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DC Dice Masters: Green Arrow and The Flash Review: Barry Allen, Firestorm, and Superman

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In September, the latest DC Dice Masters set, DC Dice Masters: Green Arrow and The Flash will be released. Wizkids hooked us up with ten booster packs and after an unboxing video, I’m now going over groupings of the cards to discuss their playability and how they stack up to previous versions of the characters.

Up next, the common Barry Allen, Firestorm, and Superman!

DC Dice Masters The Flash Green Arrow Barry Allen Firestorm Superman

Barry Allen: Super-Sonic Punch (common)

Team: Justice League

Purchase: 5 BOLT FIST

Die – Generic / Bolt & Fist / Bolt & Fist

Level: 1 3 3 / 1 4 4 / 2 7 4

Character Previous Set: None (though The Flash has appeared in both DC Dice Masters: Justice League and DC Dice Masters War of Light)

Synergy -While Barry Allen is active, you may pay BOLT FIST to give Barry Allen character die +2A and +4D (until end of turn). (Synergy abilities can be used while the character is active, any time you could use a Global Ability).

Thoughts: Wow is The Flash expensive in sets. The character at a cost of 5 where you must use a BOLT and FIST to purchase make this not the easiest card to purchase. What I do like about the card is that it really reflects the speed of the character with his ability to act quickly and up his attack and defense. Compared to other Flash dice, the cost is similar and potentially getting a 9A/8D character is solid. Still, when it comes to speedsters, I’d rather get the Justice League versions that can be unblockable and are 1 less to purchase. Still, since this is named The Flash, use both!

 

Firestorm: Host of the Matrix (common)

Team: Justice League

Purchase: 4 BOLT

Die – Bolt / Bolt and Bolt / Bolt and Bolt

Level: 1 3 5 / 1 4 6 / 2 5 6

Character Previous Set: DC Dice Masters: Justice League, DC Dice Masters: Justice League OP

When Firestorm attacks, deal 1 damage to target character die for each character die in your Field Zone.

Thoughts: We’ve seen Firestorm before and compared to it, this is one of the better versions of the card. The die characteristics are exactly the same, so all that differs is its ability.The ability to deal a high amount of damage in an attack will make this a key character to potentially wipe out tough characters. I myself tend to play a style with a lot of characters attacking, so this will be one I’ll be looking at when putting together a team, especially a Justice League one.

The chance to deal a high amount of damage in an attack will make this a key character to potentially wipe out tough characters and is one way to handle that potential issue. While on its own it’s ok, I can see it being a nice back up character used in certain situations. I myself tend to play a style with a lot of characters attacking, so this will be one I’ll be looking at when putting together a team, especially a Justice League one.

 

Superman: Man of Tomorrow (common)

Team: Justice League

Purchase: 6 SHIELD

Die – Shield / Shield and Shield / Shield and Shield

Level: 1 4 6 / 2 6 7 / 2 7 8

Character Previous Set: DC Dice Masters: Justice League, DC Dice Masters: Justice League OP, and DC Dice Masters World’s Finest

Superman gets +1A and +1D for each of your active Justice League characters.

Thoughts: This character die is similar cost to previous versions and the stats are the same as the World’s Finest version. The ability is really interesting, first because I think it’d give itself +1A and +1D, so it’d start off stronger than the WF version and slightly better than the JL version. Running just a Justice League team, I can see Superman becoming a beast to deal with easily getting in the double digests for attack and defense. Throw in Overcrush and you can easily see where this one’s going.

 

Final thoughts: Three interesting possible additions to Justice League teams (and teams in general). All three could be fun playing in casual and I can see some teams being put together for competitive, though the high initial purchase costs will get people to hold off of that. Still, if this set shakes up the meta like I think it will, expect to see all three of these cards of the table. Now, I’m off to go make a Justice League team.

Review: The Flash #43

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theflash043Part of the challenges set forth with the new 52 relaunch was how to tell the story of its most famous heroes.  Parts of the heroes identities were so well known and so well established that it would be hard to put a modern spin on what is essentially comic book mythology by this point.  Thus Batman’s history was no different as the hero was born on that night in Crime Alley, just as Superman hurtled to Earth in a spaceship from dying Krypton.  In fact the origins of most of DC’s major heroes has not been changed at all save for one, the Flash.  Some commonalities still remain, but many are different.  In a way it makes sense, as Barry Allen had about twenty years of down time before he came back into mainstream continuity, and the lessons learned from the last days of the silver age taught that there were certain things important about the Flash’s history, but some that needed a touch-up.  In particular is the end of the silver age, the somewhat confusing trial of Barry Allen that helped lead to his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The importance of Eobad Thawne to Barry Allen is a relationship that needed to be maintained though, as important to Barry as the Joker is to Batman or Lex Luthor is to Superman.  Although other villains have more visibility, it is Thawne who is the true arch-nemesis of Barry, plaguing him throughout his existence in one way or another.  As a modern and updated telling of Barry’s nemesis, this is the story that demanded to be told in the new 52, and it is the one which is being told now.  It should be said that the Flash is often one of the heroes that tends to be a bit below the surface in terms of popularity, and it can be easy to see why.  The nature of his stories are a bit more lighthearted than some others, but when it comes to Thawne it doesn’t matter.  Drama must prevail.  The story of Thawne is one that has been teased at for a while now, but one that is still in its infancy in this story arc.  Barry has to deal with his father, has to be there for Wally, and shows signs of reigniting the traditional relationship with Iris, but this is all about the setup for the showdown with Thawne.

In so doing this issue shows that the story line is still in its early stages, with Thawne’s group of villains playing a larger role here than Thawne himself.  What is supposed to be a big story is therefore somewhat diluted by the slower rollout as well as not really changing much from the regular script of this series.  It is fun and does well for the hero, but the the dramatic payoff still seems to be far enough away as Barry deals with the mundane (mundane for a superhero that is) before the bigger fireworks start.  This issue will probably become necessary reading after we see whatever finale is ahead for hero and villain, but for now stays true to the performance of the series, good but not great, with a decent amount of fun.

Story: Robert Venditti and Van Jensen Art: Brett Booth
Story: 8.6 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy

Review: The Flash #41

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theflash041If there can be said to be one common complaint about the Flash and his own series, it would be about the magnitude of the character’s adventures.  By comparison to other heroes who often get thrown into bigger battles and bigger conspiracies, the Flash mostly seems to stay at home in Central City dealing with the usual foes from his Rogue’s Gallery.  The stories are usually fun enough and of an overall good quality, only that there is something missing to move them from being good to being great.

If the big scale story telling is something which is missing from the series, then this new story arc might be the one to do it.  For a lot of heroes and their books, it seems as though Convergence acted as a bit of a brake to forward momentum for the series, but in the case of this title it has taken a little taste of what has come before and expanded on it.  It should be said though that there is probably no better way to push the Flash forward than to give him his arch-enemy to deal with.  While Thawn/Reverse-Flash/Professor Zoom was introduced before Convergence this is the story arc that is going to tell the first major battle between the two since Flashpoint (which threw DC into the new 52).  The setting is a simple enough one, Barry is still trying to crack the case of the death of his mother, and visits his father in prison to tell him that he has new information that might help clear his father’s name and to find the true killer.  Barry knows that Thawn is involved, he just doesn’t know who that is and therefore what that means.  Instead he is poking around at parts of the truth.  At the same time his father is involved in a prison break that sees a few of the Rogue’s Gallery making an attempt for freedom.

While it remains to be seen what will happen with the story arc, the setup could not be better.  The story telling is very clever as it tells the story in a way that the reader gets to experience the mystery just as Barry does.  Of course the reader knows that Thawn is coming, but that is really their only advantage over the character.  There are a few other clever moves as well, such as using members of the Rogue’s gallery that are not as well known, and thus less likely to steal the show from the bigger enemy.  As it stands this is shaping up to be the best Flash story since Flashpoint, and for any fans that have been looking for a place to get on board, this is it!

