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Salvation Run #1-7
Salvation Run
Lex Luthor. Gorilla Grodd. The Joker. These three number among Earth's most dangerous super-criminals... and there are hundreds more. But Amanda Waller of the Suicide Squad has a novel solution to the problem: simply remove them from Earth.
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Bill Willingham
994 books2,825 followersIn the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many years. He contributed stories to Green Lantern and started his own independent, black-and-white comics series Coventry which lasted only 3 issues. He also produced the pornographic series Ironwood for Eros Comix.
In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables
In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
October 10, 2018
Crisis? What Crisis?
This is one of innumerable books tied to one of DC’s innumerable crossover events.
Which one? I don’t know, but a dead giveaway is it has “crisis” somewhere here.
And “crisis” at DC usually means the editors have been dropping acid in meetings again.
It seems that the DC universe is once again in flux – Amazons invade America, the Rogues kill a Flash, yadda, yadda yadda. The powers that be are fed up with meta-powered villains so they decide toBoob Boom Tube them to a planet in a galaxy far, far, far, far, far away. Checkmate vetted the planet and is seems safe (heh), so good luck you crazy psychopaths and BOOM!
In the first issue, we get to see the planet and its hidden hazards first hand through the eyes of the Rogues, who get to settle into their new home before anyone else.
I didn’t see mention of waves of attacking monsters/robots in the orientation Power Point presentation or the accompanying Welcome packet.
It’s not long before you have two separate factions: Lex Luthor vs The Joker
Lex has the whole allegedly science will save us thing going.
The Joker doesn’t put his stock in castles-in-the-sky dreamers. Just survival.
Tough choice. The manipulative brain box or the lunatic?
Which side are The Body Doubles on again?
Vandal Savage has a splinter group going.
Good luck, Vandal, with the whole harem thing! You’d better sleep with both eyes open, dude.
It doesn’t take long before the infighting begins (I reckon two and a half pages)
The villains are forced to unite against a foe more powerful than themselves.
Bottom Line: Sure, it’s a one-way trip to planet Stoopid, but that doesn’t prevent it from being amusing or fun in a there-are-worse-ways-to-pass-an-hour dealio.
Bonus: A G*d damn talking dirty ape (+ one Mr. Brain) throw down.
Three and a half stars.
This is one of innumerable books tied to one of DC’s innumerable crossover events.
Which one? I don’t know, but a dead giveaway is it has “crisis” somewhere here.
And “crisis” at DC usually means the editors have been dropping acid in meetings again.
It seems that the DC universe is once again in flux – Amazons invade America, the Rogues kill a Flash, yadda, yadda yadda. The powers that be are fed up with meta-powered villains so they decide to
In the first issue, we get to see the planet and its hidden hazards first hand through the eyes of the Rogues, who get to settle into their new home before anyone else.
I didn’t see mention of waves of attacking monsters/robots in the orientation Power Point presentation or the accompanying Welcome packet.
It’s not long before you have two separate factions: Lex Luthor vs The Joker
Lex has the whole allegedly science will save us thing going.
The Joker doesn’t put his stock in castles-in-the-sky dreamers. Just survival.
Tough choice. The manipulative brain box or the lunatic?
Which side are The Body Doubles on again?
Vandal Savage has a splinter group going.
Good luck, Vandal, with the whole harem thing! You’d better sleep with both eyes open, dude.
It doesn’t take long before the infighting begins (I reckon two and a half pages)
The villains are forced to unite against a foe more powerful than themselves.
Bottom Line: Sure, it’s a one-way trip to planet Stoopid, but that doesn’t prevent it from being amusing or fun in a there-are-worse-ways-to-pass-an-hour dealio.
Bonus: A G*d damn talking dirty ape (+ one Mr. Brain) throw down.
Three and a half stars.
October 4, 2014
Salvation Run is definitely a book from the villain viewpoint. It's interesting to see that vantage point, if well done. I think this was mostly well done, although I never felt much sympathy for the villains (except for when they threw the mortally wounded guy to the ravenous predators, which was just wrong!). I really, really despise the Joker, and this story gave me much reason to dislike him. He is completely malevolent and utterly psychopathic. I can't find a single redeeming trait in him. Lex Luthor has got to have the biggest ego in the multiverse. He is completely narcissistic and a huge megalomaniac. It sucks that his massive intellect feeds into his grandiose view of himself and his overweening self-confidence. I think I might have liked this more if their roles weren't the biggest. I could see some of the less objectionable villains as more antiheroes but not so much these two.
It was an interesting idea with good execution. I don't care as much for this as the Suicide Squad, although they are also quite villainous in some ways. Although Harley Quinn started out as an acolyte of the Joker, I quite like her. I'm glad she's moved on from the Joker. At any rate, this was kind of fun to see the various villains from the DC Comics universe. And there were some interesting surprises and quite a commentary on human nature and the way that people react to crises, in mostly the worst ways.
I'd rate this at about 3.5/5.0 stars.
