Chris
Banned
WARNING!! MAJOR SPOILERS!!
Rather an odd tirck for me, this is really a double review done with Nick. Enjoy.
Angry at their persecution by the US government, the 'sleeper' team trick the US into committing an interdimensional atrocity, destroying an alien ship and causing massive damage to a US city. When the Authority, the Wildstorm universe's self-proclaimed 'higher authority' discover the US's involvement and the scale of the disaster facing Earth, they decide that the US government has forfeited it's right to exist. From now on, they're taking over…
Coup D'Etat: Sleeper. Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings. - Al Pacino, in the role of Satan.
The first issue of the much hyped Coup D'etat plot begins with a disaster straight out of Independence Day. An alien shiftship is falling out of the Bleed (a dimension between dimensions) and is heading on an impact course to Florida. We see in a flashback the reason why – TAO, a supervillain with a very odd style. Tao isn't the kind of man to simply lay waste to a city for the fun of it, or steal nuclear weapons to gain power or money. He's far more interested in seeing what a supposedly civilized and democratic government might do if it accidentally came across some technology it is clearly not ready for. Surely, they'd at least test it extensively, and make sure they know how it works. Especially if this technology had access to the inter-dimensional bleed that regularly poured out problems and threats. Right?
Of course they would. And the resulting destruction proves too much for even the Authority to handle, and millions of human and alien lives are lost. Tao's plan works better than even he probably realized. As a result, the Authority makes the decision we've all paid to see... they're taking over the United States, because the current leadership has used up all its chances. The most intriguing thing about this decision is the fact that they do it with the full knowledge that Tao was behind it. Sure, Tao set the stage, but as John Lynch declares near the end, it was the government's fault for taking such an obvious and risky bait. Just because Tao gave them the technology, doesn't mean for a second that they wouldn't have used it had they gotten it some other way. That the Authority comes to the same conclusion is both refreshing, and also quite a bit frightening. It will be very interesting to see just how accountable the Authority will hold the country's leaders once they take over, and exactly who will take the blame. Something that many Wildstorm titles have is the claim that the President is really one of the lower officials, so who will really take the fall?
The characterisation is excellent. Tao comes across as very cold and harsh, providing a counterpoint to Holden’s near guilt at the carnage. Jack Hawksmoor is shown as a true leader, while the Doctor finally gets over his problems with using his powers. Here, he slows down time for the evacuation, allowing countless lives to be saved. To see him use his powers so creatively, especially in light of the painful reminder that he has limitations early on, is a real joy. Sadly, we don’t really see much of the Sleeper team beyond the first few pages, but, for those of us who don’t know them, it’s not a big loss. Hawksmoor’s grief at the losses and his desperate search for someone to blame struck a chord in me, although I’d have loved to see the discussion the team held about the Coup D'etat. The final page, the Authority’s announcement to the world, is one of the most dramatic cliff-hangers in comic-book-dom.
Personally, I can’t wait for next week…
COUP D'ETAT: STORMWATCH. This issue has the interesting touch of starting before the end of the first issue and taking the daring step of introducing us to a new character while developing the expanded Coup D'etat plot. There is only one plot in this book, but it’s very good. Whether it makes up for the artwork, which is so-so at best, is another question.
Its another normal day for the Stormwatch team. A super-powered villain called Baron Chaos (pretty much a copy of Doctor Doom) has taken over Bulgaria. From there, a little over half the issue is dedicated to showing the Stormwatch team carrying out a carefully planned and executed strike, slowly but surely wearing the seemingly invincible dictator. Through this scene Wright shows new readers how the team works, and highlights the names and abilities of nearly every member of the team. This allows for a completely accessible jumping on point for this series, without bogging the reader down with a bunch of exposition. Stormwatch defeats the villain and accidentally discovers his secret base, leading Santini (the commander of Stormwatch (weatherman) and the principal character) to grumble about how super-powered nutcases always try to take over the world. In one of the worse lead-ups (somehow one cannot imagine the Authority missing it’s cue), the team hear Hawksmoor’s broadcast, informing the world that they’re taking over the US. Adding insult to injury, the reader is treated to President Patrick Kent's response speech to the Authority's threats. Kent, an obvious mirror to Bush, goes straight to calling the Authority “evil” before making up a whole bunch of “almost-words” to try and sound smarter. Grrr.
