Customer Reviews

Day of Vengeance (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The issue with this trade is that it really collects two separate but related storylines, both leading into Infinite Crisis.

Judd Winnick writes the first storyline, Lightning Strikes Twice, is a brief story about how Eclipso came to inhabit its current host. It involves a confrontation with Superman and Captain Marvel, but it really seems rushed and a bit contrived. Winnick does present us with a few interesting moments, but this part of the trade is pretty blah.

Bill Willingham, of Fables fame, writes Day of Vengeance, the story of the Spectre and his rampage through the magical DCU. The thing with Dov is that while the writing is fantastic it does not hold up as the mega event it is supposed to be. Instead we get the story of five incredibly minor characters and one silly silver age concept of a talking chimp trying to weather the storm. The dialogue and relationships among the characters are fantastic. You even get to care about Detective Chimp. Detective Chimp... good lord. It is a lot of fun. :)

The last few years have seen the resurgence of Eclipso as a major player in the DC universe and Day of Vengeance sets him up as the de facto villain in a plan to destroy all magic. The first quarter of the book is about Eclipso's plan to control Superman with the ultimate goal being to take hold of Captain Marvel. Apparently Captain Marvel is an even more tantalizing prize than Superman thanks to the fact that his powers are magic based. When that plan fails he acquires a female host and seduces the biggest gun in the DCU, The Specter. Without a host of his own a confused Specter easily falls prey to Eclipso and begins to carry out the objective of eliminating all magical beings. It's left to a handful of DC third stringers along with the indomitable Captain Marvel to take down Eclipso, The Specter and save what's left of the DCU magic beings.

The problem with the story is that there isn't much of a story. Things just sort of happen. The third string magic users include characters I've never even heard of. The only ones I even vaguely know are Ragman and Detective Chimp and those two I only know because I saw their pictures in advertisements when I used to collect comics in the 70's. DOV just seemed rather devoid of emotion and depth leaving me with sort of a `so what?' feeling. As a lead in to Infinite Crisis it may be important and the events of the stories ending may have major ramifications on the future of the DCU but as a standalone story it's just rather unmemorable.

The Spectre has always been my favorite DC comics character ever since the mid 1970's and those rather gruesome stories by Jim Aparo in the pages of Adventure Comics. That said he's always been perhaps the most difficult DC character to write, as over the years he's alternated between being an all-powerful God-like being to a much powered down spirit as in the case of the second volume of his regular series. The character now is in limbo somewhat since he's been separated from Hal Jordan (long a bad idea) and now has no human host...alive or dead. Thus we get the Day of Vengeance storyline with a Spectre who, without being tethered to a host, is somewhat addled brained and easily seduced by Eclipso. Frankly I find that concept difficult to believe.

Eclipso, first having failed to find the right host with a Star Labs Doctor who steals a Lexcorp made battle suit to rumble with Superman before actually managing to possess the big "S" himself, leading to an all out battle with the world's mightiest mortal, Captain Marvel. Marvel finally defeats the Eclipso with the help of the wizard Shazam and the Spectre and then locates a new host, the criminally insane Jean Loring, who is rotting in Arkham Asylum following the tragic events of Identity Crisis. In this female identity, Eclipso seduces the Spectre, who now seems driven purely by instinct, into believing that magic is the source of all evil and that to wipe out evil, he needs to kill all magical beings in the world. This sets him on a path to take out heavyweights such as Doctor Fate and the Phantom Stranger who make little more than cameo appearances in the book. Not wanting to make any sweeping changes, any deaths that do occur are to minor characters.

Now, who stands up to oppose the twins of vengeance? The Justice League of America? The JSA? The Teen Titans? Nope...it falls to the newly created Shadowpact, a group of bench warmers that includes Blue Devil, The Enchantress, Night Master, Nightshade, Ragman, and Detective Chimp! Now, despite these characters not exactly being household names I have to admit I found myself enjoying the story although writers Judd Winick and Bill Willingham struggled to find some consistency, particularly with the Spectre and Eclipso easily thrashing dozens of magic-wielding characters (and turning the Phantom Stranger into a mouse) yet somehow having difficulty with this ragtag group. Of course, a magically turbo charged Captain Marvel bore the brunt of the battle with the Spectre before giving way to Shazam himself in what was the first time I'd ever seen the guy leave his seat. Now that was different to say the least.

