THIS WEEK: The ultimate evil takes center stage again in the DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1 one-shot!
Note: the review below may contain spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdict.
DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1
Writers: Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson
Artists: Sanford Greene and Yasmine Putri
Colorists: Matt Herms and Yasmine Putri
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover Artist: Sanford Greene
DC K.O., DC’s most recent universe-shattering event series, ended back in March with a defeated Darkseid, having been repelled by an Alpha Energy-imbued Superman, regrouping back in the Absolute Universe and teasing an “Absolute Crisis.” So what’s he been up to since then? This week’s DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1 one-shot catches readers up with a lord of Apokolips who’s been busy making plans for multiversal domination.
The issue’s main story is written by Scott Snyder, DC K.O. scribe and one of the architects of All In. As part of the sprawling ‘All In Saga’, a reader might expect Darkseid vs. The World to feature some huge revelations and move things forward in a meaningful way towards the next event series. In that regard this one-shot is a disappointment. Snyder’s script consists almost exclusively of narration from Darkseid as he tells the story of his own life. His childhood, his rise to power, up through the DC All In one-shot and the birth of the Absolute Universe – it’s all there. It reads a bit like a Wikipedia entry, and offers no new insight into the character. What it does try to pass off as insight is a sequence of pages about how, actually, Darkseid with his Omega Energy is the hero, while Superman with his Alpha Energy is the villain. The idea that from the villain’s perspective the hero is evil is definitely not a new one, but it’s delivered here as if it’s a bombshell, emphasized over a series of multiple splash pages.
The good thing about those pages, and about this main story as a whole, is the art. Sanford Greene, Matt Herms, and Steve Wands deliver beautiful page after beautiful page, capturing the vibrance of Kirby’s Fourth World and its most famous resident perfectly. Greene’s linework crackles (or Kirby Krackles) with energy. His Darkseid is a behemoth, an unstoppable force of nature during the issue’s one fight sequence. During the issue’s many extended periods of exposition, Greene still manages to craft pages that are visually interesting, dynamic layouts enhancing the text nicely. There’s a series of splash pages recapping the Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman of the Absolute Universe that don’t really add anything to Darkseid’s narrative, but that are nonetheless spectacular to behold. Herms’s color work complements Greene’s pencils and inks extremely well, and Wands’s lettering enhances the tone of the storytelling, and guides the reader’s eye to keep them focused on the most important elements of each page. The opening page of the issue, all red, black, and Darkseid, might be the most striking page of the issue, and an instantly iconic take on the character.
The issue’s second story, by Joshua Williamson, Yasmine Putri, and Wands is one starring the recently-resurrected character Pandora. Williamson’s script is very similar to Snyder’s on the main story, primarily expository captions from Pandora explaining who she was and how she got here. This story at least imparts some new information on readers, even if a lot of that information is vague or a teaser for more info to come. The best part again is the art, as Putri’s work is fantastic. She’s not given the big, bombastic imagery that Greene and Herms are on the main story, but she does excellent work with the material she has, with solid visual storytelling throughout. The final splash page teaser for a long-gone character’s return is nicely done, even if seeing that character again made me laugh out loud.
Visually, DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1 is incredible. Both Greene & Herms and Putri deliver exciting visuals on their respective stories, and Wands’s lettering adds a level of cohesion to the stories that’s necessary given the very different styles of the artists. On a story level, though, Darkseid vs. The World #1 is lacking, which is to say there’s not really a story to speak of here. There’s narration that’s full of exposition, some light teases, but no real meat to any of it. As a $6 comic it’s a disappointment, and it doesn’t fill me with great anticipation for what’s coming next, which is probably the greatest sin an event comic can commit.
Final Verdict: SKIP.
Round-Up
- Elsewhere in event storylines, the Batman: Bad Seeds storyline wraps up this week with a handful of tie-ins and a concluding one-shot. On the tie-in front, Harley Quinn #67 and Poison Ivy #49 are an entertaining pair of comics more closely connected than many of the other tie-ins have been. Ivy #49 is also an essential piece of the story (to be expected from a Poison Ivy-centric event), and sets up Ivy’s status quo going forward really nicely.
- The other tie-in, Batman: Bad Seeds – Gotham General #1 is an incredible comic, following the night shift at the hospital as they deal with what’s happening outside. Greg Rucka, Rosa Ekedal, Steve Lieber, Patricio Delpeche, and Tom Napolitano introduce a compelling cast of characters, then hit them with the insanity of a Batman event. It’s every bit The Pitt meets Gotham City in the best way, and it picks up where the also-excellent Gotham Central series left off. More of this one, please.
- As for the end of the event itself, Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 wraps everything up nicely. The threat of the plants was basically ended last week, and this one-shot ties up the character threads between Batman, Ivy, and Vandal Savage — and between those three and the people of Gotham. It’s a great finale to an exceptionally well-executed event storyline. What a crazy night, huh?
- This week also sees the release of both Absolute Batman #25 and Absolute Wonder Woman #25. Interestingly both books feature confrontations between their respective title characters and their friends, whether it’s Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman pitting Wonder Woman against the recently Cheetah-fied Barbara Minerva or Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta bringing AbsBats to a full-blown intervention with his friend group at Grimm Manor. It’s hard to believe we’re two years into the Absolute Universe and it still somehow feels fresh and new.
Miss any of our earlier reviews? You can find them all in the full DC Round-Up archive! And check out all of the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