It was an interesting idea with good execution. I don't care as much for this as the Suicide Squad, although they are also quite villainous in some ways. Although Harley Quinn started out as an acolyte of the Joker, I quite like her. I'm glad she's moved on from the Joker. At any rate, this was kind of fun to see the various villains from the DC Comics universe. And there were some interesting surprises and quite a commentary on human nature and the way that people react to crises, in mostly the worst ways.
I'd rate this at about 3.5/5.0 stars.
February 9, 2012
The storyline of Salvation Run was teased in Gotham Underground: the government has been secretly rounding up unrepentant supercrooks and exiling them to a distant planet. So far, so good. I'm sure the good people of Gotham feel so much better every time that Joker is hauled off to Arkham for a short vacation. And the storyline does start promisingly, at least in the first few issues. But in the back half, it starts to fall apart. For one, we have two factions set up, lead by Lex Luthor and Joker. But I have a hard time buying Joker as a leader of men, instead of a lone anarchist working against the others' interests for the hell of it. But we had to have Joker vs. Luthor, didn't we? There's also a Vandal Savage storyline that really goes nowhere and doesn't seem to serve any real purpose. Of course, the government who exiled them all is holding perhaps the biggest Idiot Ball of all time here. I know they want to get rid of them all, but why on earth would they send off evil geniuses who are more than capable of engineering their way off the planet? Especially when one of them is Luthor, who is both brilliant and charismatic enough to lead the project. As soon as they sent Luthor, they guaranteed that these guys would be back.
November 20, 2008
I recently decided that I should really try to buy fewer monthly comic books. For most of my life, if you wanted to read a comic book story, you needed to buy the monthly issues as they hit the newsstands. Once the publication month had passed, you'd have no guarantee of finding the back issues at all, and if you did find them they would be marked up significantly in price. Reprints were unheard of except in the cases of canonized classics.
But that's all changed now. The major comic book companies reprint runs of single issues as trade paperback collections almost as soon as the last single issue drops off the new release charts, and they do it for just about everything. I'm still having a hard time transitioning to this mode for the long-running series of which I have collected dozens and dozens, even hundreds, of issues, year after year. But when a new self-contained mini-series comes out which piques my interest, I can now delay my reading gratification and bypass the single issues on the stands, waiting for the inevitable trade collection. So it went with Salvation Run.
And am I glad I waited? I suppose I am, because if this disappointment had been delivered over the course of six or seven months with such a dismal payoff, I would have been a majorly aggrieved reader, instead of minorly.
There's a valid characterization of many comic books, especially superhero comic books, as mindless entertainment. I have read thousands of them and would not argue that the majority of them are mindless. Formulaic adolescent power-fantasy escapism ... yes, yes, yes, plenty of superhero comics fit that description to a T. But when you keep reading those kinds of comics well into your so-called adulthood, it's because you've found some exceptions here and there that really rise above those common complaints. It is possible to create a superhero comic book with as much depth and resonance and meaning as you can cram into spandex and capes and explosions and plots of world domination, as in any good novel or movie.
I wish I could say that Salvation Run was one of those transcendent examples, but it's not. It's absolutely mindless, which is a shame, because it's really a winning premise. After years of supervillains running rampant all over earth, with superheroes barely containing the collateral damage, the U.S. government decides to teleport the worst offenders among supervillains to an uninhabited planet, where they can live out their natural lifespans but never again threaten anyone on Earth. It's Lord of the Flies meets the best part of every superhero movie ever: the bad guys. And the major villains are all in the mix. Lex Luthor. The Joker. Gorilla Grodd. Vandal Savage. Plus scores of others, so many that even a diehard fan like me can't quite identify them all.
And what do the writers do with this material? Diddly-squat. Salvation Run should be a great opportunity to get inside these notorious foes of the heroes and see what makes them tick when the whole rest of the world is stripped away. But instead we get an arrogant Luthor who shows up late, takes over, and masterminds the building of a device to get the villains home to Earth. We get a wacky Joker who ends up leading an offshoot tribe of villains opposing Luthor's efforts. OK, the Luthor characterization is unimaginative and dull, but the Joker set-up is just plain wrong. There's never any explanation of why any of the other villains would line up behind the psychopathic Joker, let along enough to form a small tribe. The story could have (SHOULD have) shown Joker slowly flipping out because he has no society to sow anarchy in, no squares to play head games with, no laws to break, and most of all no Batman to spar with. Instead he just becomes another petty tyrant making pithy quips.
The "twisty" plot developments are also pretty flat. At one point one of the villains is revealed as a hero in disguise, who is beaten badly but kept alive ... for reasons that never make any sense. Vandal Savage takes four women with him to a separate area where he plans to breed and build a perfect society ... a subplot which goes absolutely nowhere. Joker seems to kill Grodd at one point, but Grodd eventually shows up again doing Luthor's bidding, which is telepathically clouding the other villains' minds so they don't realize Luthor is sacrificing a half-dozen of them to get the rest home, not that you'd think the villains care HOW they get home ... yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense. And there's constant danger on the prison world, as it's slowly revealed that the world is actually used as a training ground for alien warriors, and after surviving the training death-traps the villains ultimately have to fight the alien warriors, just as their teleporter home is ready to go ... it's all just one contrivance after another to see things blow up. Bad guys vs. environment, bad guys vs. each other, bad guys vs. secret good guy, bad guys vs. badder alien guys, one mindless fight scene after another, and not mindless in a good fun way either. Mindless in a "why am I reading this?" way.
