Man-Bat YES
These stories take place in the New 52 continuity. In particular, roughly half of these take place during the Forever Evil crossover event. In this event, the Crime Syndicate (an evil, alternate universe version of the Justice League) has taken over the world, plunged it into darkness, and sent the world’s superheroes into hiding. Now, the villains of the world are running amok.
For now I am only aiming to review the 25 stories (out of the total 52) that tie into the Forever Evil event. I am reading them issue by issue and will review them as I go. At the bottom of my review I will include a list of all of the stories included in this omnibus.
Deadshot:
This is an entertaining story that tells Deadshot’s origin. And it’s quite an origin story. If you think Bruce Wayne had it tough as a kid, take a look at Deadshot’s childhood. Their stories are similar in a few ways (young boy with a big imagination watches as his parents are gunned down in a random act of violence), but of course their manner of coping and their resulting trajectories vary quite a bit (this is, after all, often the only difference between a hero and a villain). There is even a subtle mention of how, in an alternate universe, perhaps Deadshot’s trajectory, if altered only slightly, could’ve lead him down a more heroic path. So is he a tragic hero or a likeable villain? Maybe neither, maybe both. I enjoyed this story, but then I am usually a sucker for origin stories. This story also serves as the first chapter to a mini-arc regarding the Suicide Squad and their re-emergence during the worldwide blackout of the Forever Evil event.
4 stars
Two-Face:
This is a mediocre story involving primarily a dialogue between Two-Face and Scarecrow. I like the way the dialogue was handled in that it felt like a realistically distrustful moment of cooperation (even if the cooperation only went as far as not killing each other) between two psychopathic killers. The net result of the dialogue is to foreshadow that the Crime Syndicate is at work pulling together some kind of secret supervillain team called the Secret Society.
2 stars
Ventriloquist:
This story, by Gail Simone (author of New 52’s Batgirl reboot), is downright creepy. Somehow, amidst the apocalyptic darkness of the reign of the Crime Syndicate, Ventriloquist has set up a theater in Gotham that offers electricity and food. The beacon of her theater lights draws fearful, desperate people, both predators and prey, like moths to a streetlamp. What they see when they enter the theater and sit down to watch Ventriloquist’s show is simultaneously bizarre, simplistic, and hair-raising.
In addition to the present-day storyline is a flashback in which we see Ventriloquist’s childhood as she describes it to her puppet friend. A clever narrative device is used in which everything that she says is the exact opposite of what we see on the page during the flashback. The reader has little doubt that she is insane, but is left wondering whether she is deliberately deceiving herself, or just deceiving the audience, or perhaps her personal memory of history is really just an upside down version of reality.
There are also shades of Twilight Zone (the 1962 episode “The Dummy”) and Chucky (of the 1988 film “Child’s Play”) as her doll speaks and moves but it is at times unclear to the reader whether the doll is doing these things of his own free will or whether he’s being controlled by Ventriloquist.
And finally, what Ventriloquist does with her victims, well… you’ll just have to read the story and find out.
I loved this story as an enjoyable, short, spine-tingling glimpse into the mind of the criminally insane.
5 stars
A list of the stories included in this omnibus, courtesy of reviewer Constantino Benavides on amazon (YES or NO indicates whether it is included in the Forever Evil crossover event or not):
Justice League 23.1 Darkseid NO
Justice League 23.2 Lobo NO
Justice League 23.3 Dial E NO
Justice League 23.4 Secret society YES
Justice League of America 7.1 Deadshot YES
Justice League of America 7.2 Killer Frost YES
Justice League of America 7.3 Shadow Thief NO
Justice League of America 7.4 Black Adam YES
Justice League Dark 23.1 The Creeper NO
Justice League Dark 23.2 Eclipso NO
Aquaman 23.1 Black Manta YES
Aquaman 23.2 Ocean Master YES
Earth 2 23.1 Desaad NO
Earth 2 23.2 Solomon Grundy NO
The Flash 23.1 Grodd YES
The Flash 23.2 Reverse-Flash NO
The Flash 23.3 The Rogues YES
Green Arrow 23.1 Count Vertigo NO
Swan thing 23.1 Arcane NO
Teen Titans 23.1 Trigon YES
Teen Titans 23.2 Deathstroke YES
Wonder Woman 23.1 The Cheetah YES
Wonder Woman 23.2 Frist Born NO
Action comics 23.1 Cyborg Superman NO
Action comics 23.2 Zod NO
Action comics 23.3 Lex Luthor YES
Action comics 23.4 Metallo YES
Superman 23.1 Bizarro YES
Superman 23.2 Brianiac NO
Superman 23.3 Hél NO
Superman 23.4 Parasite YES
Batman/Superman 23.1 Doomsday NO
Green Lantern 23.1 Relic NO
Green Lantern 23.2 Mongul NO
Green Lantern 23.3 Black Hand NO
Green Lantern 23.4 Sinestro NO
Batman 23.1 The Joker NO
Batman 23.2 The Riddler NO
Batman 23.3 The Penguin NO
Batman 23.4 Bane YES
Batman and Robin 23.1 Two Face YES
Batman and Robin 23.2 The court of owls YES
Batman and Robin 23.3 Ra's al Ghul NO
Batman and Robin 23.4 Killer Croc NO
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.1 The Ventriloquist YES
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.2 Mr. Freeze YES
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.3 Clayface YES
Batman: The Dark Knight 23.4 Joker Daughter NO
Detective Comics 23.1 Poison Ivy YES
Detective Comics 23.2 Harley Quinn YES
Detective Comics 23.3 The Scarecrow YES
Detective Comics 23.4 Man-Bat YES
Read
January 30, 2024Tengo que hacer un repaso a todos los villanos (y no tanto) incluidos en este omnibus.
September 14, 2015
Title: DC New 52 Villains Omnibus
Source: I own it
Like most anthologies, there are good stories and there are bad. Luckily in this collection the good seems to prevail (although there is no denying that there are some stories which are a waste of space). Many of the stories also connect with each other making it an easier reading experience overall. The chapters are separated by the villain's individual superheroes. warning: it is a very heavy book, and the binding isn't that great for a book of it's size
Source: I own it
Like most anthologies, there are good stories and there are bad. Luckily in this collection the good seems to prevail (although there is no denying that there are some stories which are a waste of space). Many of the stories also connect with each other making it an easier reading experience overall. The chapters are separated by the villain's individual superheroes. warning: it is a very heavy book, and the binding isn't that great for a book of it's size
February 22, 2015
If you like the New 52 then you have to check this book out. It contains most of the villains with a lot of material I hadn't read before and only a quarter of it was reprinted stuff. This is a massive volume and it is very heavy,but worth it.
April 2, 2014
This thing is heavy enough to require a lifting belt. Highly recommended for fans of the New 52. Sometimes it's soooo good to be bad.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews