Resistance is Futile

Final Crisis: Resist

The global superspy organization Checkmate is in dire straits — many of their agents, including Mr. Terrific, Sascha Bordeaux, Fire, and former JLA sidekick/teleporter Snapper Carr, are working to secure their Antarctic facility from Darkseid’s forces, when they’re unexpectedly taken down from the inside, leaving only Mr. Terrific, Snapper Carr, the Thinker, and Talen Khalid uncorrupted by the Anti-Life Equation. Snapper’s now the only person able to leave the facility, as he teleports around the world gathering intelligence and striking minor blows for the resistance. Snapper runs into Cheetah, the Wonder Woman villain, a few times — she’s also free from Anti-Life’s influence — and he finally brings her into the Antarctic hideout after he gets his Cat Scratch Fever on with her. Still, after Snapper catches a virus that shuts off his teleportational powers, they’re all trapped in a locked-down base with no way out… unless Mr. Terrific can persuade an old enemy to join the fight.

Verdict: Thumbs up. This is one of the few “Final Crisis” books I’ve seen so far that really makes things look hopeless — we at least see a few characters, namely Fire, Ice, the Titans, and Gorilla Grodd, who’ve been enslaved by Darkseid. So far, I haven’t seen a lot of that in the other books. Also, this story has a lot of really cool espionage elements — appropriate, since Checkmate is an espionage organization.

Justice Society of America #20

The Earth-2 Justice Society invades Earth-1, with their version of Power Girl in an insane rage to get at our local version of PG. There follows a great deal of fighting, for little real benefit.

Verdict: Thumbs down. Listen, the “Gog” storyline has been going on way, way long enough without adding a mostly-pointless diversion right in the middle.