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Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Trinity #16

Trinity #16

Scheduled to arrive in stores: September 17, 2008

Cover date: September 17, 2008

Main Story: "We'll Finish Things Here"

Main Story Writer: Kurt Busiek
Main Story Penciller: Mark Bagley
Main Story Inker: Art Thibert

Back-Up Story: "Scattered to the Winds"

Back-Up Writers: Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza
Back-Up Pencillers: Mike Norton and Jerry Ordway
Back-Up Inker: Allen Passalaqua

Cover Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Reviewed by: Barry Freiman with Neal Bailey and Jeffrey Bridges

Click to enlarge



The good guys (other than the Trinity) are outside fighting the forces of the evil trinity. Inside the castle, the Big Three fight the evil Trinity with all three noting how in tune the three of them appear to be. It's a smack-down. Batman reverses a spell of Le Fey's and her mask is revealed.

At the same time, the Trinity realize that Enigma must be the Riddler of the anti-matter universe. Superman uses his super senses to confirm that Enigma's fingerprints are the opposite of the Riddler's and his heart's on the wrong side. Superman says: "Still, if he's the antimatter Riddler, then shouldn't he be a -". Enigma attacks to stop him from finishing his sentence.

Back at the Hall of Justice, Firestorm is monitoring the cosmic egg. He's curious about the readings and opens a portal to check on the egg. He comes upon mechanical equipment giving out false readings - but Krona and the egg are gone.

Back at the fight, Batman realizes that Despero can't be Despero - he's too agile for Despero.

Despero or whoever he is finally tattoos the Dark Knight. Morgaine le Fey cackles "We've Won!"

To be continued...



Back-Up Story: "Scattered to the Winds"

Tarot frees herself from the mystic spell. As she looks at the mystical tarot cards around her, she realizes the cards are reading the entire world and the world is falling apart. She's about to be axed when she's saved by Gangbuster and Hawkman. Tarot's demon guard attacks the heroes and they quickly subdue him with Tarot's help. .

Tarot tells the heroes that, unless the Trinity stops the world from coming apart, all possible futures are going to be destroyed. Hawkman plunges into a distortion field so he can find the Trinity. He sees them but can't break through just as Despero tattoos the Batman. Everything around Hawkman fractures and all his previous lives separate. Suddenly there's a blinding light in the distortion field.

Tarot and Gangbuster are escaping from the castle. Outside the heroes look at the castle. It's come into full existence - and it explodes!

To be continued...



Barry's Review:

1Main Story - 1: Each of the Big Three's inner monologue is all about how in tune with the other two they are. But again, Busiek fails to prove how they're so in tune. If they say so, it must be true. Except words are just words. They're so in tune that I and the 10 other readers who are still sticking with this title figured out well before the Big Three that Enigma is an antimatter Riddler. That's some harmony - they're all portrayed as equally stupid. And so, alas, is Mr. Busiek.

3Main Art - 3: What more can I say about Bagley's art? At its best, it's the best. Superman's portrayed with a classic Curt Swan look. His Batman leaves a bit to be desired with the short ears but I'd imagine that's more editorial mandate - this isn't the deep Dark Knight who prowls Gotham, it's the team player Caped Crusader. Of course that's the fallacy of "Trinity" - to make the three work together in a story, Bats has to be artistically adjusted to operate in the light. And that's not Batman.

1Back-Up Story - 1: Oh good. Let's tug at the strings of Hawkman's origin yet again. As if his post-Crisis origins aren't contradictory enough. Are all those other past lives off to their respective places in the Multiverse? Probably. The re-emergence of the Multiverse may ultimately help Hawkman of Earth DC to return to his role of space cop. But to give such an important task to Busiek, a.k.a. Mr. Muddle? Hawkman needs Geoff Johns, a.k.a. Mr. Fixer. And I fear he'll need Mr. Fixer even more after Mr. Muddle gets through with him.

4Back-Up Art - 4: Jerry Ordway's Hawkman rocks. Though I'm not a big fan of the red eyes, the helmet actually looks like the metal headgear it's supposed to be. And the wings. Those wings. They look like wings with a metallic tinge - just like they're supposed to be.

5Cover Art - 5: Look! It's the Invisible Plane!

