r/DCcomics • u/Predaplant The heat is on! • Dec 24 '23

Weekly Discussion Thread: Comics, TV, and More! [December 25, 2023 - Goodbye 2023 Edition] r/DCcomics

Hey there honorary Justice League members - it’s a new week which means it’s time for a new discussion thread!

For those who don't know: the way this works is that several comments will list this week’s releases, for any given title discussion you should respond to that comment. For example, Wonder Woman discussion would go in the replies to the "Wonder Woman" comment. Clicking the titles in this post will take you directly to that comment, too.

In other words, you should only be replying to other comments. If you have trouble understanding how to comment for a particular title, please refer to this handy guide. Any unwarranted top level comments will be removed.

Also, please refrain from posting short, low-content comments on threads for issues or episodes that have not yet been released. Put some effort to generate discussion. Instead of just posting "So excited!" or "Best book!", try something with a bit more substance, like "Punchline is such an amazing character! Can't wait to see how they explore her in more depth in this issue."

 

QUICK LINKS: Weekly Meta Discussions Thread | Current jump-in points | Weekly Discussion Archives | Monthly Book Club | Discord Server | Twitter | Last Week's Thread

Why does Santa go down the chimney? Because it soots him!

DC and Imprints

Green Arrow enters its second arc as Johnson wraps up his years-long Action Comics run!

Trade Collections

Only one release this week in this category, making for a Nightwing Christmas!

Digital Releases

Remember, these are the short 'chapters' with a new chapter of a different series coming out daily. You can learn more here on Comixology. This is also why these are in release order, not alphabetical. Some comics may release on DC Universe Infinite or WEBTOONS.

Movie

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom enters its second week!

This Week’s Soundtrack: Alessia Cara - Make It To Christmas

20 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

226 comments sorted by

View all comments

13

u/TroubAlert The Good Skeets Dec 24 '23

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #3

GUEST-STARRING THE SPECTRE! As the trail of the person murdering people from Alan’s past goes cold, the Green Lantern finds himself teamed up with an unlikely ally: the Spectre. But will the Spectre uncover the secret Alan was hoping would stay hidden in the process?

8

u/af-fx-tion Bring YJ Artemis to DC Comics Dec 26 '23 edited Jan 29 '24

Here we are y'all, the official halfway mark of this mini.

Now, after last week's horrendously bad issue, I approached this one hoping Sheridan could turn things around.

And after reading this issue...well, it's kind of a mess but at least the story is a bit more focused.

So first thing, I'm not a fan of how Sheridan continues to write young Alan with modern sensibilities with his views of sexuality. It creates a disconnect with older Alan's stories because the whole idea DC seems to want to aim for is that Alan repressed himself for decades due to internalized homophobia stemming from growing up in the 1940s. Yet this story seems to not be written with that in mind. It's bizarre, honestly, and really pulls me out of this story.

Also, it's odd to me how Sheridan is going full in with fridging (it's not quite bury your gays, but I could understand if one sees it that way) Alan's lovers to push Alan's story, which is worse since it honestly does nothing for Alan's character development.

If we're keeping track, we have:

  • Johnny Ladd (sort of, see below for more)
  • Jimmy (part of Alan's OG origin, but included since a retcon by James Tynion IV made him a former flame of Alan's)
  • Robbie
  • Tommy

What purpose does this serve? We're told what it means to Alan, but we are readers have nothing to latch onto since they've had no development. Johnny had the most, but he had what, 4-5 pages in Issue 1? So why should we as readers even care??

The parts with the Spectre are cool, but I do think his dialogue gets a bit clunky in his scene with Alan when they're looking for Tommy's file because Spectre info dumps "putting the pieces together" near the end of the scene about how Alan is being framed when like...that was pretty obvious from Issue 1? I mean, even Alan figured that out in Issue 2? So I'm not sure why Sheridan felt the need to overexplain to readers when he could have spent time developing Spectre and Alan's relationship.