The little group did manage to show some inventive resourcefulness, particularly Detective Chimp who leads nightshade to perhaps find the most powerful magical mortal, a teenage girl named Alice who has a rather astounding ability for dealing with the Spectre. This story is a lead-in to the Infinite Crisis story and as such, things are left somewhat unresolved at the end of the story. As to the claim that it will forever change magic in the DC universe, that turns out to be wildly exaggerated. The art by Ian Churchill and Justiniano does push the story a bit above average but this could have been a real winner with better pacing and logic.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Day of Vengeance collects the six issues from the Infinite Crisis lead-in story line of the same name, and also three issues from the Superman comics that, well, lead into the lead-in. Eclipso, a major DC Universe foe, has corrupted The Spectre, God's hand of judgement. As The Spectre begins destroying all the magic (and magic-powered beings) in the world, a small band of third-rate heroes must come together to form a desperate last defense.

Putting aside the contrived corruption of The Spectre, I had a great time with this arc. This isn't an essential read, but it's a really fun one. The use of third-rate, obscure characters like Enchantress, Ragman and Detective Chimp sort of evens the playing field for most readers - you don't need to know what these guys have been up to continuity-wise for the past twenty years. Their essential traits are boiled down here are we get good capsules of who they are. A lot of the credit goes to writer Bill Willingham, who also crafts Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile, a series of his own creation. As the title would suggest, the man has a great grasp on writing fantasy-centric stories, and he uses much of the same thematic elements and humorous beats here.

It's a simple story that's basically comprised of major fight sequences one after the other, and if I have to level a real complaint it's that the battle is resolved but not the war. You can pick up The Infinite Crisis Companion which contains a pseudo-part 7 to this story, but like most comic arcs these plot lines bleed in and out from issue to issue with little concrete resolution. Regardless if you want to try something offbeat but still tangentially related to the overall DC Universe saga, Day of Vengeance is worth looking into.

The Spectre is the Wrath Of God, an immensely poweful entity charged by the Creator of the Universe with avenging the innocent and bringing righteous vengeance upon the evil. Unfortunately, despite all his power, the Spectre isn't the same as God, and can makes mistakes, even become corrupted. The being who served as the Spirit Of Vengeance before the Spectre was Eclipso, who went to extremes in his mission and became wholly corrupt, eventually becoming one of the deadliest villains in the universe. Early in the existance of Eclipso's successor, the Spectre, the forces of Heaven saw that the same thing could happen again, and came up with the idea of splitting the charge given to the Spectre by binding him to a mortal as an 'anchor'. Knowing mortals tempered Spectre's tendency to go overboard, and also enabled him to more directly be a part of the world.

Without going into even more of the character's epic back history, it's enough to say that "Day Of Vengeance" begins with the Spectre totally unhinged. He's lost successive human 'hosts' over the years as they went on to the afterlife or were de-bonded from Spectre; and all the Spirit Of Vengeance's efforts have been unable to stop evil from occuring. And thus we find in Day Of Vengeance # 1 a Spectre far removed from his original purpose: he's now a merciless creature of destruction, killing in retaliation not only for really heinous acts of evil, but for shockingly minor transgressions as well. Into this already volatile situation comes the new female incarnation of Eclipso (the Eclipso entity takes on the gender of whoever its current host is), who has decided not to take on the universe directly, but to influence the unbalanced Spectre into acting on her behalf. Eclipso convinces the Spectre - currently in so much turmoil that he's unable to communicate with the hereafter and is desperately searching for someone to give him his marching orders - that magic is the actual source of all evil in the universe. And thus the stage is set for possibly the most powerful single character DC has ever created to go to war against all magic, everywhere, seeking its destruction.

Numerous characters have sought to change the whole universe; the Spectre is one of the few who might actually be able to do so, especially with the also-incredibly-powerful Eclipso on his side. The Spectre's strikes range across the universe and through adjacent dimensions, and it's at a strange bar on the cusp of various realties - where numerous magical beings have flocked to find a temporary hiding place - that an unlikely group comes together as the Shadowpact to attempt the impossible by opposing the Spectre together. This group - Ragman, Nightshade, Detective Chimp (yes, seriously), The Enchantress, the Oblivion Bar's owner Jim Rook (aka Nightmaster) and its bouncer, Blue Devil - is in way over its heads, but much more powerful characters like Dr. Fate and the wizard Shazam are already involved; and who on Earth is Detective Chimp looking for in a small American town that he claims may be even More powerful than the Spectre??