Don’t let that put you off though. Santini is very quick to realise that his team (which fought and beat the Authority once before) will be target one in the takeover. The Stormwatch team abandon their base in the UN literary minutes before two members of the Authority arrive, to be greeted by the bases self-destruct system. Ouch.
The highlight of this issue, however, is Santini addressing his men as they are on the run from the Authority. This man is hardcore, and he doesn't sugarcoat anything. “If you come with me to fight the Authority, I guarantee some of you will die.” However, we also see a softer side of Santini, at least towards his men. He outlines a way out to everyone for whom it’s a possibility, no questions asked. It’s comforting to see that a man who later guns down the formerly great Baron Chaos (while bound to a chair no less) has at least some compassion inside of him. Having received the entire teams decision to come with him (no surprises there), Stormwatch evatuates Baron Chaos’s base – again seconds before the Authority arrive – and vanish. Somehow, we know that the teams will fight again.
This is a very interesting issue again, but it seems to be at an odd disconnect from the previous Stormwatch/Authority interaction. We know that the Authority were beaten in Stormwatch (4-6), and then there was a quiet discussion (#8) between Jukko and the Midnighter about Finland and finally (#19) Santini asked the Authority to help out with the Citizen Solider problem and the Authority obliged. So why did the authority over-react to Stormwatch and do it so badly? If only two members of the Authority were sent in the first time, both of whom had been beaten in the previous battle, did they not consider that they might be captured and held hostage? Santini’s decision to go underground might have been reasonable, but why not at least try to talk? The Engineer, the only member of the Authority who supported Stormwatch in (#5), helped the other to find them without bothering to argue.
Some nice continuities did come though. We got a reference to Finland and the problems involved with hiding superheroes there.
My major gripe with this issue was the artwork. Neither Flint nor Apollo is as ugly as they’re portrayed here.
By the end of this issue I was aching to see the Authority come to blows with Stormwatch, only to have them miss each other by seconds. However, I'm a patient man. I can wait to see what happens without resorting to some silly melodrama.
Coup D'etat: Wildcats. There are few words I can say about this issue that really capture my feelings, but only one comes to hand: WOW! The art, the story and the dialogue were terrific. Many kudos to the author.
There are three different plots in the comic. The first one is the authority’s ongoing Coup D'etat in the United States. We see some of the most spectacular artwork as Apollo, The Doctor and The Engineer take out different parts of the US infrastructure, identified by a news report (one of the nicest touches of the whole Coup D'etat series is the news reports we overhear) as the US strategic Defence system. One does wonder why the Authority would bother to take out satellites – not to mention how quickly they were replaced after Stormwatch 14-19. It’s a little hard to see what the doctor is doing, to be honest, the picture looks a little wrong, somehow.
The second plot is the reaction of two of the Wildcats, Cash Cole (also known as Grifter) and Mr. Dolby to the takeover. Grifter goes ballistic and convinces Dolby to join him in a stunt to steal a super-weapon from an arms dealer, which they obtain after an adventure. There’s also some interesting conversation between the two over what the Authority means to them personally. Grifter’s plan hits problems, though, when they discover the size of the weapon involved and Grifter tries to convince Marlowe to use his abilities to transport the weapon to the Authority’s home base. After some thought, Marlowe refuses, believing that the Authority's coup won’t last and then the world can continue along the lines Marlowe has planned for it. There’s an interesting argument between the two over what the role of a superhero is; Grifter being a traditionist, while Marlowe (ironically, like the Authority) defines it as helping to save the world in the long term. The two argue until Grifter leaves with a parting shot: “What makes you think they won’t come after you next?”