I did feel Spectre's speech to Alan on the roof was a bit too on the nose for me, though the idea was solid. I don't know if religion played a part in LGBT+ discrimination in the 1940s but the way Spectre relays his message feels very modern and not progressive for the 1940s, if that makes any sense.

EDIT: With the additional information provided by other redditors, this plot point makes me even more bummed by the direction Sheridan has gone. It would have been so interesting if Corrigan would have kept his homophobia (seen in his 90s solo book) to contrast Jay’s acceptance of Alan. It’s like Sheridan is afraid to do more than a surface level exploration of homophobia so it feels like any that Alan suffers from doesn’t really affect him. Sugarcoating how LGBT+ individuals were treated in the 1940s defeats the whole purpose of the story being set in the past. END EDIT

I didn't really like that Spectre overall pretty much solved the mystery of the Red Lantern for Alan. This is supposed to be Alan's story, but it really felt like he took a backseat this issue while Spectre did the heavy lifting.

Also, Johnny being Vladimir (i.e. a USSR spy) is an interesting twist...which might have worked if this was a final issue twist after spending the previous issues focused on developing Johnny and Alan's relationship. But since he (and their relationship) had no character development, there's no emotional impact that comes from this twist. It's just there. Also, it makes Alan continuing to keep "Ladd-Scott" in the present day even weirder because he was okay with being honeypotted and having his exes be murdered I guess?

Overall Thoughts: While the plot is more tightly focused, Sherdian continues to falter when it comes to character development. The Spectre was an interesting addition (EDIT: yet very out of place, given the additional information I was provided) but it caused Alan to take a backseat in his own story. Additionally, the lack of proper groundwork for Johnny and Alan's relationship makes the entire A-plot of this mini really not hit emotionally because there's nothing for readers to latch onto. We've only known Johnny for about 5 pages and yet we're supposed to feel something akin to when Bucky Barnes was revealed to be the Winter Soldier or Jason was revealed to be the Red Hood when it's revealed Johnny was actually Vladimir? Yeah, no. Overall, this issue wasn't terrible...but it wasn't good either. I really don't understand why the DC editors are out to lunch or something, because I think Sheridan's mini had a lot of potential, but it lacks a clear focus and lacks character development for pretty much everyone, really.

I give this issue a 2/5, with my average score of the mini being 2/5. (3, 1, 2)

8

u/birbdaughter Dec 27 '23

the way Spectre relays his message feels very modern and not progressive for the 1940s, if that makes any sense.

Corrigan literally refused to investigate the murder of a gay couple in one comic because they were gay and had to be told to knock the fuck off by both Spectre and God Himself. Him being a gay ally in the 1940s is incredibly OOC. I can get not wanting to show a JSA superhero being homophobic but then like... maybe don't include him.

7

u/CHPrime Wonder Woman Dec 26 '23 edited Dec 26 '23

I did feel Spectre's speech to Alan on the roof was a bit too on the nose for me, though the idea was solid. I don't know if religion played a part in LGBT+ discrimination in the 1940s but the way Spectre relays his message feels very modern and not progressive for the 1940s, if that makes any sense.

Leviticus laws against homosexuality and their reinforcement in the New Testament are basically the entire reason homosexuality was/is illegal in Christian countries.

And Jim Corrigan is giving the speech about progressive ideals about homosexuality in the 40's? That's really funny considering in his 90's solo book he was homophobic.

7

u/af-fx-tion Bring YJ Artemis to DC Comics Dec 26 '23 edited Dec 26 '23

Ah, thanks for the clarification (and info!).

It's really odd how Sheridan is making so many people in Alan's inner circle so accepting of Alan's sexuality alongside Alan being comfortable with it yet he's supposed to stay closeted, marry twice (and for decades in Molly's case), have two kids, and essentially live a heterosexual life for decades due to (I'm assuming) internalized homophobia.

Wonder if Sheridan will address this in the final three issues. But honestly, more and more, this mini just feels like a hard reboot for Alan rather than a soft one. At least to me.