Justice Society of America: The Next Age (1-4)

I've been slacking off on the Wrecks lately, so I'm going to try to play catch up. Flipping through the backlog for a starting point, we have one of the newer titles to my list, JSA.

Welcome to the first storyline of the new Justice Society of America! Infinite Crisis took out the old title, and One Year Later brings us a new day for the JSA! Why, you ask? Well, I can't really figure it out. This, like JLA, didn't really need a relaunch...the storyline very easily could have started in the old book...but who cares? New issue number one! Let's jump right in!

The immediate problem that this "new title" has is that it's a whole lot like the old title. The team is made up of a lot of the previous one (Green Lantern, Flash, Wildcat, Hawkman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Stargirl, Hourman, Liberty Belle, Sandman, Mr. Terrific, Power Girl - not to mention Jakeem Thunder being on the cover of issue one), with a few new faces (a new Wildcat, Obsidian, Damage, Cyclone, Starman) added in for a new bit of flavor. This becomes a bit of an issue when, after four issues, this team of sixteen members is together and ready to go. Some characters, like Cyclone, the new Wildcat, and Starman, get some characterization, readers are expected to be familiar with all of the others. It begs the question of why starting over with a new number one?

The story itself sets the pace of the JSA - or resets the pace. Unlike the JLA, which is the heavy hitters coming together to save the day, the JSA is a legacy team. All of the members are in some way connected to other members of the team, past and present. Damage is the son of the original Atom. Sandman was the sidekick of the original. Stargirl is the stepdaughter of STRIPESY, former sidekick to the Star Spangled Kid. That's nothing new for the JSA. It's brought into focus when Vanadal Savage unleashes a plan to wipe out the entire bloodline of American icon heroes. It's hinted that a new Commander Steel will shortly turn up, which along with the new Wildcat, is what we get out of the story.

It's a good story, but just not a good opening story. The JSA is not heavily featured in 52, and more of an introduction for new readers might have been advisable. With this title going straight into a JLA crossover, it doesn't look like we'll be getting much more for the next couple months. It's good for those familiar with the JSA, but not very friendly to everyone else.

Movies: Spider-Man 3

I'm warning you now. I'm going to be talking about things that happen in the movie. If you haven't seen it and don't want to know about them, then skip this entry. You can easily scroll through it without reading a word. Just look for the next heading. If you continue on, you'll be reading about the movie.

You sure? Okay then.

Spider-Man 3 is the latest in the acclaimed series of movies that last saw its last feature back in 2004. I wasn't crazy about Spider-Man 2 (and I think I am alone in that category), so I wasn't quite as hyped as everyone else about going and seeing it. The trailers didn't help, as it revealed that Flint Marko, the Sandman, was Uncle Ben's killer. Not the burglar, whom Peter had failed to stop when he had the opportunity.

This, in my mind, created a huge problem for the Spider-Man mythos. See, if the burglar hadn't killed Uncle Ben, then Peter's lack of action did not lead to his beloved Uncle's death, in which case the grand lesson of 'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility' does not apply. Peter's off the hook. Go avenge your uncle, and go to sleep with a clear conscience. Fortunately, the filmmakers must have realized this, because in the flashback sequence in which Sandman relates the events that led to Ben's death, it shows that the burglar was indirectly responsible, and had Peter stopped him, Ben would still have been alive. Guilt remains, lesson remains. Happy day.

The biggest complaints I've heard about this movie is that there is too much going on for one storyline. I, however, think that the movie managed to fit it all in quite well. You have Harry Osborne finally taking his revenge on Peter, using a strange opportunity to tear into Peter's personal life. You have Peter coming upon the black suit in his quest to avenge his uncle, and its effect on his personal life. You have Eddie Brock's rise to and fall from grace (get it?) and his possession by the Venom suit. All of these work together and actually rotate around each other quite well. It's not like Batman & Robin, where the filmmakers through darts at a wall covered in Batman villains and slapped Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane together for no good reason. This movie really works with what it's got. Sure, it's much more fast paced then the previous two, but it certainly does not seem rushed.

In fact, my only complaint is the usage of the character of Gwen Stacy. The roll she's put in for this movie does not at all match her character from the comics (a model?). The date scene in which Peter uses her to make Mary Jane jealous could have much better been done with a character like Betty Brant or just a random girl. Gwen Stacy is a very important character in the Spider-Man world, and that was not at all represented here. Perhaps in a later movie, we'll get to see her chucked off a bridge. Shame they already killed Norman Osborne, huh?

I greatly enjoyed Spider-Man 3, and it left me hoping for a Spider-Man 4 with all the cast and crew returning. If every comic movie could be like this or Batman Begins, then maybe I wouldn't feel the need to cringe at an X-Men: The Last Stand.