DCU Comic Book Reviews

FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #2

Part Two

November 2008

Written by Greg Rucka

Pencils by Philip Tan

Inks by Jonathan Glapion and Jeff de los Santos

Covers by Philip Tan and Jeff de los Santos

Synopsis

The Spectre seeks vengeance against the leader of the Order of the Stone, Renee Montoya (aka The Question).  At that moment, Renee is fighting against the order, trying to make sure they don’t retrieve the Spear of Destiny.  However, the Spectre takes Renee away, leaving the Spear behind for the order.  After being transported to Gotham, Renee recognizes that the host of the Spectre is her former partner, Crispus Allen.  She tries to convince him of her innocence, but the Spectre still seeks vengeance.  Just as the Spectre reaches for Renee, Sister Clarice (aka the Sprit of Mercy) stops him.  Meanwhile, Wrack of the Order of the Stone proclaims herself the leader of the Order of the Stone.  Wrack then stabs Vandal Savage with the Spear to release the sprit of Cain, who will lead them in the fifth world, after he kills the Spectre.  Elsewhere, Crispus Allen tells Clarice he does not want to be the Spectre.  Clarice tells him that he must.  Just then, they are approached by those who have submitted to Darkseid’s will and the anti-life equation.  Clarice tells Renee she cannot submit.  Suddenly, Renee is teleported away.  She finds Kate Kane (aka Batwoman) lying on the street.  Thinking she is dead, Renee runs to her, only to find Batwoman has submitted and eager to pass the anti-life equation to Renee, as well.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I love this mini-series so far.  It has been an enjoyable and exciting story and it actually pains me to wait another month before the next installment.  However, it took me a little bit of time to realize why I like this so much.  I mean, I love Rucka’s work in general and the writing in this story is well done and Tan’s artwork is just beautiful, but there is something more beyond good work (and it is good work) that is pulling me into this mini-series.  And I think I figured it out.  The reason is that this mini-series manages to bridge the gap between the huge DC universe mega-storyline and the intimate creator-told character story.  Too often in comics, the big universe spanning stories, such as Infinite Crisis or Final Crisis, are too wide-ranging, encompassing too large of a story, that individual characters and emotions get lost in the overall story.  By the same token, character-based stories often seem isolated and lack scope.  Somehow, this mini-series does both.  It is a character-based story of the relationship between Renee and Cris as well as an examination of who they are and what has happened to them since the day Cris died (at the end of Gotham Central).  Essentially, this mini-series is a continuation of these characters’ stories, not a beginning.  From Renee trying to plead her innocence to the Spectre showing some compassion to Cris’ anguish over the death of his son, Rucka builds and expands on these characters, adding to the stories that have been told.  While I can see how someone can get lost if they had not read the previous stories this one builds upon, I love how the story continues and the characters grow.  And, yet, in the middle of the story are the events of Final Crisis, the victory of Darkseid and the anti-life equation.  Rucka and Tan manage to make the story feel like it is part of the main mini-series.  There is a sense of something bigger going on than just Renee and Cris and when the ending is coming I didn’t feel like the events were isolated, but rather Renee and Cris were caught in something much bigger.  While some of it is because I have read Morrison’s story and therefore can put Rucka’s story into perspective, but the other part is that Ruck and Tan have done an excellent job balancing the large-scale events of Final Crisis with the personal story they want to tell.  And that is why this is just some excellent stuff.   

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