DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLUE BEETLE #16

Total Eclipso:  The Heart

August 2007

Written by John Rogers

Pencils by Rafael Albuquerque

Inks by Rafael Albuquerque

Cover by Cully Hamner

Synopsis

Eclipso has returned to Earth.  Deciding the problem is with the corrupted host, Eclipso attempts to find a pure soul, an innocent.  In this case, a baby born of pure magic.  Before she can take the baby, however, Traci 13 stops her and distracts her long enough to get the baby to safety.  At the Reyes Gas Station, Traci 13 locates Jaime Reyes (aka Blue Beetle) to ask for help.  Meanwhile, Eclipso relocated the baby and took it to a nearby church.  While Blue Beetle attacks Eclipso, Paco runs to grab the baby, but in the process ends up inside a magic circle.  The only way out is to defeat a champion of Eclipso.  She chooses Jaime and unleashes his deepest, darkest fantasies of ultimate power.  It turns Jaime into a dentist.  Paco easily defeats the dentist, which frees the baby from Eclipso’s claim.  Traci 13 then blasts Eclipso out of the church.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“Batman’s file on you? Eclipso. Power:  Sucking.”

One have one problem with this issue, but that one problem is with the set-up for the entire issue.  How did Eclipso get free of her imprisonment of orbit around the sun?  At one point Traci 13 even alludes to the fact that she is unsure how she did it.  It is not that big of a deal, I suppose, to enjoy the issue.  Everything you need to know to enjoy the issue is in the issue and that is a compliment given the continuity baggage Eclipso comes with. 

The problem that plagues me, a little, is that Eclipso was such a big deal about two years ago, first for the host Jean Loring in Identity Crisis and then in the Day of Vegeance special and even a brief appearance in 52.  Eclipso was a high profile character and dealt with in a manner in which no one could forget.  Whether or not she is free is really of no consequence.  But now that she is, what will happen to the character?  Will she disappear, forgotten, in which case I have to wonder why Rogers would use her (or DC editors would allow it) for the story.  And if she has returned in a big way and will appear in the future (and this has been suggested based on Countdown ads) then it seems out to toss out her return in this title.

Other than that, this was a great issue with plenty of action, humor, and even a little romance for Jaime with Traci 13.  I loved the fact that Rogers was able to harken back to 52 with the almost mention of Croatoans as well as a mention of her father, recently in the back-up stories to Tales Of The Unexpected. 

I also liked the choice of baby for Eclipso to go after.  This is the same baby that appears earlier in the series, born to two members of the Posse.  Little touches like this, bringing back characters from earlier in the series (even one that hasn’t been around that long like this one), really helps to fill out the world these characters inhabit. 

I also love the title of the issue.  Very clever and very well done. 

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