Green Lantern pilots Hal Jordan and John Stewart prepare with Wally West to deliver Apokolips their first offensive blow. As the heroes commit to their sacrifice, the rest of the earth puts their faith in whatever Luthor has been working on.
DC: Mech #3 is mostly a Green Lantern story. As previously mentioned, John and Hal both inherit Alan Scott’s ring to power their mech suit. While John enjoys praise for his similarities to the original Green Lantern, Hal fears that he’s holding Stewart back. Since neither have been able to use the ring to it’s full potential, they plan to blast Darkseid’s machine with the power they can. Unsurprisingly, Hal’s behavior plants a strong death flag for him. As far as Wally’s concerned, he will die like Barry did when he activates his speed force generator. With all parties ready to martyr themselves for the cause, they all give Hawkgirl a brief resignation.
Luthor and his board of scientists and government agents celebrate the launch of the Bizzaro unit. The proud Luthor forcing his pilot into Bizarro brings back images of Evangelion’s mad scientist Gendo Ikari. Not only does Bizzaro looks like an EVA-UNIT, but also crushes the pilot from within the cockpit. All fictional scientists learn that man should never get too comfortable playing god at some point, but Luthor never stops trying. Personally, it seemed dumb that Luthor chose to lie, cheat, and steal to build a bio-weapon that just flies off. Hopefully, Bizarro uses Kal-El’s memories to fight Darkseid anyway.
The newest designs this week come with the premiere of the full “Justice Squadron” team. Additionally, Baldemar Rivas creates mechs for what looks like Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Katana. I almost forgot how abundant mech suits were in this world because of the emphasis the enhanced mechs. Central City’s rogues use stolen mechs with powers of their own, so I’ve always wondered what made Batman and the others different. Wonder Woman’s Amazonian metals, Flash’s speed force generator, and the Green Lantern may be rare, but nothing a few others couldn’t replicate. Anyway, now that Kal-El has embraced Earth, he finally changes his color scheme to the classic red, yellow, and blue. Still hasn’t combed his wild anime protagonist hair yet though.
When the battles kick off, the Squadron looks great in action. Diana and Kal put aside their differences and protect Wally and John. The biggest moment in the issue comes as John utters the Green Lantern oath and tears Kalibak apart! Sadly, it is after a major sacrifice in the series, but it wouldn’t be anime without one. I don’t quite understand why they couldn’t use Lantern constructs before, but the speed force generator being a glass cannon bothers me far worse. Surprisingly, the team seems far more nerfed as robots than superheroes. Darkseid on the other hand broadcasts to the entire world and delivers a cliché super villain speech. The address in an of itself reminded me greatly of the villainous threats made on the comms in Star Trek. Whatever fight they have ahead, at least now they will face it united as one.
Recommended If…
- Fan of mech anime and manga.
- You have been enjoying DC: Mech so far.
- Looking for an Elseworld that won’t piss you off.
Overall
Ultimately, the artwork and story don’t suck. Each issue does its best to stay fun and actually manages to pull of a short but sweet adventure. The mech suit gimmick hasn’t lost its appeal, and most are welcome homages to other beloved franchises. The character development and simplicity of the plot may be the weakest points, but it succeeds on capturing the manga style. As far as penultimate issues go, this one sets the stage for one big colorful brawl against the biggest sourpuss in the galaxy!
Score: 8/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News a free copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
