52, My thoughts so far

So 52 has reached week 20. That seems like a milestone, so I decided to write down a collection of opinions about the individual storylines going on thus far, possibly a few casual predictions (very likely completely wrong) about what'll happen next. I'll try to avoid any major spoilers for the current issue, but I can't promise anything, so be warned.

Montoya and the Question: This is probably my favorite ongoing storyline thus far. I admit that sometimes the dialogue can get really awkward, especially when the writing starts channeling a bad Dashiell Hammett. But I really like the characters and I really like their interactions. The Question seems humanized here in a way that I haven't seen him humanized in a long time. I've always thought he had one of the most alien/inhuman perspectives in the DCU which makes him occasionally hard to empathize with. However here, there is a nice balance. He's still strange, crazy and not quite right, but there's more clearly a man underneath.

Renee's downward spiral is working for me too. I occasionally think there's a bit too much pandering to the lowest common denominator with regards to the portrayal of her relationships, but I love that she's a strong woman. She's competent at her role even as her emotional life goes down the tubes. I like that, despite my comment above, her sexuality is portrayed as a part of her but not entirely who she is.

Most importantly though, this is the first time in a long time that I've read something that had a male and female partnership that was strictly platonic. And I love it. There's chemistry between them and by now, it seems like there are strong emotions as well, but they're the emotions of friendship and camaraderie. I love their interaction. I like his role as older brother/mentor. I really hope those theories about him dying and her taking his place are wrong, because I'd love to see their relationship evolve further. They're a fantastic partnership.

Batwoman: We haven't seen much of Kate right now really. Just a few scenes. But I'm hooked. I like her. A lot. I've heard complaints that she gets first introduced through her sexuality, her relationship with Renee. On one hand I understand the complant, but on the other, honestly, I think she's introduced in the way that new characters are supposed to be introduced. Through their relationships with previous characters.

So far I can't say much about her character, but from what we've seen at least she's quick, fiery and intense. She's got a lot of sexual chemistry with Renee, which is appealing. She seems to kick ass as the Batwoman. This is all I need for starters. I'm really looking forward to seeing the upcoming issue with her and Batman.

Black Adam and Isis: Initially, I hate to admit this, but I wasn't too enthralled with the Kahndaq story. Black Adam is interesting, but preferable to me in small doses. Much to my surprise though, it started to grow on me, becoming one of my favorite parts o the comic.

I think part of that is Isis. Adrianna is a character that should be incredibly cliched, and is, but somehow she's working for me. I think it's the humanizing effect on Adam. (Anyone who can provoke hairline worries from Black Adam is okay in my book). It's also fascinating to me that when he brought her to Billy, he wanted her to be given the goddess's powers. To be more powerful than he is.

I like seeing her explore her powers and potential as Isis. It's wonderful to see characters that just genuinely want to do good. Sure she's searching for her brother (hopefully he'll be the Osiris we see in Teen Titans), but she's not letting her failure keep her from doing good work. I would read her comic series.

And I'm really glad that Billy's crazy spells seem to have been a one-time occurrance.

Ralph Dibny: If you'd ever told me I'd find Ralph hot, I'd think you were crazy. However, this Ralph is hot. He's fiery, intense, passionate, driven, a bit crazy and something of a hypocrite and I'm just fascinated.

Honestly, and this is probably going to get me in trouble, I always thought Ralph and Sue were something of One-Note wonders. Their adventures were fun, but not terribly enthralling. They're likeable, but they were never going to be more than pleasant diversion characters.

While I had problems with certain elements of the execution of Identity Crisis, over all I thought it was a good story. I was hooked, beginning to end. The portrayal of Ralph and Sue at the beginning pushed all my buttons the right way, and the end made me hurt.

But Ralph's a star now. He's fascinating. The moment where he confronts Booster (and I maintain there is a big difference between them, Ralph may have wanted fame, but he'd never have left a friend in need in the lurch for a publicity stunt, I think. Not a friend in as bad a shape as Ralph was. But I digress) was stunning visually and emotionally.

I'm really fascinated to see where this one is going.

The Resurrection Cults: Now this idea intrigues me, but so far the execution has fallen a bit flat. I don't understand why someone as sensible as Cassie is involved. I get she's grief-stricken, but this seems to go against her nature. The bit with Sue is interesting, but I think all the bits of Ralph fighting cultists and going "Oh my god, you're a child" are way too heavy handed.

The "Devem" stuff interests me though.

Steel and Co.: I'll be honest, the Steel storyline thus far hasn't been doing much for me. I like the character but I find Natasha grating and I can spare no real interest in the conflict between them. Lex Luthor's plan is intriguing me.

This issue is the first time Steel's story has interested me so far. It's good to see him using and even appreciating his new powers, and the twist with Luthor is promising.

I just hope they keep Natasha on the backburner.

The Great Ten: I've heard some complaints about inherent racism in some of the character concepts and they do seem to have a lot of merit. But I also think that they have the potential to be very promising characters, beyond the stereotypes involved in their creation. So far I've found them interesting in Checkmate, so I'll give it some time before I formulate my own opinion.

Booster Gold: Evil Skeets is the awesomest thing ever, and as unlikely as the actual possibility is that Skeets could find the direct paternal ancestor, I still think it was a good move. Daniel is intriguing. He's Boosterish but without a lot of the baggage. I can't put my finger on why I like him, but I do. I definitely don't think he's dead yet.

And again, evil Skeets is awesome.

the Space Trio: This is another storyline I was initially apathetic about (I don't care much about New Gods, unfortunately) but somehow suddenly I'm eagerly anticipating the next installment. I know it's not Lobo. Lobo's a character that I can take in very small doses (and usually then only in Warrior, where his over-the-topness was balanced by the sheer cracky joy of everything else) but that last bit about the origin of the eye? Awesome.

I'd also forgotten how much I like Buddy Baker.

Supernova: I find Supernova mildly interesting, but I have no real patience with the "Who's behind the mask?!" type stories. I connect to my favorite heroes based on the man/woman behind the mask. I prefer my heroes to solve the mysteries rather than to be the mysteries.

It's probably why I'm so happy they made a point to introduce Kate by her civilian identity first. It's much easier to get a handle on the woman as well as the hero that way.

Clark Kent: Though he's no longer Superman, Clark Kent seems to be everywhere in the DCU. And that's how it should be. :-)