REVIEW: Brightest Day #13

Brightest Day #13 is in stores this week, and this is going to be a tough one to discuss. The book wasn’t what either of us were expecting and continued in very much the same vein as issue 12. This time around the focus is on Hawkman and Hawkgirl and their Hawkadventures on Hawkworld. Something significant to their history may have gone down, but as you’ll see it may not be that simple given the context.

Spoilers ahead.

PTB: I know you love Hawkpeople so let’s get to it… Love actually seems to be a big part of this issue. Love between Hawkman and Hawkgirl opens the portal of bones, and it goes to Zammaron? This is the homeward of the violet battery of the Star Sapphires, correct?

Just when things seemed to be coming together, the portal opens to a planet we haven’t seen a single panel of in the series.

KevinMLD: This issue blows. The only way any of this could end up being cool is if the random cat-people who are battling the monster forces of a vaguely Egyptian foe turn out to be a Thundercats reboot. Hawkman is even wearing Lion-o’s weird gauntlet glove thing. Does Warner Brothers own Thundercats? If not, this story was a total waste of time. Seriously.

I just don’t care at all about the constant murder and reincarnations of the Hawks. I don’t care to see them tear apart and torture their opponents for information. It’s not heroic or interesting. It’s not even that I don’t like Hawkman or Hawkgirl. I actually normally do, but I REALLY don’t like them as they’ve been presented in Brightest Day. Bring Aquaman and Aqualad back. Focus on the core story.

I’d rather talk about any other DC book that shipped this week than this one. It was a huge disappointment for the second issue in a row.

PTB: I’m going to take as positive a view of this issue as I can. It’s an OK story. Much in the vein of last issue’s exploration of the Martian Manhunter’s story, this one makes strides on the Hawkpeople front. I just don’t see how this is going to tie back in to the larger story.

Unfortunately, I know the only reason I’m giving this book some credit is because of residual good feelings from Paul Pope’s Hawkman story in Wednesday Comics. It honestly piqued my interest in the character, and before this series I knew nothing of the death and rebirth angle. Speaking of all the deaths and rebirths, is there any chance Hath-Set is staying dead here?

KevinMLD: No idea. The reincarnation angle is new as of Geoff Johns’ first attempt to reboot the character in JSA just a few years ago. It obviously worked since we’re trying again so soon. I have no idea if Hath-Set is a classic character or was introduced in that JSA reboot. If he’s a classic, he’ll be back. If not, he may stay dead because no one but Johns will notice.

PTB: The cover is one of the better (and more appropriate) images from the series. I have to say I was expecting a different image featuring Batman, but I guess that’s for issue #14 given the ending here with Deadman and Dove. Batman…the white ring has been waiting for Bruce Wayne. What’s your feeling on this? I know you follow the Bat-titles pretty regularly.

KevinMLD: There’s zero chance Batman is the White Lantern. He’s already getting a new costume and direction. Beyond that he’s already been given a green, yellow, and black ring. I suspect before all is said and done he will also wear a white, red, and blue ring at least… None of it will stick. I had been thinking maybe he’d be offered all of the rings, but I cannot think of a reason he’d be perfect for an orange one and for the life of me I cannot remember what powered the Indigo tribe.

PTB: I can’t help but think this might be a way to keep Bruce Wayne special in an international coalition of Batmen.

KevinMLD: This would be true.

PTB: Also, the Indigo tribe is powered by compassion. We talked before about the clone of Bruce Wayne appearing as a Black Lantern during Blackest Night. Are we heading toward to a Black Lantern Batman versus a White Lantern Batman?

KevinMLD: I really doubt it. I think the clone’s body was set on fire. I may be remembering that wrong though. I’m pretty confident that Batman’s tie to Brightest Day will be brief. No one gets to change anything about Batman but Grant Morrison for now.

PTB: I really believe Lex Luthor would have been a more interesting choice for the white ring after reading Action #894.

KevinMLD: I just don’t believe the White Lantern will come from a book not written by Johns. I really believe it will be a character who is not on the chess board right now… Like Resurrection Man in this issue. He came out of nowhere but it was cool to see him.

Meanwhile, over in DC’s other bi-weekly book, Justice League: Generation Lost, Maxwell Lord has hired Magog to stop the ex-Justice League International. Wasn’t his mission to stop Magog from starting a war or something?

PTB: I think that’s right. Max Lord was essentially charged with stopping Kingdom Come from happening. This association with Magog may not directly reflect him trying to complete his mission. It’s hard to know his motivations; he is a villain, right?

KevinMLD: Currently, he’s a villain. In the 1980’s he financed the Justice League. Currently, he’s made the world forget he even exists. He’s doing evil-looking things, but they could try and turn him back face before that story ends.  He’s done some pretty bad things though.

Read our thoughts on:
Brightest Day #12 / Brightest Day Halftime Report

More on the series can be found at our Brightest Day hub.