Stuck in The Golden Age With Dr. Fate

 

I was really excited when Pierce Brosnan was cast as Kent Nelson, also known as Dr. Fate. Defender of Order versus Chaos. Fate previously made an appearance on Smallville. Clark got to see glimpses of the Justice Society. It would be exciting to see one of the original, founding members of the Justice Society on the big screen. He was going to be working with Carter Hall, Hawkman; Atom Smasher and Cyclone!

I never really got past The Rock as Black Adam. Sure, he was portrayed as a wronged individual, looking for justice and vengeance and retribution and revenge. Which was why he crossed paths and swords with the JSA. It was just incredibly confusing that the character was split from Zachary Levi's Captain (SHAZAM!) Marvel. I'm still confused. I'm not sure I really want to know.

I didn't watch Remington Steele for Brosnan. I watched Remington Steele for Stephanie Zimablist. She was my excuse for bad grades in high school.

Brosnan's Bond was fairly enjoyable. Mom and Dad were Sean Connery fans. Mom and my sister were Roger Moore fans. Cathy, my wife, is a George Lazenby fan. Gotta respect the man that connected with Diana Rigg! I'm not sure I know any Timothy Dalton fans (He was pretty good as Prince Baron in Flash Gordon; as well as an appearance on Doctor Who, and as The Chief in Doom Patrol!)

Brosnan was my era or generation Bond. I'm not sure the material was up to his performance. Wherever the bar is set, the next mission or adventure usually has to up the ante. By Die Another Day the ante had been upped to the extreme. The hotel made entirely of ice (ICE!) was extreme... extremely redonkulous!

As an aside, one of the reasons Daniel Craig ditched a lot of the paraphernalia was due to Mike Meyers' Austin Powers parodies. Craig was quoted in some interview somewhere that Austin Powers poked so much fun at the Bond tropes - not to mention the Mel Brooks-Buck Henry Get Smart parody - that Bond had sort of become self-parody. Look closely at some of the scenes with Q, there's a bit of self-deprecating humor and parody in those scenes. Connery's Bond didn't seem to take Q seriously. neither did Brosnan. Q gave Brosnan's Bond two specialized cars. The second one had a stealth, cloaking ability, like Harry Potter's blanket.

Off and on Brosnan has made some impressive solo films. Some, hit or miss. Seraphim Falls with Liam Neeson and The Matador with Greg Kineer stand out. After The Sunset is somewhat shaky. Remember Me with Robert Pattinson is engaging. We don't have to talk about the Mama Mia! films... 

Celebrating his 73rd birthday today, Brosnan has most recently been in The Thursday Murder Club with Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and Celia Imrie... along with David Tenant and Jonathan Pryce.

Might be a good day to give that a spin... it just might be better... Fate.

   

The Pickled Fickle Finger of Fate! JSA: All Stars 3 "Challenging Fate" Review

Once again, The Spectre draws back the curtain on another member of the Justice Society of America. The Spirit of Redemption is acting more like The Phantom Stranger or Rod Serling, host and presenter. This time, we see Hector Hall, son of Carter and Shiera Hall, one-time Silver Scarab of Infinity, Inc., now, the latest iteration of Dr. Fate.

In Salem, MA, Hector walks into a bar where he finds Nabu. Usually, Nabu is confined to the helmet of Fate. Yet, he steps out for... a beer and some peanuts. Hector is older from his Infinity, Inc. days. As the latest Dr. Fate, he is able to look around the room and see each person's ultimate... fate, how they will die and when. Both in a booth in the bar and the Tower of Fate, Nabu presents Hector with his own fate! In conflict with his father, Carter (or Katar, it's somewhat convoluted.) The original fate of Cater and Shiera is that they meet their end from Hath-Set time and time again. Yet what Nabu presents is that Hector is destined to be the end of his parents. It's a destiny that Hector will not accept and vows to change. He vows to make a future of his own.

The art by Kitson and Kalisz is nice, but it just comes down to a couple of talking heads. The story is predominantly conversation, with an interlude of action. Domestic conflict between father and son. It seems to amount to navel-gazing. 

The back-up story by Darwyn Cooke is enjoyable simply for Darwyn Cooke. He brings a horrific take to the master sorcerer. And a bit of wit and whimsy. The banter between Kent and Inza is Nick and Nora inspired. It's a fun story.

