Originally published on Patreon
It really feels like we're approaching the end of the series now, as with only one issue left to go it's become a mad dash to reach the end for all of our groups. The team in Gotham are trying to fight their way through a literal army of vampires in order to get to Dick Grayson, Green Arrow and his new allies are arming themselves for an uprising, and Supergirl and her team are facing some of the most powerful beings on the planet as they desperately try to save the world.
The thing with this series is that from the very first issue it's been incredibly grim, and absolutely tense. You've never known who's going to live, you're never left feeling like any characters are safe through plot armour, and we've seen very well put together plans fall apart in the final moments. As such, we're one issue away from the end and I don't know if any of these people are going to live or not. The whole thing could end with all three teams being wiped out and it wouldn't surprise me.
The stuff in Gotham is pretty much what you'd expect from this point in the story, our heroes fighting through whatever stands in their way in order to get to their goal. The plan feels kind of flimsy, and there are times it seems like there isn't even much of a plan at all; but it kind of makes sense that Babs couldn't make too complex a plan. If you've got a big scheme that relies on perfect timing or certain people being there at certain times that can quickly fall apart if you lose someone. Having a more fluid plan, where the end goal remains the same but the bits in the middle can shift around, kind of works better.
It seems like Ollie had a pretty good plan though, and my prediction in the last issue that he'd be getting Swamp Thing to grow him a bow and arrow proved right. The visual, however, is pretty freaking cool, and the masses of wooden stakes and spikes growing out of the plant monster, and the weapons he makes his team, are one of the more memorable images in a series packed with striking moments. Out of the three teams this is the one that feels like they have the better chance of living.
What's most interesting about this issue, however, is what we learn in Australia. Earth is a pretty busy planet in the grand scheme of the galaxy, with a lot of alien visitors and invasions going on. As such, Earth wants to remain neutral in the galaxy as a whole, so Grayson has agreed to allow aliens who want to leave to return home, and Australia is being used as a staging ground to essentially ferry refugees off Earth.
It's here that Supergirl is heading, and her team finds some help in the form of Lobo, who helps them fight of Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian whilst Kara gets onto a rocket and heads above the clouds. She manages to see sunlight, but then the ship exploded. Whether or not she survived, and if she can soak up some sunlight and regain her powers is yet to be seen, but it feels like there's at least a slim chance.
The one thing that the alien situation does, however, is raise the question about the galaxy in a wider context. Alien worlds know that Earth has fallen to vampires. so what does the Green Lantern Corps think of that? Have they refused to step in and do something about it because vampires are an Earth thing, so they don't want to interfere? If the vamps decided to head into space would they get involved then? I'd have liked a little explanation about the GL's to just cover that, but the book still works fine without it.
The big finale is coming next month, and it's going to be a shame to see the series end as it's had some absolutely fantastic moments.
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