I mentioned "writers" earlier and I think that's important to elaborate on. I believe the series was originally supposed to be written by Bill Willingham start-to-finish. You'll note that's how Salvation Run is listed here at GoodReads: "by Bill Willingham". And I hear Willingham is a really good writer and I plan to check out some of his other stuff. But don't be fooled; Willingham was only able to write the first couple of issues and then some other schmoe took over. And I got the distinct impression that either Willingham didn't tell the new schmoe where the story was supposed to be heading, or the new schmoe ignored Willingham's notes, or editorial told the new schmoe to go in a different direction, or something, because the whole story goes downhill fast after Willingham leaves and it never recovers. Such a shame.
And now I will add some other graphic novels to my shelves, ones that are much more worth the time it takes to read them.
But that's all changed now. The major comic book companies reprint runs of single issues as trade paperback collections almost as soon as the last single issue drops off the new release charts, and they do it for just about everything. I'm still having a hard time transitioning to this mode for the long-running series of which I have collected dozens and dozens, even hundreds, of issues, year after year. But when a new self-contained mini-series comes out which piques my interest, I can now delay my reading gratification and bypass the single issues on the stands, waiting for the inevitable trade collection. So it went with Salvation Run.
And am I glad I waited? I suppose I am, because if this disappointment had been delivered over the course of six or seven months with such a dismal payoff, I would have been a majorly aggrieved reader, instead of minorly.
There's a valid characterization of many comic books, especially superhero comic books, as mindless entertainment. I have read thousands of them and would not argue that the majority of them are mindless. Formulaic adolescent power-fantasy escapism ... yes, yes, yes, plenty of superhero comics fit that description to a T. But when you keep reading those kinds of comics well into your so-called adulthood, it's because you've found some exceptions here and there that really rise above those common complaints. It is possible to create a superhero comic book with as much depth and resonance and meaning as you can cram into spandex and capes and explosions and plots of world domination, as in any good novel or movie.
I wish I could say that Salvation Run was one of those transcendent examples, but it's not. It's absolutely mindless, which is a shame, because it's really a winning premise. After years of supervillains running rampant all over earth, with superheroes barely containing the collateral damage, the U.S. government decides to teleport the worst offenders among supervillains to an uninhabited planet, where they can live out their natural lifespans but never again threaten anyone on Earth. It's Lord of the Flies meets the best part of every superhero movie ever: the bad guys. And the major villains are all in the mix. Lex Luthor. The Joker. Gorilla Grodd. Vandal Savage. Plus scores of others, so many that even a diehard fan like me can't quite identify them all.
And what do the writers do with this material? Diddly-squat. Salvation Run should be a great opportunity to get inside these notorious foes of the heroes and see what makes them tick when the whole rest of the world is stripped away. But instead we get an arrogant Luthor who shows up late, takes over, and masterminds the building of a device to get the villains home to Earth. We get a wacky Joker who ends up leading an offshoot tribe of villains opposing Luthor's efforts. OK, the Luthor characterization is unimaginative and dull, but the Joker set-up is just plain wrong. There's never any explanation of why any of the other villains would line up behind the psychopathic Joker, let along enough to form a small tribe. The story could have (SHOULD have) shown Joker slowly flipping out because he has no society to sow anarchy in, no squares to play head games with, no laws to break, and most of all no Batman to spar with. Instead he just becomes another petty tyrant making pithy quips.
The "twisty" plot developments are also pretty flat. At one point one of the villains is revealed as a hero in disguise, who is beaten badly but kept alive ... for reasons that never make any sense. Vandal Savage takes four women with him to a separate area where he plans to breed and build a perfect society ... a subplot which goes absolutely nowhere. Joker seems to kill Grodd at one point, but Grodd eventually shows up again doing Luthor's bidding, which is telepathically clouding the other villains' minds so they don't realize Luthor is sacrificing a half-dozen of them to get the rest home, not that you'd think the villains care HOW they get home ... yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense. And there's constant danger on the prison world, as it's slowly revealed that the world is actually used as a training ground for alien warriors, and after surviving the training death-traps the villains ultimately have to fight the alien warriors, just as their teleporter home is ready to go ... it's all just one contrivance after another to see things blow up. Bad guys vs. environment, bad guys vs. each other, bad guys vs. secret good guy, bad guys vs. badder alien guys, one mindless fight scene after another, and not mindless in a good fun way either. Mindless in a "why am I reading this?" way.
I mentioned "writers" earlier and I think that's important to elaborate on. I believe the series was originally supposed to be written by Bill Willingham start-to-finish. You'll note that's how Salvation Run is listed here at GoodReads: "by Bill Willingham". And I hear Willingham is a really good writer and I plan to check out some of his other stuff. But don't be fooled; Willingham was only able to write the first couple of issues and then some other schmoe took over. And I got the distinct impression that either Willingham didn't tell the new schmoe where the story was supposed to be heading, or the new schmoe ignored Willingham's notes, or editorial told the new schmoe to go in a different direction, or something, because the whole story goes downhill fast after Willingham leaves and it never recovers. Such a shame.