That leads nicely to the third plot. A contemplative Marlowe teleports himself on to the carrier (a stunt that the Authority should have managed to block by now, having been done at least twice before) and confronts most of the Authority. Marlowe and the Midnighter really don’t get along for some reason – The Midnighter acts more like a thug than normal in these pages (I suspect that many writers don’t get the full depth of his personality). Marlowe’s basic message to the authority works on many levels: No matter the philosophical right and wrong of the Authority’s actions (Marlowe appears to agree with them on some level), their actions will, in practice, have serious consequences. The world is a far more complex place than the Authority knows and their failure to understand this means that their actions will have catastrophic consequences. This does tend to follow previous problems the Authority have had; leaving Gamorra to the mercy of the reminder of the circle (Authority V2 #1) and making it impossible for a new president to appear in some other country. (Authority, V1, #13-17 Naivety). Marlowe is clearly far more of a thinker than Santini or the Authority, forcing the four Authority members to cling to their positions (for some reason the Doctor and Swift are not present), and the Authority are at a serious disadvantage. However, Marlowe is unable to convince them to stop and leaves with a parting warning.
As I said above, WOW! The artwork is far better here than the previous two issues. Apollo, for example, had the indignity of looking like a super-thug in Authority #13-25 and in Stormwatch (#5-6 + Coup D'etat). Here, he looks far more of a hero, as do the other characters. The picture of him blasting a satellite is a beautiful drawing. The cliffhanger page is fantastic – it made me want to read the conclusion at once.
The characters have also improved. The dynamics of the reactions to the Coup D'etat are very different; while Stormwatch had no choice, but to do their duty and react swiftly, Marlowe and co have the luxury of considering their actions before they do anything. Grifter’s preparation (apparently still held in reserve) of an anti-authority plan testifies to the skills and ingenuity of the character. There is little development of the Authority characters, sadly, but the most interesting development is that of Mr. Dolby. The common man (as far as I know, Wildcats is not among the titles I read regularly) is clearly scared of the Authority, being worried about the implications and having a bitter conversation with his mother, concluding that the Authority think they can do anything they want.
So, in six days, it’s the final battle for Washington. I can’t wait…
Rather an odd tirck for me, this is really a double review done with Nick. Enjoy.
Angry at their persecution by the US government, the 'sleeper' team trick the US into committing an interdimensional atrocity, destroying an alien ship and causing massive damage to a US city. When the Authority, the Wildstorm universe's self-proclaimed 'higher authority' discover the US's involvement and the scale of the disaster facing Earth, they decide that the US government has forfeited it's right to exist. From now on, they're taking over…
Coup D'Etat: Sleeper. Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings. - Al Pacino, in the role of Satan.
The first issue of the much hyped Coup D'etat plot begins with a disaster straight out of Independence Day. An alien shiftship is falling out of the Bleed (a dimension between dimensions) and is heading on an impact course to Florida. We see in a flashback the reason why – TAO, a supervillain with a very odd style. Tao isn't the kind of man to simply lay waste to a city for the fun of it, or steal nuclear weapons to gain power or money. He's far more interested in seeing what a supposedly civilized and democratic government might do if it accidentally came across some technology it is clearly not ready for. Surely, they'd at least test it extensively, and make sure they know how it works. Especially if this technology had access to the inter-dimensional bleed that regularly poured out problems and threats. Right?
Of course they would. And the resulting destruction proves too much for even the Authority to handle, and millions of human and alien lives are lost. Tao's plan works better than even he probably realized. As a result, the Authority makes the decision we've all paid to see... they're taking over the United States, because the current leadership has used up all its chances. The most intriguing thing about this decision is the fact that they do it with the full knowledge that Tao was behind it. Sure, Tao set the stage, but as John Lynch declares near the end, it was the government's fault for taking such an obvious and risky bait. Just because Tao gave them the technology, doesn't mean for a second that they wouldn't have used it had they gotten it some other way. That the Authority comes to the same conclusion is both refreshing, and also quite a bit frightening. It will be very interesting to see just how accountable the Authority will hold the country's leaders once they take over, and exactly who will take the blame. Something that many Wildstorm titles have is the claim that the President is really one of the lower officials, so who will really take the fall?