The 6 issues of the Day Of Vengeance limited series reprinted here are awesome in and of themselves, but if you read only this you're missing out on a lot of the big picture, much more so than with some of the other crossovers. The most important books, by far, to have to go along with this are JSA #s 73-75, available in the Trade Paperback JSA: Black Vengeance, wherein the Spectre takes the fight to the Black Adam-ruled nation of Kahndahq. JSA # 77 (in JSA: Mixed Signals) is also marked as Day Of Vengeance, and it along with JSA 76 from the same volume (marked as an OMAC Project tie-in) actually figure into a few of the paths that were leading to Infinite Crisis. Blood Of The Demon #s 6 & 7 are also Day Of Vengeance tie-ins, although are not, in my opinion, quite as integral to the whole story.

Now, the problem of which order to read the books in, should one decide to get the whole saga: there really isn't a definitive answer, but that's because they've been put together on a flexible framework, where there are several points with the 6-issue Day Of Vengeance in which other events Could be inserted. For JSA 73-75, my best guess is that they happen fairly early, before the catastrophe of Hungary. But the Hungary angle enters midway through issue 2 of DOV, so reading them, say, after DOV # 2 and before # 3 means you're getting things a bit out of order (which isn't nearly as irritating as it must sound actually; a lot of comics nowadays tell their stories in non-linear fashion - DOV # 2 itself flashes back before DOV # 1 to show what happened before the Spectre's rampage began). JSA 73-75 theoretically could fit in between DOV #s 4 and 5, and that may be the order in which a lot of people would like to read them. JSA 77 and the Blood Of The Demon issues are at an indefinate place other than that they happen near the very end of the event. Of course, added on to this in the unneccesary difficulty within DC trade Paperbacks of telling exactly where one issue ends and the next begins - they all flow through like one big book without the issues being divided by cover reprints (like Marvel's collections and the collections of some other publishers are). That works great in collections like "Justice" or "Green Lantern: Rebirth" where it's all one self-contained story, but can be distracting in collections whose issues tie in to issues outside of themselves, or even collections that just reprint several distinct stories. Once you're used to it (most people reading this probably are) it's not hard to figure it out, but I imagine it's a pain in the neck for newer readers (although certainly not enough of a hindrance that it should drive anyone away).

"Day Of Vengeance" - either taken in its entirety or just counting the 6 'main' issues collected here - is a dark and electrifying big-scale epic, with surprisingly effective doses of humor injected liberally (I suppose that making a character named Detective Chimp a main player demands some humor, but I wouldn't have thought the comedic elements would fit well with the overall apocalyptic tone). Leading into Infinite Crisis, this was one of the best arcs from one of DC's most exciting times, and an extraordinary display of imagination (check out some of the 'alternate dimensions' affected by the happenings) and emotionally-charged action.

One of the lead-in mini series' to DC's Infinite Crisis mega event, Day of Vengeance finds a few of DC's older icons in some sticky situations. What happens when the Spectre, the Spirit of Vengeance in the DC universe, is seduced into destroying all the magic forces he can get his hands on? Nothing good, that's what! Since Hal Jordan came back from the dead and is a Green Lantern once again, the Spectre has been left without a human host, which leaves him vulnerable to attack from Eclipso. Soon after that, the wizard Shazam meets his demise, leading Captain Marvel and a host of other magically powered characters including Detective Chimp and the Phantom Stranger, to unite in an effort to take down the Spectre. The story is written by Fables creator Bill Willingham, and features some great dialogue as well as art, but the overall story is confusing. Not to mention that believing a being whose sole purpose is the punishment of the guilty getting so easily tricked into being an evil pawn? I don't think so. There's also a lead-in story from Judd Winick, which in itself isn't anything real special, although that shouldn't be much of a surprise. All in all, Day of Vengeance isn't the best of the Infinite Crisis tie-in's, but it's definitely not the worst (Rann/Thanagar War anyone?).

After finishing Day of Vengeance and Villains United, one inescapable conclusion that quickly came to mind was that both were designed more as vehicles for their own monthly series than an integral part of Infinite Crisis. In regards to DofV, the basic premise of the Spectre's desire to destroy everything magic for being the root of all evil is a bit thin and only loosely ties in with IC. The cast of players, consisting mostly of D list characters, does have an entertaining chemistry and dynamic, though on an individual basis there are stronger elements than others, the most intriguing being Detective Chimp, Enchantress, Ragman, and Nightshade. The appeal of the team as a whole would have benefitted from a reduction in their ranks in order to further flesh out each member's personality, and also with the addition of some star power along the lines of Dr. Fate or Zatanna. This however might have detracted from the book's possible purpose, forming a group of no names for their own ongoing title. Bill Willingham's workmanlike script works well enough, though the overall mystical element could have been explored deeper. One problem encountered when writing about magical characters in general is the overall lack of knowledge by many fans as to the parameters of their powers. It is difficult to effectively write about someone as mighty as the Spectre and involve the reader in it when most really don't know what it takes to defeat him. The concluding confrontation between him and Shazam being a prime example of that. This story may not have tread on any new or exciting magical terrain, but overall was an enjoyable read which also planted seeds for the forthcoming series.