And now I will add some other graphic novels to my shelves, ones that are much more worth the time it takes to read them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2013
What happens when you throw all of DC's villains together on one planet? Nothing. At least nothing in this trade by creators I usually enjoy. The premise sounded interesting but the results were convoluted and meaningless. It was so much overkill and nothing ended up meaning anything. The art was to undetailed and that was probably due to the unneeded use of so many characters. Disappointing to say the least! F!
September 26, 2018
A minissérie Salvation Run (A Corrida da Salvação) saiu no Brasil com o nome O Planeta dos Condenados, com as histórias principais em duas edições. O arco de histórias também teve ramificações nas revistas da Mulher-Gato e da Liga da Justiça, embora não façam parte desse volume, mas ajudariam a entender o evento como um todo. Ele faz parte de um tie-in da megassaga Crise Final. Tudo começa quando Amanda Waller e Rick Flagg mandam o Esquadrão Suicida prender todos os supervilões do planeta Terra, para acabar de vez com esse problema. Eles são mandados, então, para o planeta Salvação que, o Xeque-Mate havia classificado como não hostil. Mas um força nas sombras escondia essa hostilidade dos demais. Quando os vilões chegam ao planeta, logo são divididos em duas facções, uma comandada por Lex Luthor e outra, pelo Coringa, com a ajuda do Gorila Grood. Em um lugar chamado A Zona Segura, Vandal Savage coopta um harém de mulheres para que o sirvam tanto como guarda quanto como reprodutoras. Claro que todas essas facções se enfrentam sem parar, até encontrarem no Caçador de Marte, escondido como o Arrasa-Quarteirão e espião da Liga da Justiça, um inimigo em comum. Mais além, o planeta é atacado pelos parademônios de Dasaad, que estava por trás de toda a maracutaia. Em meio a tudo isso, Luthor bola uma máquina para trazer os supervilões de volta, mas não sem o custo de muitas vidas. Um quadrinho bastante divertido, uma mistura de No Limite (Survivor) com OZ e Jogos Vorazes.
September 29, 2025
A surprisingly good book! From things I saw online, it sounded like this book wasn’t good, but I actually really enjoyed it. I think the problem, is that it doesn’t really have much depth to it or a compelling/intriguing story. However, if you don’t take it too seriously and just appreciate it for what it is, it’s very good. It’s about a load of villains from DC comics stuck on a prison planet together, one team led by Lex Luthor and the other by Joker. The greatest strength, is the villains interactions between each other. Instead of battling and conversing with heroes, they are talking and fighting amongst themselves, and I really liked it.
Obviously Joker steals the show and as a huge Joker fan; I always love these stories that combine a bunch of characters in unique situations.
Unlike a lot of comics I read, I found myself reading issue after issue after issue, and for that reason I give this book a lot of credit. Would recommend!
Obviously Joker steals the show and as a huge Joker fan; I always love these stories that combine a bunch of characters in unique situations.
Unlike a lot of comics I read, I found myself reading issue after issue after issue, and for that reason I give this book a lot of credit. Would recommend!
October 17, 2025
I only read this after watching Peacemaker. I was honestly trynna see what to expect next in James Gunn's DCU or at least what storylines he's hinting at.
Now, I'm not normally a comic book guy so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I thought it was a fun, quick read. I did feel like the whole Lex v Joker set up could have been a lot more interesting but it was missing so much sauce. It genuinely just felt like the most boring versions of their characters facing off in the middle of nowhere.
The other characters I wish had added more to the plot. I really thought Captain Cold was gonna pull some crazy stuff. And the Martian Manhunter sucked so bad. He was literally a spy that failed in 5 pages like bro get it together please.
Also considering I only know Vandal from the CW shows, he's such a freak in the comics. Don't get me wrong: entertaining, but he a weirdo.
Now, I'm not normally a comic book guy so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I thought it was a fun, quick read. I did feel like the whole Lex v Joker set up could have been a lot more interesting but it was missing so much sauce. It genuinely just felt like the most boring versions of their characters facing off in the middle of nowhere.
The other characters I wish had added more to the plot. I really thought Captain Cold was gonna pull some crazy stuff. And the Martian Manhunter sucked so bad. He was literally a spy that failed in 5 pages like bro get it together please.
Also considering I only know Vandal from the CW shows, he's such a freak in the comics. Don't get me wrong: entertaining, but he a weirdo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2025
Here because this is apparently where the new DCU is headed. Never had heard of this run prior. But, I gotta say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeing a story from the POV of all the villains and them having to band together (the best they can) on a strange alien world and fight to survive, it was interesting to say the least. Especially with the variety of villains we got, from The Rogues, to Gorilla Grodd and Joker, Lex, Deadshot, Bane, and so many more, it gives different perspectives as we have so many different tier level villains with their own moral codes/limits (or lack there of). Very curious to see how the films adapt this storyline.
December 19, 2020
Un'altra ottima lettura, grazie al consiglio di Carlo Procaccini su Youtube.