The characterisation is excellent. Tao comes across as very cold and harsh, providing a counterpoint to Holden’s near guilt at the carnage. Jack Hawksmoor is shown as a true leader, while the Doctor finally gets over his problems with using his powers. Here, he slows down time for the evacuation, allowing countless lives to be saved. To see him use his powers so creatively, especially in light of the painful reminder that he has limitations early on, is a real joy. Sadly, we don’t really see much of the Sleeper team beyond the first few pages, but, for those of us who don’t know them, it’s not a big loss. Hawksmoor’s grief at the losses and his desperate search for someone to blame struck a chord in me, although I’d have loved to see the discussion the team held about the Coup D'etat. The final page, the Authority’s announcement to the world, is one of the most dramatic cliff-hangers in comic-book-dom.
Personally, I can’t wait for next week…
COUP D'ETAT: STORMWATCH. This issue has the interesting touch of starting before the end of the first issue and taking the daring step of introducing us to a new character while developing the expanded Coup D'etat plot. There is only one plot in this book, but it’s very good. Whether it makes up for the artwork, which is so-so at best, is another question.
Its another normal day for the Stormwatch team. A super-powered villain called Baron Chaos (pretty much a copy of Doctor Doom) has taken over Bulgaria. From there, a little over half the issue is dedicated to showing the Stormwatch team carrying out a carefully planned and executed strike, slowly but surely wearing the seemingly invincible dictator. Through this scene Wright shows new readers how the team works, and highlights the names and abilities of nearly every member of the team. This allows for a completely accessible jumping on point for this series, without bogging the reader down with a bunch of exposition. Stormwatch defeats the villain and accidentally discovers his secret base, leading Santini (the commander of Stormwatch (weatherman) and the principal character) to grumble about how super-powered nutcases always try to take over the world. In one of the worse lead-ups (somehow one cannot imagine the Authority missing it’s cue), the team hear Hawksmoor’s broadcast, informing the world that they’re taking over the US. Adding insult to injury, the reader is treated to President Patrick Kent's response speech to the Authority's threats. Kent, an obvious mirror to Bush, goes straight to calling the Authority “evil” before making up a whole bunch of “almost-words” to try and sound smarter. Grrr.
Don’t let that put you off though. Santini is very quick to realise that his team (which fought and beat the Authority once before) will be target one in the takeover. The Stormwatch team abandon their base in the UN literary minutes before two members of the Authority arrive, to be greeted by the bases self-destruct system. Ouch.
The highlight of this issue, however, is Santini addressing his men as they are on the run from the Authority. This man is hardcore, and he doesn't sugarcoat anything. “If you come with me to fight the Authority, I guarantee some of you will die.” However, we also see a softer side of Santini, at least towards his men. He outlines a way out to everyone for whom it’s a possibility, no questions asked. It’s comforting to see that a man who later guns down the formerly great Baron Chaos (while bound to a chair no less) has at least some compassion inside of him. Having received the entire teams decision to come with him (no surprises there), Stormwatch evatuates Baron Chaos’s base – again seconds before the Authority arrive – and vanish. Somehow, we know that the teams will fight again.
This is a very interesting issue again, but it seems to be at an odd disconnect from the previous Stormwatch/Authority interaction. We know that the Authority were beaten in Stormwatch (4-6), and then there was a quiet discussion (#8) between Jukko and the Midnighter about Finland and finally (#19) Santini asked the Authority to help out with the Citizen Solider problem and the Authority obliged. So why did the authority over-react to Stormwatch and do it so badly? If only two members of the Authority were sent in the first time, both of whom had been beaten in the previous battle, did they not consider that they might be captured and held hostage? Santini’s decision to go underground might have been reasonable, but why not at least try to talk? The Engineer, the only member of the Authority who supported Stormwatch in (#5), helped the other to find them without bothering to argue.
Some nice continuities did come though. We got a reference to Finland and the problems involved with hiding superheroes there.
