After the semi-dramatic resolve of the threat from Brainiac, this issue picks up on several other story lines that many of us are sure to have forgotten about. Frankenstein and Amethyst have a remarkable opening section, the Justice League picks up the rubble, Faraday does the usual weird/misunderstood/boring stuff we’re used to, while Brother Eye begins being devious in present-day Earth.
- Frankenstein and Amethyst – Here are two characters I knew relatively nothing about a year ago. I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy Frankenstein. His speech is elegant, perhaps a little flowery, but he is direct. He’s poetic yet it doesn’t feel forced. He’s bold. Amethyst is not someone I particularly cared for while reading Futures End, at least until this issue. Character growth is an essential component for readers connecting with the writing. Amethyst grows out of her attachment to Frankenstein and I actually care about reading her story now. This opening scene is the final interaction between her and Frankenstein before he dies. It is beautiful for him, and challenging for her. Major props to the writer(s) of this section. For those who won’t read it, after Frankenstein dies, Amethyst decides to go take back Gemworld from parademons and Apokolips. It’s a great scene from both a writing and an artistic standpoint.
- New York City – Everyone in the Justice League is cleaning up the city after Brainiac’s attack. It’s a near-pointless section for me. Polaris is still kind of a jerk and then runs off. Firestorm is validated by Shazam. Superman throws Brainiac’s ship into the sun. Superman talks to Lois about him being back.
- Upstate – I’m assuming Upstate New York? I’m from Alabama. We all have diabetes and at most, a third grade education before we’re forced to leave school to work the cotton fields and sit on the front porch of our non-airconditioned houses during the heat of summer and spit chewing tobacco while listening to banjo music/televangelists, so I don’t know much about the world. Do they just call it “Upstate”? Well, this section has Faraday doing his weird stuff in weird locations talking about weird things that we 100% aren’t quite sure of yet. The writer(s) for any of the Faraday sections should be forced to watch Disney’s “The Search for Santa Paws” over and over as punishment. A) It’s a terrible, terrible movie unless you have a four-year-old, B) These Faraday sections are not always confusing, but they sure as hell explain little-to-nothing in a way that we’re meant to believe we’re being told “something”. I will save you the trouble with this section: Faraday is sealing himself off in a bunker with Ethan Boyer, the cocky scientist who screwed over Rampage about twenty issues or so ago. It just hit me. Reading these sections is like watching an early 90’s action movie on local TV on a Sunday afternoon, except you missed the first thirty minutes, the station isn’t coming in very clear, and you’re so distracted by the weird clothing and extremely corny/dated direction that any hope of caring about what’s going on is thrown out the window. And someone’s vacuuming in your house so you can barely hear it, and you’re already battling the fact it’s got one of those “the commercials are substantially louder than the show so you have to keep toying with the volume” type things going on. The capstone, of course, is how many times you watch the “We’ll be right back with [insert title here] in a moment” advertisement bumper with way too much enthusiasm and you question your own existence.
- Terrifitech – Here’s where Brother Eye makes his first move outside human control. Brother Eye has “disengaged from [Terrific and Bruce’s] protocol”. Now the threat from Brother Eye is taking center stage and I’m excited about it. It’s the reason Terry went back in time, so let’s see it! This section also features an interesting panel of Terrific and Bruce on what looks like the cusp of a good sneeze.
The Sneeze
Recommended If:
- Frankenstein is one of your totes faves.
- You want to open that picture of “The Sneeze” up in Paint, white-out the dialogue bubbles and insert something witty in the comments.
- You’re reading this to get ready for Convergence.
Overall:
Its form is back to the standard Futures End issue. Some sections are excellent, whereas others are forgettable. The book is still trying to be mysterious to set up for future issues, which sucks because I feel like at this point it should be throwing down with no holds barred. Let’s bump the boredom and stick to the heart of the Frankenstein section or the progression of a main story line with Brother Eye.
SCORE: 5.5/10