Cosa potrebbe succedere se tutti i più pericolosi criminali della terra venissero spediti in esilio in un pianeta nel quale dovranno lottare per la sopravvivenza? Ovviamnente la situazione si scalda subito con il formarsi di varie fazioni che ci permetteranno di fare conoscenza di alcuni supercriminali dei quali ignoravo l'esistenza (tra i quali un nazista chiamato "Croce di Ferro" del quale non ho trovato traccia nemmeno su internet).
Una storia godibile che consiglio a tutti gli amanti dei fumetti.
Cosa potrebbe succedere se tutti i più pericolosi criminali della terra venissero spediti in esilio in un pianeta nel quale dovranno lottare per la sopravvivenza? Ovviamnente la situazione si scalda subito con il formarsi di varie fazioni che ci permetteranno di fare conoscenza di alcuni supercriminali dei quali ignoravo l'esistenza (tra i quali un nazista chiamato "Croce di Ferro" del quale non ho trovato traccia nemmeno su internet).
Una storia godibile che consiglio a tutti gli amanti dei fumetti.
January 12, 2026
three maybe, four stars for Willingham's issues. then sturges take over and we also get a new artist.
the vandal savage story goes nowhere. just where it came from.
joker should never be a leader like this. people should worl for him because they fear him. I dotn mind the interpretation of he joker here, but the way others view hin was the problem.
a great idea, wrapped up too quickly and too neatly.
strange the Martian Manhunter goes from stranded and burning here to back on earth fine, only to be burnt alive again.
the vandal savage story goes nowhere. just where it came from.
joker should never be a leader like this. people should worl for him because they fear him. I dotn mind the interpretation of he joker here, but the way others view hin was the problem.
a great idea, wrapped up too quickly and too neatly.
strange the Martian Manhunter goes from stranded and burning here to back on earth fine, only to be burnt alive again.
October 11, 2025
Since the Peacemaker season 2 finale teased using the concept of Salvation, I wanted to revisit this. I was surprised cause I always thought this was kinda an obscure and forgotten story. It's fun to see the villains interacting with each other, but I think it should've been a longer story and maybe could've gone without the usual A-listers who kinda swallow the story up.
October 11, 2025
Uno lee la premisa y piensa que puede haber algo que valga la pena pero no, es de las historias más irrelevantes y aburridas que he leído.
No se que le vio Gunn a esto pero espero que no tome nada de referencia para el DCU
No se que le vio Gunn a esto pero espero que no tome nada de referencia para el DCU
October 12, 2025
With news that this somewhat obscure mini series was getting a big screen adaptation soon, I gave it a whirl. it's fine. Forgettable. I'm sure the concept can be adapted into a good product but the actual comic is very bland and safe.
October 17, 2025
“WHAT THE HELL IS A PARADEMON?”
3.5 stars.
i thought this book was supposed to be bad? i had a heck of a good time. some really good Lex Luthor moments. pretty art and a breezy pace makes it worth a read.
3.5 stars.
i thought this book was supposed to be bad? i had a heck of a good time. some really good Lex Luthor moments. pretty art and a breezy pace makes it worth a read.
July 3, 2019
God, what a mess. Seriously, how is the Joker still alive after this, other than because he’s too popular to kill?
October 17, 2025
Salvation Run has a lot of great ideas, it’s just kind of a boring read. The last page hit rather hard tho 🥲
November 24, 2025
Read because of Peacemaker season 2 and it is a good independent story with a nice focus on villains together.
February 9, 2016
I had never even heard of this series until someone added it to our Comixolgy account a few days ago. Last night a group of us picked this to read and we're gonna do a trivia night based on this arc. I don't think we're doing the trivia until next Sunday, but if I didn't go ahead and get to it now, I don't know if I would get it read. If it works the way the past trivia nights have, for every 3 answers you get right, you get $1 towards buying comics you want added to the app. I'm lookin forward to see what gets asked about this book.
Bill Willingham started off the book writing the first 2 issues. I have just recently been reading some of his Fables books and am only familiar with him because of those books. So far, I really like his writing. This book is no different. Amanda Waller, Rick Flagg and some other unknowns decide to send all of Earth's superpowered villains to this planet far away from ours to keep them from ruining the lives of the normal people here. Over the first 2 issues, all the villains are sent to this planet in small groups via boom tube. Joker had just established himself as the Alpha male of the group when Lex Luthor arrives. Naturally, Lex takes over since he is a born leader and because of his belief that he knows better than everyone else what needs to be done in any situation. The speech Willingham pens for Lex in issue #2 is epic. That is Lex Luthor at his finest. Willingham gets 4 stars for his 2 issues.
Matthew Sturges jumps on board as writer when Willingham departs. We see different villains choose sides in the mounting war between Lex and Joker. There are only a couple of characters that I like on Joker's side. There are several people on Lex's side that I think are pretty cool. That added to the fact that Lex is my favorite character in the DC universe, makes me Team Lex all the way. While Joker and his people sit around and do absolutely nothing, Lex and his people are working on a way to build a boom tube of their own so they can return everyone to Earth. Vandal Savage has his own ideas and convinces 4 of the women to go off with him to this safe zone to start a paradise while the other 2 factions are at war. Savage is planning on breeding each of the women to populate the planet with his long lived offspring. Parts of the final 5 issues are really good, especially the end. I think Sturges gets Lex right in the end and the outcome is what I'd expect from Lex. The middle portions, though, are kinda flat. I was losing hope for the story until the ending. As a whole, Matthew Sturges' writing is not up to par with Willingham's. His issues get 3 stars except for the last issue which gets 4 stars.
