CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART FOUR: Mr. Oz

The enigmatic Mr. Oz. Who is he? What are his goals? It would appear that he may actually be Ozymandias from the Watchmen. But is this really true? Or is he someone else? Someone sinister? Someone benevolent? Well, one thing we know for certain is that this Mr. Oz had been watching Superman for quite some time. Far longer than he, or anyone else, suspects. Some people, like me at first, thought he first appeared in DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1. But he did not. He first appeared in SUPERMAN I#32, a whole TWENTY issues prior to the publication of DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1.

So, what was this mysterious individual doing all this time? Watching. Watching and manipulating. Testing Superman for a purpose only he knows and we can only speculate. Let's examine these appearances and see if we can tell us what they mean. Beginning with SUPERMAN I#32...

It would appear that Clark has met Mr. Oz before and was some sort of student of his. And Oz, of course, knows Clark is Superman. Interesting.

From SUPERMAN I#34...

As we can see here, Oz has kept track of Superman's life, from the beginning right on up to now. He remarks about how Clark somehow still has hope, despite the number of tragedies that have been thrust upon him. This is also the first indication that Oz has been "collecting" prisoners for far longer than we knew about. Could the captive be Dr. Manhattan, who we all believe right now to be the instigator of REBIRTH? This is unlikely, but it Oz did have him captive, it would indicate someone else is the "mastermind" of what is going on. Someone else who wants hope, love, friendship, experience, and legacy eradicated from the DC multiverse, particularly from Earth-0.

Up next, SUPERMAN I#35...

The villain seen here, the Machinist, mentions here that he is working for Mr. Oz. This takes us as far back as the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths multiverse, when the Monitor was supplying carious villains with their tech. So, the Machinist is likely just another one of Mr. Oz's tests for Superman to see if he prevails and still has hope for the future.

Next is SUPERMAN I#38...

In this epilogue, once Superman prevails over his foe, Mr. Oz preps a mysterious package to be sent to Clark at the Daily Planet. Note the character sitting under the spotlight. Checking the issue, this is Ulysses, Superman's foe from the storyline. He has clearly been taken from military imprisonment (shown earlier in the story) and is now a part of Oz's collection of important inmates. Interesting.

And finally, we have SUPERMAN I#39...

A homeless woman mails the package for Oz, who rewards her with a nice, warm meal. By the end of the issue, Clark gets the parcel and opens it, only to find a blank journal...

Curiouser and curiouser....

CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART THREE: Superboy-Prime

Ah, Superboy-Prime. Dreaded by most. Liked by some. Superboy-Prime came from Earth-Prime, the one that existed prior to CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. But his homeworld was destroyed, along with everyone he loved. After INFINITE CRISIS, he's been searching for his version of Earth-Prime, believing 100% that it is out there somewhere in the restored multiverse. And he doesn't care about the cost. He doesn't care what he has to do to find it. He'll even destroy other worlds, as he did with Earth-15 during COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS.

Prior to the rebirth of the DC Universe in FLASHPOINT #5, Superboy-Prime had been trapped within the Source Wall by Conner Kent and Supergirl in TEEN TITANS II#100. That's a tough place to be. The Source Wall is a wall that exists at the edge of the multiverse. It serves as a boundary between what we can observe and the Source, a vast cosmic power that controls and determines all of existence. Anyone who tries to pass through it ends up bound to the Source Wall for the remainder of time. However, thanks to events in GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3 from 2014, everything and everyone from the Source Wall has been freed because of Black Hand. This includes Superboy-Prime.

So, where is he? He's likely not a happy little world-killer.

It should be noted that we did not actually see Superboy-Prime escape the Source Wall along with everyone else. But if everyone else escaped, then it is reasonable to assume that Superboy-Prime did as well. It is foolish to think otherwise. However, we may very well have seen him break free on-panel, specifically on the final page of GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3.

Now, granted, that doesn't look anything like the hand belonging to Superboy-Prime, but it must be noted that the Source Wall has been known to mutate those exposed to it. A prime example of this was shown in JUSTICE LEAGUE #23.1 in a scene where Darkseid is transformed after exposure to the Source Wall and given his god-like powers. Perhaps this has happened to Superboy-Prime? If true, this could be looked upon as the next step in the evolution of the character. Then again, perhaps not. In any case, if everyone else was freed from the Source Wall in the annual, then so must Superboy-Prime have gained his freedom.