Story: Robert Venditti and Van Jensen Art: Brett Booth
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.1 Recommendation: Buy

Patty Spivot’s Over/Under Reaction to the Future Flash

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Patty Spivot received a new life with DC Comics‘ New 52. Part of the gimmickry with the New 52 was to add a bit of “will they or won’t they?” to their titles by separating old romantic couples in the DC universe and replacing them with others. This is one of the easiest tricks of the gimmick, as there is a certain amount of tension as previous couples are kept close but still necessarily separate. Thus Lois Lane was replaced with Wonder Woman and Iris West was replaced with Patty Spivot. Previously she had been an assistant in Barry Allen’s crime lab and had played a relatively small role in his history, with fewer than 100 appearances in comics compared to nearly 600 for Iris, but of all of a sudden she was one of the two main leading female characters in this title.

theflashThe last story arc before the Convergence company wide crossover dealt with the replacement of the present day Flash with a future version of the character. The present day Flash was thrown into an alternate dimension influenced by the Speed Force, and the Future Flash was brought to the present day. This other Flash was much more brutal, eager to fix the errors of his past with a utilitarian outlook, reasoning that killing or maiming one in the present was better than if hundreds or thousands died in the future. Patty and Iris eventually become aware of his actions and confront him over it. When the present day Flash returns from the alternate dimension he is able to put most of the harm back to normal before settling back into regular life.

Except that his regular life is thrown off when Patty reveals that she cannot be with him anymore because he reminds her of the murderer. This is an over reaction based on the character that had been established, one that had been deeply in love with Barry, and it seems as though it was thrown in so that there was an easy avenue to wrap up loose ends before the hiatus. While this is an over reaction, there is an under reaction which is not really explored at all in any of the issue, and probably because it was mostly overlooked.

theflashAs was previously mentioned, the Future Flash, though still Barry, acted and behaved very differently, and was in effect a completely different person. Although intimacy is not explored in the mainstream comics as much, as two adults in an adult relationship it is reasonable to think that they would have had sexual relations with each other at some point, especially as they share the same bed. Although there is obviously no precedent in real world law for time travel, this would easily fall under the overall umbrella of sexual assault or sexual violence. If a person posed as another in order to have sex with anyone, then that would be considered rape. That it is two different versions of the same person is not really relevant, and in reality Patty would be aware of this violation more so than Barry might be, especially upon his return.

Thus the over reaction to Barry as having the face of a murderer makes little sense, but having the same face as a person that raped her would be much harder to live with.

Review: The Flash #40

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theflash040That Convergence is coming is perhaps the most ironic for the Flash of all DC characters.  It was after all Flashpoint, the company wide crossover, that took the old DC into the new 52.  This crossover focused somewhat on Barry Allen and his attempt to stop the effects of the Reverse-Flash on destroying the continuity of the DC Universe, which had left millions dead and Earth without its true heroes.  The move left many series somewhat hanging as the abrupt cutoff forced some stories to be condensed and versions of characters to be erased.  It is now Convergence’s turn to exact this fate on this series, even if its effects are not as drastic.

This issue picks up where the story arc had left off.  Future Barry was on the verge of becoming a homicidal maniac by killing or maiming every villain that he had ever failed to catch, while present Barry was still stuck in the land of the Speed Force.  With the end coming, at least until June, it was time to wrap up this story and to move on, and this was done in this final issue before the break, only perhaps in an overly efficient way.  As with many stories condensed into such time frames, it feels as though the series would have done better with a couple more issues to deal with the heavier issues involved, but here they were disregarded in order to wrap up the plot.  The plot serves as a way to introduce a major villain as well as to reintroduce another, and even yet another that might be back at some point (though might simply be forgotten.)  In the process the two Flashes resolve their dispute in a spectacular way, and there is even some closure for present Barry.

If that seems like a bit much for one issue, its because it kind of is.  The series is not really well done by with this wrap-up, especially as this story arc started off with such an interesting concept, even if that concept was an abandonment of the focus put on science throughout the first three years of this series.  This is a wrap up but it leaves the character a bit too contained, with no stories to directly follow.  Two months of Convergence will dominate and it is likely that the Flash will figure in prominently, but for now this is left on a bit of a mediocre low.

Story: Robert Venditti and Van Jensen Art: Brett Booth
Story: 7.7 Art: 7.7 Overall: 7.7 Recommendation: Read

Review: The Flash #38

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tf38covAlthough a popular enough character in his own right, the Flash never seems to get the big fireworks when it comes to attention surrounding the character.  There are never big relaunches of the character, bestselling authors are never brought in to give the character better recognition and marketing rarely focuses on the Scarlet Speedster. Some of this is duly earned, as the appeal of the character is just as much there as it is for some of the bigger names at DC, even if the Flash is able to hold down a monthly title quite consistently.  What this means is that many of the stories for the character tend to go unnoticed, with the present story arc being an obvious example.