Sean Chen provides the art for all but 1 of the issues. The closeups look great. Mid range panels are hit or miss and the distant shots are not too great. The balance of poor and great are pretty equal and end up making the art as a whole pretty mediocre. There are probably as many panels that I didn't like as there were ones I liked a lot. In general, I would say the art is slightly above average and I'm giving it 3 stars.
I averaged all the scores up and got a 3.42 star rating. I'm rounding that to 3.5 stars out of a possible 5. The premise of the story was good and Willingham's execution of the plot was great. The other issues tried to cram too many people in and give them a voice in the story. Joker and Lex were really the only ones that needed to be heard from. The book would have faired much better had Willingham stayed on board. Better and more consistent art would not have hurt either. This is tied into the series Final Crisis story somehow. I've never read that so I'm unsure of exactly how. This is still enjoyable if haven't read that.
Bill Willingham started off the book writing the first 2 issues. I have just recently been reading some of his Fables books and am only familiar with him because of those books. So far, I really like his writing. This book is no different. Amanda Waller, Rick Flagg and some other unknowns decide to send all of Earth's superpowered villains to this planet far away from ours to keep them from ruining the lives of the normal people here. Over the first 2 issues, all the villains are sent to this planet in small groups via boom tube. Joker had just established himself as the Alpha male of the group when Lex Luthor arrives. Naturally, Lex takes over since he is a born leader and because of his belief that he knows better than everyone else what needs to be done in any situation. The speech Willingham pens for Lex in issue #2 is epic. That is Lex Luthor at his finest. Willingham gets 4 stars for his 2 issues.
Matthew Sturges jumps on board as writer when Willingham departs. We see different villains choose sides in the mounting war between Lex and Joker. There are only a couple of characters that I like on Joker's side. There are several people on Lex's side that I think are pretty cool. That added to the fact that Lex is my favorite character in the DC universe, makes me Team Lex all the way. While Joker and his people sit around and do absolutely nothing, Lex and his people are working on a way to build a boom tube of their own so they can return everyone to Earth. Vandal Savage has his own ideas and convinces 4 of the women to go off with him to this safe zone to start a paradise while the other 2 factions are at war. Savage is planning on breeding each of the women to populate the planet with his long lived offspring. Parts of the final 5 issues are really good, especially the end. I think Sturges gets Lex right in the end and the outcome is what I'd expect from Lex. The middle portions, though, are kinda flat. I was losing hope for the story until the ending. As a whole, Matthew Sturges' writing is not up to par with Willingham's. His issues get 3 stars except for the last issue which gets 4 stars.
Sean Chen provides the art for all but 1 of the issues. The closeups look great. Mid range panels are hit or miss and the distant shots are not too great. The balance of poor and great are pretty equal and end up making the art as a whole pretty mediocre. There are probably as many panels that I didn't like as there were ones I liked a lot. In general, I would say the art is slightly above average and I'm giving it 3 stars.
I averaged all the scores up and got a 3.42 star rating. I'm rounding that to 3.5 stars out of a possible 5. The premise of the story was good and Willingham's execution of the plot was great. The other issues tried to cram too many people in and give them a voice in the story. Joker and Lex were really the only ones that needed to be heard from. The book would have faired much better had Willingham stayed on board. Better and more consistent art would not have hurt either. This is tied into the series Final Crisis story somehow. I've never read that so I'm unsure of exactly how. This is still enjoyable if haven't read that.
December 6, 2025
This was unique and a great read.
Task Force X took on a new approach to metahuman villain control: exile. They identified a distant planet in a distant galaxy using purloined Boom Tube tech, deemed it fit for human habitation and had the Suicide Squad round up every supervillain they could find. They wanted to send those boogers so far away they'd never menace the earth again. Their assessment of the planet was that it was virgin territory, habitable and rich in resources for the exiled villains to not just survive but thrive. Far away from Earth.
I loved the focus on the Flash's Rogues Gallery. Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master and Abra Kadabra were the first to be exiled due to having killed Bart Allen- formerly Impulse and Kid Flash, and at the time of his death, the fourth Flash. It started with them battling a host of weird creatures and winning.
They flashed back to their exile- Deadshot, Bane, Chemo and a few others brought them in and Rick Flag saw them off. They were told that they were being sent away for all time. They could keep their weapons and powers, and there were raw materials on their new planet for them to build shelter with.
Others followed in the weeks to come until the planet overflowed with metahumans no longer deemed welcome on Earth. The likes of Vandal Savage, Scandal Savage, the Cheetah, Giganta, Bolt, Grodd, Warp, Monsieur Mallah and the Brain, Thunder and Lightning, Man-Bat, Blockbuster, Metallo, Solomon Grundy, Hellhound, Girder, Rag Doll, Jewelee, the Body Doubles, Dr. Sivana, Phobia, Kid Karnevil, Two-Face, Psimon, Shimmer, Mammoth, Mr. Freeze, Neutron and Poison Ivy were joined (unwillingly) by Deadshot, Bane, Chemo and Catwoman (who had helped round up the others and were rewarded with exile) and in the last group, the Joker and Lex Luthor.
