Inactive heroes, unresolved plot lines, and developments that will ultimately leave little to no effect on the larger DC Universe. Get ready for the finale of Convergence!
I think my biggest beef with this finale is that nothing that came before accumulated to the conclusion that we see unfold. In the eleventh hour, characters who were never even in the rest of the story show up and present us with a Deus Ex Machina. Not only that, but it isn’t even heroes who ultimately save the day, but a villain. The intrepid group of Earth 2 heroes who had been our eyes and ears into the world of Convergence stood by, idle, as their future was handed to them by a benevolent God. It wasn’t even like someone convinced him to have a change of heart. It ultimately boiled down to self preservation. And that was utterly boring. No sacrifice, no effort, and nothing interesting. Just BOOM, here is everything magically restored to the way we need it to be.
The one element of this tale that I actually did find interesting gets resolved in the blink of an eye, and off page to boot. We learn that the first crisis (Crisis on Infinite Earths, 1985) is interfering with the attempt to re-establish the Multiverse. Hence, heroes need to go back in time and alter the events so that a Multiverse will be formed from the outcome of Crisis and not a single universe as actually did occur. I think this sounds awesome! Having a retelling of the events of Crisis, but with heroes popping in at appropriate moments to alter the outcome, would have been truly interesting and given DC an opportunity to introduce the event to a new audience but still make it fresh since it wouldn’t be the same story. Instead, our heroes get sent back in time and the success of their venture is instantly apparent.
There were several plot points that ended up being unresolved and thus leaving an unsatisfying taste in my mouth. In several instances, Deimos commented on the fact that Yolanda was in fact Wildcat and that she had some part to play in things. Seeing as how he had absorbed the powers of the time masters, it seemed like an eventuality that his comments were more than just foreshadowing and that he was pointing out a relevant part she had yet to play. Turns out she didn’t do jack (other than comment on how pretty their new world was). Now maybe this is just me reading more into it than I should have, but it genuinely seemed like something should have unfolded with her character.
While on the subject of feeling unfulfilled with a character’s portrayed arc, let’s discuss Telos: maybe they do have plans for him in the future, but if not, this was a thoroughly unsatisfying conclusion for the character’s arc. I WANT CONCRETE ANSWERS! Especially given the fact that he seemed to me to be the main character of Convergence. I actually found myself caring about Telos and being interested in his backstory. One could say that it was kept secret so it could be explored later, but it also might be that no real backstory was ever conceived at all. Hence, the vagueness of his replies at the end. I was hoping for a lot more answers from him, and perhaps even an inclusion into the DC pantheon of heroes. For now, it looks like I’ll just have to be satisfied with the heir of hope he leaves us with.
In the darkest hour, all of our heroes stand by, somberly, as Doctor Fate explains the gravity of their situation. As my eyes slowly made their way across this two page spread, I took careful note of the reverence that each character was paying to the moment. Then my eye found Donna Troy.
To me, this image stood out like an elephant in the room. While everyone else is displaying appropriate reactions to the realization, Donna is flipping her hair and posing like she is a super model at an end of the world photo shoot. I mean, who exactly is she posing for? It has to be for us, but it seems really strange since she is the only one breaking the 4th wall and looking right at us. Granted, I’m making more out of this for the sake of humor than needs be said, but it is a rather goofy visual when you take a moment to consider it.
The art for this issue is brought to us by Stephen Segovia, Carlo Pagulayan, Eduardo Pansica, and Ethan Van Sciver. Usually when an issue has been less than stellar, I can count on the artists to carry the book and provide the majority of entertainment I’m likely to garner. This outing holds true to that, however there were so many pitfalls and drawbacks to this issue that even the wonderful job that this team of artist contributed to the finale was not enough to make up for the stories shortcomings.
What is that thing in the bottom left panel?
- When I read the pages featuring this montage, I was instantly reminded of all these events and reading each of these stories ( except that one with the monster). When I saw that monster and became confused, it made me realize that many other readers may have been equally confused at multiple panels of this montage, and perhaps all of them. My question to readers is, (other than what the heck that thing is) do you find pages like this annoying if you lack the knowledge to fully grasp what they are referencing or do you just blow past them and concentrate on the main story? In a way, they are almost like fun little easter eggs for the initiated to enjoy, but at the same time I feel like they could be alienating people. What do you think?
- I was rather looking forward to the idea of a planet composed of all manner of heroes becoming a staple of the DC Universe. They could have done a lot with a concept like that. Instead, everyone is sent back to their respective timelines and universes. The planet Telos ultimately becomes New Earth 2 and even gets sent back to the Earth 2 Universe (they couldn’t even leave it in the main universe).
- I thought it was kind of odd that the Superman and Supergirl from the main DC Universe just chilled in space over the planet and never got involved.
Interesting Facts:
- Dawnstar was a character from the 1970s and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. I thought it was interesting that she had a cameo here considering the fact that she appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths from 1985.
- Here we have Waverider. He first appeared in 1991 in the company wide crossover event Armageddon 2001. I’ve brought this up before, but for those of you who didn’t read that particular article, Matthew Ryder was a scientist from the year 2030 who invented a time machine in order to save his future world. You see, a hero from the past ends up becoming a villain named Monarch and taking over the planet. Ryder travels to the past to discover Monarch’s true identity and stop him from becoming a villain before it even occurs.
Recommended If…
- You want to see how Convergence ends.
- You want to see the jumping off point for Earth 2: Society.
Overall:
Everything gets tied up in a perfect little bow with no real need for the heroes to lift a finger. We also don’t get much in the way of a satisfying character arc for Telos, not to mention the other unresolved plot points that get brushed under the rug. In the bigger scheme of things, it looks like this event won’t have much of a lasting effect on the DC Universe as a whole, other than on Earth 2: Society.
SCORE: 3.5 / 10
