When Superman isn't super and Batwoman likes to kiss girls

After major multiverse upheavals and cosmic calamities, The Cape Chronicles is back to give the non-geeks some leverage on a Quiz Night for those who go drinking in Makati pubs on Tuesdays. Read Now will be dishing out the latest in the world of capes and crusaders. Without further ado, let’s go “Up, Up and Away!”

Home away

DC Comics, like any great super villain, has done a good job of keeping its plans secret over overhyping explosive changes to their iconic heroes’ universe. Thus, they have successfully shocked and pulled the capes under the fans’ feet, leaving them too late to complain about the new status quo.

The Superman titles today are a prime example of this new DC era. Last year, 100,000 Kryptonians invaded Earth and were trapped in Brainiac’s bottled city of Kandor. The illegal alien issue was resolved by creating a new Krypton in the Earth’s solar system. This super situation causes Superman to leave Lois Lane and live in this new planet to keep an eye on his people. Along with a sci-fi strange locale, Clark Kent, now called by his birthright name Kal-El and donning a military guild uniform, has new supporting cast including kryptonian criminal General Zod whom he has to work with under the planet’s caste system.

This novel script reestablishes and reexamines a 70-year-old superhero’s core. In new Krypton, Superman is still the best fighter as the other Kryptonians are still adjusting the yellow sun’s empowering effects. Yet, Superman remains super because of his values. As the caste system causes a divide between his people where “some Kryptonians are more equal than others,” Kal-El defends the rights of other guilds such as the merchants and scientists. Currently, Metropolis and the Superman title are taken over by Mon-El, a Daxamite, who has power similar to Kryptonians. Superman’s other flagship title Action Comics features Nightwing and Flamebird a.k.a. General Zod’s son Chris and a Kandor Kryptonian Thara Ak-Var. (Can you say that 5x fast?)

Under the mask

In last year’s comic event Final Crisis, DC cosmically killed most of its Jack Kirby creations such as the New Gods and Darkseid. Yet, the most anticipated death was of Bruce Wayne who got KFC-fried by Darkseid’s Omega Beam. But speculation has batty Bruce still alive in the past or an alternate universe. DC Comics has decided to make the wait for his return into a roller-coaster experience over a dull grieving period. 

With Gotham City in ruins after the vile and violent Arkham Asylum patients run amok and figure out Batman has been missing for a month, Dick Grayson becomes Batman to put fear back into the hearts of criminal masterminds. Tim Drake, who used to be Robin, becomes Tim Wayne as Red Robin (how original, right?) to search for Bruce Wayne. Robin is now replaced by an aggressively violent Damien Wayne, Bruce’s son who was raised by femme fatale Talia Al Ghul and the league of assassins.

Although only first appearing this month, writer Grant Morrison infuses a new dynamic to this duo as they are equipped with a hovering batcar and move into a posh high-rise building. As previously teased by DC, the team is a role reversal as Dick Grayson’s Batman is almost comfortably campy as George Clooney’s take on the role. While Damien’s emo angst, from being raised by assassins and being easily patched up by cloned organs, leads to brash impulsiveness that resembles his father’s role. Best of all, fans are getting batty over how this new team will solve old problems like the Joker. All we know is that it won’t be pretty because Dick is no Bruce.

With Bruce Wayne gone, the guys need all the help that they can get, even from a woman. Batwoman is back in a big way, booting out Batman as the title character of Detective Comics after 70 years of being its lead. Socialite Kate Kane, who is a lipstick lesbian, appeared two to three years ago but was never featured prominently in her own series. It can be a risky move as DC Comics puts Batwoman in its namesake title (DC stands for Detective Comics). But, there are high hopes as writer Greg Rucka is only after telling a compelling story rather than selling Batwoman as a poster girl for gay comic characters and making her one-dimensional.

Cheap deaths and other Cape Chronicles

• Geoff Johns’s Black Lantern storyline from Green Lantern is finally rising this July. The story, teased two years ago, has dead superheroes and notable characters coming back to life. Returning characters include Superman from Earth-2, Aquaman, and Firestorm. Based on more previews of this story, Geoff Johns wrote off many characters two years ago to quickly resurrect them back today.

• The Flash Barry Allen, who you knew from the live-action TV series and Superfriends, is back from an over 20-year absence to take his role as The Speedster. Bringing him back is a surprising editorial decision as Wally West has become the Flash of the millennial generation as Barry disappeared into the speed force during the mid-1980’s.

• After Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) causes the end of alien Skrull invasion, he becomes a member of the government and heads the Dark Avengers. It is a team of villains appearing to save lives with a hidden agenda. Their roster includes Norman Osborn as Iron Patriot who replaced Tony Stark as Iron Man, Venom as Spiderman, and Wolverine’s feral son Daken. The Dark Avengers will collide with the X-Men in San Francisco next month. Also, Norman Osborn will continue to wield his power by keeping an eye closely on specific superheroes in a series called Dark Reign: The List.

• Aside from moving to San Francisco, X-Men aren’t taking center stage in Marvel much. Biggest development is that Rogue will be leading a group of young mutants and she has the power to touch others without draining people of their life forces. Aside from that, Chris Claremont has a new series that started when he ended his X-Men run in 1994. Hence, rebooting all the X-Men history since that time. Don’t bother picking it up if you are allergic to cheesy over-verbose dialogue with rehashed plots like me.

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