DCU Comic Book Reviews

FINAL CRISIS SECRET FILES

Balancing Act

February 2009

Written by Len Wein

Pencils by Tony Shasteen

Inks by Tony Shasteen

Covers by Frank Quitely and Jim Lee & Richard Friend

Synopsis

Libra recalls his life.  As a young boy, his mother was killed when she was given the wrong medication.  His father became depressed and drank.  He was abused as a kid, but found refuge in looking at the stars.  One night, Libra was on the roof looking through his telescope when his father tried to hit him.  Libra moved and his father stumbled and fell off the roof and died.  Later, Libra attends Opal University, where he becomes inspired by Ted Knight (aka Starman).  Libra dons a costume, steals Starman’s ideas, and sets out to design a machine that would steal super powers.  Aided by a mysterious stranger, Libra forms the Injustice Gang of the World.  The group attempts to steal the powers of the Justice League of America.  It works, but the power is so great, he was absorbed into it and disappeared.  He finds himself face-to-face with Darkseid.  Libra willingly offers to serve Darkseid, who tells Libra he has special plans for him and for Earth.   

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

If there was ever a time I felt like a poor schmuck for buying a comic book, I think this might have been it.  Not only does this comic fail to provide anything resembling what I expected (either based on previews or based assumptions made by the “Secret Files” title), but the story that we were given was not all that great.  It wasn’t bad, but as part of DC’s biggest event in years, this should not be representative of what they can do.  In addition, the story itself is a rehash of two different comics:  the original Libra story for many, many years (Justice League of America, issue #111 from June 1974) and the first couple of issues of Final Crisis.  So, really, about half of this comic is not even original material.  Was it really worth all that money to read an exposition-filled, mostly re-printed story to learn something that could’ve (should’ve) been part of the main story?  No and I feel bamboozled for actually doing so. 

The issue itself, which is based on an older comic, feels like an older comic with dialogue that sounds like it was written decades ago (I got a chuckle out of the exposition dialogue from Darkseid explaining who he is to Desaad; man, if your servants don’t know who you are, you are in trouble). The beginning provides the lead-up to the Justice League of America story.  Since Wein was the original writer and creator of LIbra, I am going to think that what he provides here was part of the Libra character as he was conceived in the 70s rather than something just recently made up.  Even stating that, I was annoyed at the opening part, which copied a similar scene (drunk pharmacist doling out the wrong pills) from It’s A Wonderful Life. 

After the “ending” of the Justice League of America story, there is an explanation of Libra’s connection to Darkseid leading up to a replay of the death of Martian Manhunter.  Sadly, the explanation is under-whelming.  It makes sense, I suppose, but with the build-up to the character I guess had bigger expectations for who might’ve been underneath the mask.  Yes, I knew Libra was a character from the 70s, but I had hoped Morrison was going to do more with this “new” Libra than simply tell us, “hey, it’s the same guy who happens to land on Apokolips.” 

 

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