DC Comcs’ Countdown to Final Crisis

This isn’t breaking news or anything, but I figured I’d comment on an interview that Newsarama did with Dan “death count” Didio. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. What in the world was The Revolution doing checking out a comic book news website?

Well, I’m starting to feel left out of the loop. That I’m the only comic book fan who doesn’t’ frequent these types of websites. So, I decided to start checking out what is going on in the world of comics with a bit more frequency than before. Now, I still avoid any articles marked spoilers and any message boards. But, hey, it’s a first step, right?

Anyway, Deathcount Dan was on Newsarama explaining all the secrets that were in the promotional picture for Countdown. You can check out the Newsarama interview right here.

I’ll just quickly highlight the parts that jumped out at me:

1. Red Robin is Jason Todd. Evidently, Donna is looking at him because they will be working together and have some type of relationship.

2. The ground is the “dead zone” where all the dead characters are located. Any live characters touching the ground are in jeopardy of dying. That would include Big Barda and Mr. Miracle.

3. There is a Legion flight ring on the ground indicating that a Legionnaire is going to die.

4. The Atom (Ray Palmer) is clawing out of the ground indicating that he is coming back to life.

5. Bart having one foot on the ground (the dead zone) meant he had one foot in the grave.

6. The Batman with the scimitar has something to do with Ra’s al Ghul.

Now, Didio was mum on why Superman is nuzzling Wonder Woman’s wonderful bosom, other than the obvious fact that is just a darn fun thing to do. I can’t imagine what would happen to Superman that would be so traumatic. Also, we have barely even seen Superman over in Countdown up to this point.

Jason Todd as Red Robin? I’m not too sure how I feel about this move. I have enjoyed Jason Todd as the Red Hood and playing the role of a vigilante who kills criminals. I dig that Jason has rebelled against the Batfamily and has the codename that was the original codename of Batman’s greatest villain, the Joker.

Jason taking the name Red Robin pulls him back into the Batfamily a bit more than I would like to see. However, I’m keeping an open mind on Jason becoming Red Robin. I’ll wait and see how DC handles this transition for Jason’s character. It should be interesting.

Of course, DC is totally incapable of doing any type of big event or story without a high death count. And, of course, character must not just die; they must do so in a grisly fashion. I can’t say I’m thrilled that Big Barda and Mr. Miracle are marked for death. And I’m certainly not thrilled with a Legionnaire begin marked for death. I always hate it whenever a Legionnaire is killed off. Unless it is Supergirl. Then I’m all for it.

Right now there are only three Legionnaires in the present day on New Earth: Starman, Karate Kid and the mysterious partner with Karate Kid. I wouldn’t imagine that Starman is already going to be killed. Johns seems to really like his character and evidently has plenty of plans for Starman. I would hate it if Karate Kid was killed off. I dig his character and he has been pretty bad-assed in the JLA/JSA crossover.

And I never realized that Ray Palmer was dead. I thought he just shrunk down to sub-atomic size and disappeared. I truly fear for Ray Palmer. I just know that Dan “death count” Didio has some particularly grotesque death in store for Ray. The All New Atom is getting miserable sales numbers with Atom #11 selling only 16,193. Maybe Didio uses Countdown to kill of Ray so fans will have no choice but to embrace this new Atom.

9 thoughts on “DC Comcs’ Countdown to Final Crisis

  1. I don’t look at spoilers either, but I do have a piece of speculation about Superman’s issue. Since I don’t see Jimmy Olson, perhaps he finally bites it? I would think that might turn Supes a little upset.

    Just speculation.

  2. Killing Jimmy would be one of those status quo changes that seems a whole lot more radical than it is. Think about it: despite being a fairly well-known part of the Superman mythos, what does Jimmy actually do?

    I don’t think they would kill Ray as some attempt to boost the sales of the new Atom’s series; really, neither character could sustain a series of his own (same with Blue Beetle, Ted and Jaime).

  3. Wow. The things I never hear about.

    Nuzzling Wonder Woman’s bosom looks like a very fun thing to do. I can’t imagine why anyone would need a reason beyond that. Maybe Superman’s just gettin’ some on the side? That’d make more sense if Lois was dead, of course, but still. Can’t blame a guy for wondering…

  4. I generally find non-powered/civilian love interests dull (no matter male or female), but I think the Clark/Lois marriage is really the best situation; really, nothing was more tired than the pre-marriage/identity reveal formula where Clark must hide his identity from her her, she is in love with Supes, etc. She’d never stay dead, and she’d never stay out of his life, so you might as well marry them; it’s functional, gives Clark a nice, humanized home life, and you can get good stories out of it. Anyway, it’s not like single Clark was an Ollie or a Hal with the ladies, so you’re not losing any kind of dating action (the frequent claim made by people who dislike the Spider-Man/MJ marriage).

    As for Superman/Wonder Woman, that always struck me as so perfunctory (not that it can’t work; it did in Kingdom Come, for example); Justice League/Unlimited showed that Batman/Wonder Woman is a much more interesting, dynamic pairing.

  5. I think the Batman-Arabian style outfit is an “homage” to those classic Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul stories, and perhaps this is DC’s way of hinting that Batman ends fulfilling Ra’s desire in that he, at last, becomes the leader of the League of Assassins–perhaps, in a nod to Begins, renames them as the “League of Shadows” and turns it into an international crime fighting organization. Jason Todd, as the Red Robin, then becomes the protector of Gotham City due to Batman having to take a more global role.

    Either that or it hints that Frank Miller finally got the green light to put out his Batman vs. Al Queda story. 😉

  6. “Bart having one foot on the ground (the dead zone) meant he had one foot in the grave.”

    Bart’s not dead. The CW is toying with a Justice League spinoff from smallville, to star none other than Bart Allen. If he get’s a show, look for his dramatic retrun around that time.

    “Jason Todd as Red Robin? I’m not too sure how I feel about this move.”

    Rokk, you can’s fight fate. Something things are just the law of nature. The sun will always rise in the east and set in the west. Birds will always follow the same migration routes. And as sure as G-d made little green appels, the punk bad assed loner always has an amazing transfromation, delovopes a heart of gold, and learns what it means to be a true hero.

    ” I mean, have you noticed how butt ugly Lois has been drawn as of late?”

    Good for her. Girls read comics goo, and let’s face it, they are not always the best looking of the bunch. It’s nice to know that even a frugly girl like Lois can still nab a superman. it gives them hope. It’s like in Adam Sandler movies where the drok always gets the babe. Besides, I’d be more cheesed about how they write lois as of alte than how they draw her.

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