The Rogues taught them how to survive the various creatures living there and when Luthor arrived, he immediately assumed leadership. He found that Joker had beaten Psimon to death with a rock just before his arrival (his transparent head spooked the clown), berated him for killing someone with a useful power that might have helped them escape and got down to the business of building them a way off the planet.
There
Task Force X took on a new approach to metahuman villain control: exile. They identified a distant planet in a distant galaxy using purloined Boom Tube tech, deemed it fit for human habitation and had the Suicide Squad round up every supervillain they could find. They wanted to send those boogers so far away they'd never menace the earth again. Their assessment of the planet was that it was virgin territory, habitable and rich in resources for the exiled villains to not just survive but thrive. Far away from Earth.
I loved the focus on the Flash's Rogues Gallery. Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master and Abra Kadabra were the first to be exiled due to having killed Bart Allen- formerly Impulse and Kid Flash, and at the time of his death, the fourth Flash. It started with them battling a host of weird creatures and winning.
They flashed back to their exile- Deadshot, Bane, Chemo and a few others brought them in and Rick Flag saw them off. They were told that they were being sent away for all time. They could keep their weapons and powers, and there were raw materials on their new planet for them to build shelter with.
Others followed in the weeks to come until the planet overflowed with metahumans no longer deemed welcome on Earth. The likes of Vandal Savage, Scandal Savage, the Cheetah, Giganta, Bolt, Grodd, Warp, Monsieur Mallah and the Brain, Thunder and Lightning, Man-Bat, Blockbuster, Metallo, Solomon Grundy, Hellhound, Girder, Rag Doll, Jewelee, the Body Doubles, Dr. Sivana, Phobia, Kid Karnevil, Two-Face, Psimon, Shimmer, Mammoth, Mr. Freeze, Neutron and Poison Ivy were joined (unwillingly) by Deadshot, Bane, Chemo and Catwoman (who had helped round up the others and were rewarded with exile) and in the last group, the Joker and Lex Luthor.
The Rogues taught them how to survive the various creatures living there and when Luthor arrived, he immediately assumed leadership. He found that Joker had beaten Psimon to death with a rock just before his arrival (his transparent head spooked the clown), berated him for killing someone with a useful power that might have helped them escape and got down to the business of building them a way off the planet.
There
November 8, 2014
Знаменитый кроссовер 2008 года из вселенной DC Comics. После ряда крупных диверсий, устроенных суперзлодеями (убийство Флэша, например) правительство решает наконец от них избавиться. Все злыдни схвачены, плотно упакованы и телепортированы на другую планету без малейшей возможности возвращения домой. Также - без лекарств, инструментов и каких-либо сьестных припасов. Если решим озаботиться подобными вещами, сказала Аманда Уоллер на закрытом совещании, мы будем испытывать ответственность за их судьбу… но нам же ведь глубоко насрать, что будет дальше с этими уродами.
А уродам пришлось не сладко. Из-за ошибки в телепортации вместо обещанного рая каторжане попали на планету в лучших традициях “Мира смерти” Гарри Гаррисона. То есть борьба с флорой и фауной - 24 часа в сутки.
В столь сложных обстоятельствах в рядах каторжан появилось несколько лидеров, которые смогли сплотить вокруг себя некоторых собратьев по несчастью. Лекс Лютор снова объявил себя президентом, нанял в качестве охранников Дэдшота и Бэйна, после чего собрал всех безумных ученых и начал строить свой собственный телепорт. Джокер из духа противоречия отказался ему содействовать и в компании всех социопатов и тунеядцев удалился в джунгли, где их число стало неминуемо сокращаться. В отличии от “возвращенцев” Дикий Вандал обманом собрал под своим крылом почти всех ебабельного возраста каторжанок и увел их в цветущую долину, чтобы плодить потомство для своего будущего королевства. Самый, наверное, адекватный персонаж из всей своры - Капитан Колд, чей внутренний монолог используется в линейке в качестве основного нарратива.
Как обычно бывает с густыми кроссоверами, первое впечатление после его финала - чувство того, что потенциал истории жутко слит. Потом это ощущение проходит. С дюжину второплановых злодеев по ходу Salvation Run все же замочили, а главные кумиры миллионов показали себя довольно ярко и объемно. Чего же еще желать?
А уродам пришлось не сладко. Из-за ошибки в телепортации вместо обещанного рая каторжане попали на планету в лучших традициях “Мира смерти” Гарри Гаррисона. То есть борьба с флорой и фауной - 24 часа в сутки.