There are two main stories going on in the story arc, as future Barry Allen has pushed the present Barry Allen into the speed force, expecting him never to return.  This leaves future Barry Allen in the present eager to undo all the mistakes that he knows happened in the future.  This is the more gripping side of the story, as the usual deontological outlook of most heroes is thrown aside as future Barry looks for the greatest good, even if that means a somewhat brutal version of cleaning up his own past.  The other half of the story has been somewhat stagnant, as the Flash that we know has been stuck in the Speed Force, a strange land populated by dinosaurs and robots.  While this has failed to grip as tightly, it picks up a lot of momentum here as it provides some background for the setting before the heroes head out into the thick of it. It ends up being a mix of something like the series Manifest Destiny but being explored by steampunk time travelers.  Although it is only touched on here, it has good potentially to match the other half of the story in the coming issues if handled correctly.

The series continues here to show that it should not be as disregarded as it on the company level, or even by the entire medium.  As the only speedster that can continuously hold down a monthly series, there has always been something special about the Flash, and while the science is often not that hard, there is at least something to it when philosophy is mixed with science.  This series deserves a look by anyone looking for something a little bit outside the box when it comes to their superheroes.

Story: Robert Venditti and Van Jensen Art: Brett Booth
Story: 8.6 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy

52 Reviews, Part 4

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So, for the fun of it, I collected all 52 DC #1 issues. And I’m offering up my final reviews of the entire group. Keep in mind, though, that I’m generally a Marvel fan and, while I’m working may way through DC’s recent big events, I’m only up through the middle of Countdown and I haven’t read any of DC’s non-event comics in a long time, so I’m coming at these stories with a bit of a disadvantage in terms of chronology and character knowledge. Since DC is certainly trying to attract new readers, though, this makes me come at them with a perspective similar to their hypothetical new fans… Tomorrow or the next day, I’ll have a post on my overall thoughts on the whole reboot.

All Star Western #1 (DC) – I was prepared not to like this too much. I liked Jonah Hex as a kid, but I hadn’t read it since then. And I generally don’t like anything Western. Add to the mix that Hex wears a Confederate uniform and is anti-science and anti-urban and there’s no reason I should’ve liked this. And yet I loved it. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti tell a very well-written tale that incorporates Western tropes, Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes and the mythology of Gotham City. It all fits together very well, although a possible turn with the villains of the story could upset me if it goes the way it looks. I could probably do without another dead hooker story, but since it’s a Jack the Ripper homage, I’m okay with it in this case. It’s hard to argue that Moritat’s art isn’t perfect and while I don’t usually notice color artists in comics, Gabriel Bautista’s work is good enough here to get a shout out.

Story: 9.5 Art: 10 Overall: 9.75

Aquaman #1 (DC) – Aquaman is a character I’ve never really liked. I bought all the jokes about how lame he and his powers were, so I never really paid much attention. Which played me right into Geoff Johns’ hands in this one. This is a funny comic book, maybe the funniest of the entire New 52. It makes fun of all of those jokes and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It also puts all of those jokes to rest and shows us that Aquaman isn’t the joke we think he is, he’s much more powerful than that. This issue also sets a new paradigm for the character and is a great way to re-introduce him to the world.

Story: 10 Art: 8 Overall: 9

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 (DC) – Hands down the Batman books are the backbone of the New 52. Every one of this is good to great and they give us a lot to look forward to. This is the worst of the bunch, but it is still readable, entertaining and looks good.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Blackhawks #1 (DC) – My deceased father was a childhood fan of Blackhawks and he always talked about them, even into his 60s. They weren’t really ever around much in my comic reading days, so I was interested in giving this one a shot as a way to connect with my dad’s comic book tastes. I think he would’ve liked this one and I thank the creators for giving me that connection to my father once again.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 (DC) – Another character I haven’t read much of since my childhood is Firestorm. The way the character(s) work here is quite a bit different, so far, than what I remember. The issue is pretty good and Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone do some pretty strong writing in terms of tackling stereotypes and race. I will say the ending to the issue left me a bit confused, but hopefully that will be cleared up next month.