Once again, this issue and these stories are stand-alone and do not seem connected to the main narrative. They don't seem to be advancing the story set-up in the first issue. It seems that the point of the mini-series is to spotlight the legacy characters in solo stories with a comparison to the originals. These two stories are fine asides. Unfortunately, there's no Injustice Gang, there's no mortal adversary, no thread other than The Spectre.

"Challenging Fate", JSA: All Stars 3, by Geoff Johns and David Goyer leaves something to be desired. It earns three stars.

For Those That Follow... JSA: All Stars 1 "Legacy" Review

 

David Goyer and Geoff Johns present the Justice Society of America facing Legacy!

The Spectre pulls back the curtain. Sand is escorting The Icicle on a military transport to prison in Florida. Solomon Grundy rips open a side of the plane. Freed, The Icicle cushions the planes crash landing. The rest of the Injustice Gang is on hand, greeted by the Justice Society. The battle engages! It's all very dramatic and somewhat posing and posturing. Very quickly The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and Wildcat are transported out of the battle by the bad guys. Sand is immobilized! Returning to their Manhattan headquarters, they try to deduce what the device is that paralyzed Sand and kidnapped four of their members.

The cover is awesome.

Sal Velluto's art, with Bob Almond inks and John Kalisz colors is just the very definition of eye-candy. Ken Lopez's lettering has each character's voice down and dialogue, roll call and effects are unique.

Legacy himself is pretty much a mystery and cypher at this point. Somewhat hollow and shallow. The cliffhanger sets up the master plan that will undoubtedly unfold as the story progresses.

JSA: All Stars 1, "Legacy" earns four stars.

The Final Curtain! The Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special Review

One of the few tropes or rules of comic books is that there is very rarely - if ever - a "The End". It's really The Never-Ending Story. A writer may move on from a character, or from a comic book title, and tie up as many loose ends as possible, or move characters into a different place. Changes can be undone. Deaths are not usually permanent. There really has only been five significant, permanent death in comic books: Jor-El and Lara (and most of the planet of Krypton), Thomas and Martha Wayne and Uncle Ben Parker. Those deaths are permanent mainly because they make up the core identity of Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. Bucky Barnes' death was undone as was Gwen Stacy's for the sake of Story. Comparatively, when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reached a finishing point or boredom with Sherlock Holmes, his final solution was to throw Holmes and Moriarty off Reichenbach Falls locked in deadly combat. The hue and cry was so loud that Conan Doyle brought Holmes back from the dead.

Following the seminal, landmark, epic Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series, Roy Thomas was faced with the unenviable task of writing "The End" to the Justice Society of America. In consolidating its legion of super-heroes to a single Earth, with a single history and timeline, the Superman Family, Batman Family, Wonder Woman Family and Aquaman were all shifted to modern appearances and removed from The Golden Age. In-comics continuity had the Justice Society start without including Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Aquaman made only a few Golden Age appearances and apparently was not a part of any team until the Justice League. Oliver Queen, The Green Arrow was also erased, as was his membership in The Seven Soldiers of Victory or Law's Legionnaires.

A single Earth with The New Teen Titans, The Outsiders, Infinity Inc., Doom Patrol - a veritable host of superhero teams and characters seemed to crowd out the more geriatric Justice Society. And so, a "The End" was fashioned.

The story finds Hitler able to wield the legendary, mythical Spear of Destiny, the spear that pierced the side and heart of Christ, the Savior. He wields the spear to bring about the end of the world. He calls down from the heavens Ragnarok, or Gotterdammerung! The Justice Society, save The Spectre, Dr. Fate, Power Girl and The Star-Spangled Kid are locked in an endless loop in an alternate reality, to preserve the true reality and save the universe. It is a hard, emotional ending for fan-favorite characters.

It is evident that it is a labor of love for Roy and Dann Thomas. It is deeply and heavily researched and historically accurate to the period. David Ross and Mike Gustovich provide the art. David Cody Weiss provides the lettering. 

Thomas admits that this could have been a multi-issue series rather than a single issue one-shot. The only downside is that the art and lettering suffer from being presented on newsprint rather than on glossy paper. Weiss' lettering is muddy and the art muted in places due to production values.

It is an epilogue of sorts for Crisis on Infinite Earths in that DC Comics' founding characters are given their final curtain bow.

The Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special earns four stars.