Review: The Phantom Stranger #5

(w) Dan Didio and J.M. DeMatteis
(p) Brent Anderson
(i) Philip Tan and Rob Hunter

If God is a DJ,
Life is a dance floor,
Love is the rhythm,
You are the music.

I'm not a fan of pop recording artist P!nk's music, but her 2004 single, "God Is A DJ", was one of those songs that was on the radio incessantly when I was in high school, and somewhere along the line, it kind of stuck with me whether I wanted it to or not. Same goes for Lenny Kravitz's "Again", Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It", the unfortunate Dixie Chick's cover of "Landslide", and the Creed songs, which I list as one entity because I can't tell them apart, only that they're Creed songs based on Scott Stapp's nasally vocals. But I diverge. I preface with this short diatribe about Ms. P!nk's single because the chorus for the song (shown above) is a rather amazingly, hideously perfect representation of what Dan Didio and J.M. DeMatteis bring to the table in The Phantom Stranger #5, an issue that sees the true introduction of The Spectre into the 'New 52', as well as plays around with cosmic entities like their action figures and consequences be damned.

Since it's 'Zero Issue' last September, The Phantom Stranger has been a sort-of look into the high cosmic happenings of the DCnU. Pre-relaunch, the Stranger was far more enigmatic, his true intentions and agenda never fully revealed. Earlier issues of the series have seen a Stranger with more clarity and focus than ever before, the introduction of fan-favorite Raven, as well as dealings with John Constantine and the Justice League Dark, amongst others. The Phantom Stranger #5 differs from previous issues because it throws subtly out the window and goes for broke to set up the highly anticipated "Trinity War" even though it doesn't have to.

Basically, Stranger believes the divine hand of vengeance, The Spectre, is to blame for the kidnapping of his family and their removal from the Earthly plane. Instead of communicating, Stranger and Spectre end up duking it out, and before they rip apart time and space, God himself (herself?) shows up to put them both in their place. Taking the form of a Yorkshire Terrier, God simply gives Stranger and Spectre a good scolding before telling them to play nice or else. Meanwhile, that's when the Question shows up at the home of Terrence Thirteen to get the Stranger's attention. 

This is where Ms. P!nk's song comes in. Dan Didio and J.M. DeMatteis are really playing fast and loose with god-like entities (and God itself) as if they are just like any other DC character. In the past, the sheer breadth of characters like the Phantom Stranger and the Spectre were regarded in a way that their core concepts stayed consistent even if their forms did not. In a way, it makes sense for these kinds of revelations to take place in a series dedicated to a member of the Trinity of Sin, but mostly, it feels like too much too fast. Part of what made the pre-'New 52' Phantom Stranger and Spectre great was that they were so mysterious, that not everything about them was known.

The Phantom Stranger #5 is a perplexing issue if only because it's such a drastic shift from the slow-burn of the previous issues to the rapid-fire storytelling seen in these pages. It's quite clear this series is starting the long journey toward "Trinity War", but it's doing so clumsily at this point and that somehow makes the entire endeavor feel a little less special. I don't want to have a bias going into DC's first 'New 52' major crossover event, so I'll take this issue's events with a grain of salt.

GRADE

6/10

Crisis Update: Day of Vengeance

Crisis Update
Volume 1, Entry 3




Day of Vengeance
Bill Willingham - Writer
Justiniano - Pencils

Magic has always been a major part of the DC universe. Characters like Doctor Fate, Zatanna and Captain Marvel have long provided a supernatural element to comics that often brings more complex story lines and challenges. Unlike heroes (or villains) whose powers are derived from their physiology or science, magic wielders have an air of mystery about them simply because magic has no base in laws of physics, on our world or otherwise, meaning that even those who can use magic barely know where it comes from.

***SPOILERS***
Which makes Day of Vengeance one of the more interesting titles of the four lead-up mini series to Infinite Crisis. The Spectre - God's 'Hand of Vengeance' - has gone rogue without a human host, vowing to destroy all magic thereby ridding the world of evil. To combat this massive assault on the world of magic, six magic-based heroes come together to form the Shadowpact, a name revealed to have been used throughout the history of the DC universe whenever magic is gravely threatened.

The members of the Shadowpact are lesser-known characters in DC's lineup, including the most recognizable, Blue Demon, a bouncer turned demon; Ragman, a 'Spectre-lite' tool of justice who can absorb the worst of sinners into his cloak of patched rags, allowing them to lend their spiritual help to Ragman in exchange for getting a little closer to salvation; Nightshade, a girl who can control darkness; Nightmaster, the owner of Oblivion Bar, an inter-dimensional bar that caters to magic folk, and the wielder of the mystical Sword of Night; Enchantress, a powerful magic user who can turn evil if overwhelmed by magical energy; and Detective Chimp, given his intelligence by the Fountain of Youth. Because these characters were rarely used before Day of Vengeance, Bill Willingham was able to pen a tale that didn't need to rely too much on retconned history beyond the Spectre's situation.

It is revealed early on in the plot that Eclipso, taking control of Jean Loring (the Atom's ex-wife who murdered Elongated Man's wife, Sue Dibny, in the pages of Identity Crisis), desires revenge on the world of magic and persuades the Spectre that magic equals chaos, and chaos equals evil. Without a human host to provide compassion and logic, the Ghost of Vengeance begins a genocide of magic users across the DC universe.

Midway through the series, a massive battle between the Spectre and Captain Marvel erupts. As the champion of the wizard Shazam, Marvel is the best equipped to confront the Spectre, but Shazam's power is dwarfed by the Spectre's nigh-godliness. Like I mentioned earlier, magic in the DC universe is such a bounty for storytelling because it doesn't have set parameters or limitations. As Marvel starts to falter, Enchantress channels all the magical energy left in the universe directly through her and into Marvel, causing him to balloon in size and power to match the Spectre and level the playing field a bit more.

Of course, their brawl is only the halfway point in Day of Vengeance.


So as not to give away the entire plot, I'll just say that Willingham manages to pull a few more tricks out of his sleeve for the rest of the series. The only part of Day of Vengeance that irked by a bit was the pacing. Almost opposite of it's sister series, The O.M.A.C. Project, DoV seems to pack as much plot as it can into six issues. Willingham could have given the Spectre/Captain Marvel battle three whole issues and it would have been just as good. By the end, readers have an excellent set-up for Infinite Crisis as well as an awesome new magic team, the Shadowpact.

Grade: B+