Story: 8.5 Art: 8 Overall: 8.25

The Flash #1 (DC) – This one was a bit of a spoiler for me, since I’ve only read major DC events up to Countdown. I had no idea Barry Allen was back. This is a pretty nice story with a good mystery and a pretty awesome last page. Brian Buccellato’s art is quite good, too.

Story: 8 Art: 9 Overall: 8.5

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 (DC) – The Green Lantern comics have also been pretty strong across the board and this one adds to that. The story here is quite interesting and leaves with a pretty good cliffhanger that will definitely have me back next issue.

Story: 8 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

I, Vampire #1 (DC) – Wow. That’s really the best word to describe this, which I think is the best issue of the entire New 52. And I generally hate vampire tales. But this one is so well-written and so beautiful that I am now officially hooked on this series. The plot has such a great apocalyptic feel to it that I find myself wondering if the old I, Vampire tales were quite this good. I don’t remember them ever getting to this level.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Justice League Dark #1 (DC) – Magic tales are not usually my cup of tea, but DC seems to have been getting them right in recent years and this is no exception. Unlike most of the new issues, this one really is the start of something new and it is a good beginning that really makes me want more. There are some amazing visuals in this book, particularly the June Moone splash. Some of the dialog and text is superbly written as well, such as the line: “The reek of skinned babies and sliced eyeballs.” Man, is that creepy or what? There’s more where that came from.

Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9

The Savage Hawkman #1 (DC) – No question this is the weakest book of the week. For one, I’ve never really been a huge Hawkman fan, but this issue is confusing, makes no sense at times (Hawkman starts off by shooting his old costume) and doesn’t look very good at times. It’s not terrible, but with all the other great comics DC put out this week, this one pales in comparison.

Story: 6 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.25

Superman #1 (DC) – George Perez re-introduces Superman here with a tale told in a throwback style with lots of third-person narration, a nostalgic tale of Metropolis’s history and a strong introduction to the themes and supporting characters in the series. Oh, and there’s some kind of epic battle with a fire-monster alien, too.

Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.75

Teen Titans #1 (DC) – Another tale launching a new team with introductions to some of the team members, this one is entertaining and has a lot of potential. Scott Lobdell does much better here than on Red Hood, so much so it’s hard to believe this is the same writer as that crap. Red Hood looks even worse now that we see that Lobdell can write a strong female character (in this case Wonder Girl).

Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8

Voodoo #1 (DC) – This issue conflicted me the most this week. After two weeks with controversies over female characters and their depictions as weak or nearly naked, it was disappointing to open this issue and see a half-naked stripper jump out at me. And then to see page after page of half-naked strippers for the entire issue. But Ron Marz shows that he isn’t writing as simplistically as you might expect. The opening page, as Brett pointed out to me, says “Are you ready gentlemen? Because this is why you’re here!” as if the near-nudity is meant as a tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended) thing and a slap at the fans who buy books for that purpose. But I kind of got the same feeling from this as I got from a story on Fox News where they condemn pornography while showing a clip from a porn movie. Marz does make sure to show us that the female characters in the issue are, at a minimum, intellectually, physically and even morally superior to the male characters (except for maybe the end of the issue where moral superiority drops off). This is definitely a comic where the female characters are the only characters that matter, but I wonder if that same point couldn’t have been made by having Voodoo work as a waitress instead of a stripper, since that would’ve fit the logic of the story just as well.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Heroclix – Barry Allen Flash

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Wizkids has released a preview of it’s latest creation for the DC 75th Heroclix, Barry Allen Flash.

Heroclix Barry Allen FlashFrom the Wizkids website:

Front loaded Hypersonic Speed eventually gives way to Barry’s “Around the World” special power which allows for some pretty interesting tactics.  A Flurry special power that allows you to place Barry where he’ll do the most good is an incredible asset to any force!

Of course, you may not even see Barry’s special power as he’s not going to be an easy target for your opponents.  Even if they are somehow able to catch him, hitting Barry’s 18 Defense won’t be easy thanks to his front loaded Super Senses! And after that, Barry applies his knowledge of speed tactics to good use in the form of Combat Reflexes!