Lazarus Planet: Omega #1 – Mark Waid, Gene Luen Yang, Writers; Riccardo Federici, Mike Perkins, Billy Tan, Artists; Brad Anderson, Sebastian Cheng, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This has ultimately been the oddest DC event in recent years—telling its whole story in only two issues, spinning out of another event, and devoting most of the event to a series of anthologies. But despite that, it actually worked pretty well. It’s a big, cosmic adventure that started with the ancient rivalry between a father and son—the Devil Nezha and King Fire Bull—before spinning out and pulling the entire DCU into its orbit. A storm of magical energy has empowered countless people and altered the powers of other heroes, while even Batman himself has been compromised—taken over by Nezha. As the issue begins, the various clans of heroes are battling to take back control of the world.
This makes the story feel a bit scattered at some point, as the huge cast means people are constantly trying to keep up with each other. It does a good job of overcoming that, with the story being grounded in a few key characters. The arrogant duo of Damian Wayne and Monkey Prince are a lot of fun, and Black Alice—who hasn’t been a major player in a comic for over a decade—plays a surprisingly key role as the human anchor the villains need to manipulate magic powers. The action builds, with a surprising sacrifice along the way, but it delivers some great moments—before ending on a cliffhanger again, as the story returns to the finale of Batman vs. Robin for more focused tale. Fun story, just a bit odd.
The backup, focusing on Monkey Prince, nicely ties together the events of this story with the events of that title. As Marcus plans revenge for his mother’s injuries, Shifu Pigsy tells the story of how the Devil Nezha and King Fire Bull went from family to enemies. It’s a tragic tale involving a particularly manipulative Darkseid, with both characters remaining sympathetic while making the worst decisions they possibly could. It’s a good appetizer before a final issue of Monkey Prince that has a LOT to wrap up.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
