DCU Comic Book Reviews

DAY OF VENGEANCE INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL

The Ninth Age Of Magic

March 2006

Written by Bill Willingham

Pencils by Justiniano

Inks by Walden Wong & Wayne Faucher

Cover by Walter Simonson

Synopsis

The Phantom Stranger, Madame Xanadu, Zatanna, and Nabu (formerly Dr. Fate) meet to discuss how to deal with the Spectre, who is trying to kill all magic.  Nabu suggests they give Spectre what he wants.  Meanwhile, Spectre kills the spirits of chaos and order, effectively removing all powers for Hawk and Dove.  In Gotham City, the Shadowpact and other magic types have arrived to help clean after the destruction of Rock of Eternity.  While some retrieve the 7 deadly sins, others find the pieces of the rock so Zatanna could put it back together.  As the clean-up progresses, Nabu battles the Spectre.  Nabu taunts the Spectre to the point where the Spectre’s rage reaches its boiling point and the Spectre kills Nabu.  At that moment, the higher authority realizes what has happened and reins in the Spectre and forces a new host to join with him; thus ending the Spectre’s battle against magic.  However, Nabu has died and so has the ninth age of magic.  The tenth age of magic begins.

Review

All right, I have to ask.  Why wasn’t this part of the Day of Vengeance mini-series?  It is the same team of writers and artists, same continuing story.  So why make this a special?  This story actually has a resolution.  I suppose they need to tell some of the Infinite Crisis.

I loved the two page splash of the Shadowpact standing amidst the rubble.  I could be wrong but every magic user in the DCU is in included in this splash page.

The thing with Hawk and Dove struck me as odd.  They had just re-booted these characters, gave them prominent roles in Teen Titans and now, suddenly, they’ve lost their power source.  Something feels odd about this, which suggests they creative editors at DC have something cooked up.  I also wonder how long it will take before a new Dr. Fate is chosen.

I also noticed that Dr. Fate mentioned they were trying to create a perfect host for the Spectre.  I wonder if that will ever come into play or if it is just a random aside to indicate the next choice might not be the perfect host (much like Hal Jordan was not perfect).

However, the far reaching implications of this special are with Captain Marvel.  After the rock is put together, Zatanna tells Marvel that someone needs to stay inside, someone with the magic to keep it stable.  The suggestion is that Marvel will need to take up residence in the rock.  Does this mean the Marvel family is done?  Will Marvel Jr. take up the mantel of Shazam?  Does uttering Shazam still work if Shazam is dead?  I hope these questions are addressed in the near future or perhaps addressed in the Shadowpact ongoing.-- MRB

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