Neal's Review:

1Main Story - 1: We open with more fighting in front of the castle, reiterating that they're fighting in front of the castle. Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman realize that they're connected, in some way, and that when three people form a trinity, it forms a connection that connects.

Superman can somehow estimate to a decimal point the time it'll take for Nigma's device to suck up gas. And why is Nigma helping the heroes? Because, as it's hinted in the story, the Riddler of Earth three is a good gu-

SHHHHH!

Yeah, no one can see through THAT. Or wait, I did in a review about two months ago.

An Escher puzzle as a way to stop two people not limited by a vector (READ: THEY CAN FLY STRAIGHT TO YOU).

Wonder Woman calls Despero a Ho. Not very nice of her. (Yes, sarcasm, letter writers).

Superman needs Batman's instincts to know a guy named Enigma whose heart is on the wrong side is the Riddler from Earth-3? I thought Busiek gave him a super-brain?

Firestorm notes what we've known for some time (IE taking two pages to reiterate knowledge), that the Cosmic Egg is gone.

Despero manages to tag Bats.

So, yes, things happen here, but there is space filler and the story is not enthralling in the slightest. And no, I won't say that the pleasure of this line of story almost being over is an enthralling or good thing. No fun for me here yet.

4Main Art - 4: The work is very strong, as are the backgrounds and even the detail work in the faces that had bothered me so much of late. Now, however, the paneling seems very plain. Maybe I'm just noticing it for some reason because of the broad action in the formal framework, or maybe it's a new problem, but it's still here. Regardless, it's not enough to significantly detract from the experience.

1Back-Up Story - 1: Tangential.

Tarot sees something strange, and then there's a two page draw-in where THE CARDS go nuts. Funny. Thought I saw that a few issues back.

Gangbuster toting an automatic weapon gang members use on the streets, and shooting people. Uh, yeah.

A fight with an ugly, ridiculous gray orc thing. Bored.

Hawkman goes toward the castle and, uh, de-reincarnates. Or something. I don't know. Either way, my guess is that it's arbitrarily mucking with a character that's been arbitrarily mucked with quite enough. If I don't know more than a few salient details about a given DC character, it's been mucked with too much.

Then, the castle falls in. Why? Who knows? I don't.

5Back-Up Art - 5: The art is actually very strong despite what it depicts. That irks me, because you want to see an artist with this much dynamic put into the paneling and detail work doing something you enjoy to read. Collaboration'll do that to you.

Still, can't fault the artist for his subject when it's work for hire.

2Cover Art - 2: This image started at a five. It lost one for the Superman symbol over Wonder Woman. It lost another for Wonder Woman in heels. It lost a third for the fact that the modern Wonder Woman has no need for an invisible jet when she can fly, and for the invisible jet. A cover's supposed to pull you in. This one put me off, even if the image is technically proficient. Bat-Mite can be drawn like this. It's still Bat-Mite. Wonder Woman in heels is to me unacceptable in a modern context.

Jeffrey's Review:

1Main Story - 1: Fight fight fight, reveal Enigma is Riddler from antimatter earth, which was revealed with a 2x4 several weeks ago, fight fight fight, the melding of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, which they previously couldn't handle, now somehow is an asset to them without any reason, fight fight fight, Superman can tell what kind of wave a ray of light has simply by it being fired at him, fight fight fight.

Bored bored bored.

3Main Art - 3: As average as average gets, which I suppose is at least a point in consistency. The art has felt about the same since this series began, and while it's not improving into something I actually enjoy, it also hasn't fallen into something I hate, so... I guess that's something, right?

1Back-Up Story - 1: Oh Nth metal, is there anything you cannot do?

The walls poor blood and Gangbuster shoots a beast and Hawkman hacks at things with his double-bladed sword.

Sword sword sword.

Is there any point to any of this? Really?

3Back-Up Art - 3: As blast-from-the-90s as anything in this book has ever been. I felt like I was 15 again, but not in the good way... in the "this is the best comics can do?" kind of way.

3Cover Art - 3: Of all the females in the DCU, the LAST one you need to be putting heels on is Diana. I'm just saying.

And the INVISIBLE PLANE? Really?

Come on, Jim Lee, I expect better.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2008

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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