В столь сложных обстоятельствах в рядах каторжан появилось несколько лидеров, которые смогли сплотить вокруг себя некоторых собратьев по несчастью. Лекс Лютор снова объявил себя президентом, нанял в качестве охранников Дэдшота и Бэйна, после чего собрал всех безумных ученых и начал строить свой собственный телепорт. Джокер из духа противоречия отказался ему содействовать и в компании всех социопатов и тунеядцев удалился в джунгли, где их число стало неминуемо сокращаться. В отличии от “возвращенцев” Дикий Вандал обманом собрал под своим крылом почти всех ебабельного возраста каторжанок и увел их в цветущую долину, чтобы плодить потомство для своего будущего королевства. Самый, наверное, адекватный персонаж из всей своры - Капитан Колд, чей внутренний монолог используется в линейке в качестве основного нарратива.
Как обычно бывает с густыми кроссоверами, первое впечатление после его финала - чувство того, что потенциал истории жутко слит. Потом это ощущение проходит. С дюжину второплановых злодеев по ходу Salvation Run все же замочили, а главные кумиры миллионов показали себя довольно ярко и объемно. Чего же еще желать?
January 19, 2014
The premise of Salvation Run sees the greatest villains of the DC Universe shunted away to an uninhabited world so as to never again menace the Earth. The Rogues are the first crew dropped off, fighting daily for survival and a chance to get back home. These blue-collar criminals are dropped from the headlines in favor of the Joker's arrival, allowing him to chew up scenery and dialogue to no useful end. A third dumping sees Lex Luthor stranded upon the Hell Planet, and swiftly rising to stardom as the savior for the criminal lots. Add in Parademons, useless character deaths, and a Justice League spy, and Salvation Run feels like an old episode of SuperFriends reworked into comic book form. Hellhound, Psimon, and Monsieur Mallah are unceremoniously dispatched in order to add gravitas to this mess, Lex and Joker actually get into a fistfight in a bland attempt to have the most famous nemeses throwdown, and Vandal Savage selects Lady Flash, Cheetah, Phobia, and other female characters as breeding mates. The only salvation from this volume is to run from it as fast as you can.
September 7, 2011
I liked this a lot more than I thought I was, but this not the usual sort of superhero thing that I go for. Basically, all of the heroes get angry at super-villains and decide to exile them to idyllic planet, which is actually full of bloodthirsty alien critters. Hijinks's and extreme violence follow shortly.
The comic seems to be an excuse for the writers to brutally kill a lot of third string foes, which has some entertaining moments, but for the most part is for the shock value (which is little). I did enjoy the large amounts of love given to the Flash's Rouges who appear (and narrate much of the book) and Martain Manhunter's fate was effectively depressing. Also, the writers really do a great job with Lex Luther, he has an amazing speech at the end of the book which so perfectly encapsulates the character, it is almost worth the price of admission alone. For fans of splatter, dark humor, and the tv show Survivor.
The comic seems to be an excuse for the writers to brutally kill a lot of third string foes, which has some entertaining moments, but for the most part is for the shock value (which is little). I did enjoy the large amounts of love given to the Flash's Rouges who appear (and narrate much of the book) and Martain Manhunter's fate was effectively depressing. Also, the writers really do a great job with Lex Luther, he has an amazing speech at the end of the book which so perfectly encapsulates the character, it is almost worth the price of admission alone. For fans of splatter, dark humor, and the tv show Survivor.
May 30, 2011
So straightforward was the story in DC Comics' Salvation Run that I give it four stars. Initially it's a man vs. nature story and evolves into a story of survival of the fittest after DC Comics' most notorious villains, who cannot be reformed or kept locked behind bars, are teleported to a distant and savage planet by a fictitious secret agency operating in the Federal Government. The story ultimately places a spot light on many of the characters like the Joker and Lex Luthor who battle for tribal domination and Catwoman who goes solo but finds herself in enough danger to slither out of.
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August 28, 2010Mindless supervillain fights. It's nice to see monkeys attack each other, and the Lex Luthor/Joker clash is okay, but not much promise of a "villains marooned on a world without heroes" story is fulfilled.
After reading Final Crisis, I can't remember how this actually ties in to the main DC storyline.
After reading Final Crisis, I can't remember how this actually ties in to the main DC storyline.
April 15, 2011
Entertaining but muddled. Good in bits and pieces, but it seems like a lot more could have been done with this story. Overall, it was a case of great set-up with middling execution. I did like the writing on the Joker.
Also, I enjoyed the art. It looked so much like the comics I grew up reading in the late 80's/early 90's that I had to go back and check the copyright date.
Also, I enjoyed the art. It looked so much like the comics I grew up reading in the late 80's/early 90's that I had to go back and check the copyright date.
January 14, 2016
A random mix of DC bad guys, abandoned on a hostile planet, with no-one but themselves to rely on. How could any of them survive?
I loved how different this was to ordinary storylines. There are no victorious heroes and people you know die. It reminded me of Marvel's "Secret Wars" series from the 1980s.
I loved how different this was to ordinary storylines. There are no victorious heroes and people you know die. It reminded me of Marvel's "Secret Wars" series from the 1980s.
July 9, 2013
The premise was alright, the execution was terrible. I understand that a suspension of disbelief is necessary for comic books, but the plot was so far fetched and farcical that i just couldn't manage it. The characters were awfully one dimensional and the storyline was lame. Meh.
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December 13, 2008Part of Final Crisis
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