I read this because it was a Prelude to Infinite Crisis, but the story defies logic. The Spectre is known in the DC Universe as the spirit of Vengeance. He is all-powerful, and can see into your soul and view the evil person you are. So it defies logic that he decides to destroy all magic because Eclipso (the very definition of evil) tells him to.

In truth, I never really understood why Eclipso wanted to destroy magic...other than to create chaos. I enjoyed reading about some of the lesser characters in the DC magical universe, and for me that includes the wizard Shazam and Captain Marvel. But the book is light on understanding those characters, and the ending definitely leaves you with little understanding as to what has just ocurred.

I have not yet read Infinite Crisis, so maybe in retrospect it will make more sense. Unfortunately, I doubt it.

I had high hopes for this series. I am a big fan of God's Wrath, but to make the Spectre a horny nut in 2 panels? and then go buck wild and destroy all magic without much reasoning in an instant was ludacris. I understand that the Spectre without a host is pretty much untamed, and that the human host is what helped him make judgments, but come on.....Eclipso took a female form and made Spectre go crazy once aroused. The only thing saving this book was a chimpanzee.....shows how exciting this book was.

Day of Vengence is a six issue series written by Willingham,Countdown to infinite crisis is basically centred around the Spectre and the fact that he has some bad thoughts about magic. Jean Loring, ex-wife of The Atom is transformed into a new version of the villainous Eclipso by mysterious forces. Jean escapes from her Arkham Asylum cell to unknown whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Spectre, the vengeful right hand of God, is now without a host since the revival of Hal Jordan. Eclipso manages to direct the Spectre against the magic,forces declaring it the source of all evil not truce of harmony. The Spectre then vows to destroy all of magic inhibiting the body of it's heroes unfortunetly.In which the Spectre quickly sends off Earth's most powerful magicians to do battle with the evil wrath of god himself eclipso. Only six magically powered heroes take the challenge against this wrath, Captain Marvel and the wizard Shazam help in the battle to defeat him from superman which would otherwise prove fatally impossible to defeat. The plan is through the Enchantress, the group, later renamed Shadowpact, learn of the Spectre was being seduced and corrupted by Eclipso.And therefore plan on what is essentially a suicide mission to find the Spectre (and Eclipso),and ultimately attack Eclipso with overwhelming surprise and numbers and kill her, hoping to free the Spectre before he turns on them. The conclusion is the destruction of the Rock that frees an untold number beings of evil magic back into the world, among them is the "living" embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins,from where the wizard shazam resides in a throne who were formerly trapped in stone statues in Shazam's throne room. The scarab belonging to the original Blue Beetle, which Shazam had acquired from his successor, Ted Kord, lands in El Paso, Texas. Billy Batson, unable to remember his magic word, is seen falling from the Rock above Gotham City. The scene leads directly into Infinite Crisis #1. The Shadowpact, meanwhile, agrees to continue the fight, but will do so without Black Alice, who, as she is still a teenager, plans to return home.The art as always is excellent by Justiniano and Wong. Putting a number of no complaints aside, this special presents the magic heroes of the DC Universe capturing the demons and other beasties that escaped from the exploded Rock of Eternity after the now-crazy Spectre destroyed it and not to mention a lot of other things with it. After the new Shadowpact helped expel Calypso, the Spectre, still without a host, seeks to destroy the remaining Lords of Chaos to further his quest to eliminate all the magic in the universe and chaos surrending it. Nabu the spirit that once occupied Dr. Fate knows that only one severe personal sacrifice will bring an end to the Spectre's reign of terror. But, that won't happen before Zatanna and a bunch other magical heroes expel some demons and get into fighting with them. Captain Marvel is not too prominent towards the ending of the story arc and is rather busy elsewhere unfortunetly.And in the end because of it it has an interesting plot,and a interesting story to go with it and we finally get to see a lot more of the Spectre in completely different light of darkness in this story arc not seen before.