My major gripe with this issue was the artwork. Neither Flint nor Apollo is as ugly as they’re portrayed here.
By the end of this issue I was aching to see the Authority come to blows with Stormwatch, only to have them miss each other by seconds. However, I'm a patient man. I can wait to see what happens without resorting to some silly melodrama.
Coup D'etat: Wildcats. There are few words I can say about this issue that really capture my feelings, but only one comes to hand: WOW! The art, the story and the dialogue were terrific. Many kudos to the author.
There are three different plots in the comic. The first one is the authority’s ongoing Coup D'etat in the United States. We see some of the most spectacular artwork as Apollo, The Doctor and The Engineer take out different parts of the US infrastructure, identified by a news report (one of the nicest touches of the whole Coup D'etat series is the news reports we overhear) as the US strategic Defence system. One does wonder why the Authority would bother to take out satellites – not to mention how quickly they were replaced after Stormwatch 14-19. It’s a little hard to see what the doctor is doing, to be honest, the picture looks a little wrong, somehow.
The second plot is the reaction of two of the Wildcats, Cash Cole (also known as Grifter) and Mr. Dolby to the takeover. Grifter goes ballistic and convinces Dolby to join him in a stunt to steal a super-weapon from an arms dealer, which they obtain after an adventure. There’s also some interesting conversation between the two over what the Authority means to them personally. Grifter’s plan hits problems, though, when they discover the size of the weapon involved and Grifter tries to convince Marlowe to use his abilities to transport the weapon to the Authority’s home base. After some thought, Marlowe refuses, believing that the Authority's coup won’t last and then the world can continue along the lines Marlowe has planned for it. There’s an interesting argument between the two over what the role of a superhero is; Grifter being a traditionist, while Marlowe (ironically, like the Authority) defines it as helping to save the world in the long term. The two argue until Grifter leaves with a parting shot: “What makes you think they won’t come after you next?”
That leads nicely to the third plot. A contemplative Marlowe teleports himself on to the carrier (a stunt that the Authority should have managed to block by now, having been done at least twice before) and confronts most of the Authority. Marlowe and the Midnighter really don’t get along for some reason – The Midnighter acts more like a thug than normal in these pages (I suspect that many writers don’t get the full depth of his personality). Marlowe’s basic message to the authority works on many levels: No matter the philosophical right and wrong of the Authority’s actions (Marlowe appears to agree with them on some level), their actions will, in practice, have serious consequences. The world is a far more complex place than the Authority knows and their failure to understand this means that their actions will have catastrophic consequences. This does tend to follow previous problems the Authority have had; leaving Gamorra to the mercy of the reminder of the circle (Authority V2 #1) and making it impossible for a new president to appear in some other country. (Authority, V1, #13-17 Naivety). Marlowe is clearly far more of a thinker than Santini or the Authority, forcing the four Authority members to cling to their positions (for some reason the Doctor and Swift are not present), and the Authority are at a serious disadvantage. However, Marlowe is unable to convince them to stop and leaves with a parting warning.
As I said above, WOW! The artwork is far better here than the previous two issues. Apollo, for example, had the indignity of looking like a super-thug in Authority #13-25 and in Stormwatch (#5-6 + Coup D'etat). Here, he looks far more of a hero, as do the other characters. The picture of him blasting a satellite is a beautiful drawing. The cliffhanger page is fantastic – it made me want to read the conclusion at once.
The characters have also improved. The dynamics of the reactions to the Coup D'etat are very different; while Stormwatch had no choice, but to do their duty and react swiftly, Marlowe and co have the luxury of considering their actions before they do anything. Grifter’s preparation (apparently still held in reserve) of an anti-authority plan testifies to the skills and ingenuity of the character. There is little development of the Authority characters, sadly, but the most interesting development is that of Mr. Dolby. The common man (as far as I know, Wildcats is not among the titles I read regularly) is clearly scared of the Authority, being worried about the implications and having a bitter conversation with his mother, concluding that the Authority think they can do anything they want.
So, in six days, it’s the final battle for Washington. I can’t wait…
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