So, where is he? He's likely not a happy little world-killer.

It's certainly possible he could be working with Dr. Manhattan, the presumed architect behind the creation of the New 52 DC Universe. Superboy-Prime thinks the world, even the universe, should be a certain way. His way. He has suffered a rather intense amount of emotional trauma that has twisted his sense of justice. He sees the heroes of Earth as corrupted and ineffective. He even believes some of them should simply not exist because they didn't on his own world. So perhaps he decided to help rid this "false Earth" of its love, of its strong relationships, and of its legacies. He decided to weaken everyone on this "false Earth" in every possible way to make them even more ineffectual than he already sees them to be.

But how could he help do this? Well, Superboy-Prime is extremely powerful in his own right, as he once literally punched reality, creating a chain reaction that altered various events. In addition, since he was once fused to the Source Wall, he may have obtained some of the power of the Source itself, as Darkseid did. With this power, he could have assisted Dr. Manhattan in restructuring reality during FLASHPOINT #5.

I've mentioned before that Superboy-Prime thinks that certain people shouldn't exist for one reason or another. Most certainly the top choice is Superman. Superman had it all. A loving wife, close friends, and a heroic life, all things Superboy-Prime would covet for himself. Superman even has legacy. So the first thing he would do is eliminate everything in Superman's life that made him who he was. And that's what happened. In the aftermath of FLASHPOINT #5, Superman was no longer married. He didn't even have an intimate relationship with Lois Lane. His ties were mostly destroyed. Oh, some of them were still there, like Lana Long, but greatly the bonds were diminished. He was younger, a whole lot less experienced than he was before. And with his most important ties severed, his legacy was gone.

Wally West is certainly another top choice. Wally led the other speedsters against him during INFINITE CRISIS. They pulled him into the Speed Force to trap him there. So eliminating Wally would aid him considerably. All speedsters in the DCU have ties to the Speed Force, in some manner. Since super-speed is one of Superboy-Prime's powers, there's a connection there. Just different. And since he had been pulled into the Speed Force physically, Superboy-Prime could have used it to entrap Wally West within it, thus ridding himself of not only a powerful foe, but also the world of a greatly loved hero. In addition, a great many other speedsters have seemingly been eliminated: Johnny Quick, Max Mercury, Jesse Quick, Impulse, and each and every descendant of theirs.

Supergirl is another good choice. In the New 52, Supergirl is much angrier than she was prior to FLASHPOINT. At first, she didn't like being around humans, although in time that changed. Her anger was so great that she ended up being sought by a Red Lantern ring and made a member of their corps in GREEN LANTERN I#28 (New 52) for a short time.  She also had a very rocky relationship with her cousin, Superman. Superboy-Prime likely hates Supergirl, not only because of her ties to Superman -- ties he never had -- but because she still exists in the DCU despite having been killed during CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.

It should be noted here that Supergirl's alternate earth counterpart Power Girl of Earth-2 has also been vastly changed since FLASHPOINT #5. Like Superboy-Prime, she survived CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. She survived, ZERO HOUR, INFINITE CRISIS, and more. But unlike then, Power Girl no longer remembers who she truly is, that she was the lone survivor of a world that no longer exists.  She was the sole legacy of her world, and she always will be. Even when her ties are restored after each multiversal reset, they still aren't the same as they originally were. But presently, Power Girl is a different woman living in a different universe, and she has yet to have her true memories restored, if such a thing will even happen at this point. Another character diminished in Superboy-Prime's eyes.

Oh, but then along comes pre-Flashpoint Superman and his wife, Lois, thanks to events in CONVERGENCE #8. And with them is their young son, Jon, who has recently become Superboy. Jon is a great symbol of hope, and with him, Superman and Lois live happy, fulfilling lives. Jon is mostly definitely someone Superboy-Prime would hate and want gone for good.

Only time will tell if any of this has happened or will come about. But Superboy-Prime is out there somewhere. You can be certain of that. And it's only a matter of time before he stops watching and finally begins to act.

CRISIS OF CONVERGENCE, PART SIX: Earth-462

Little is known of Earth-462. It was the home of versions of Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and Batman from the television shows in the 60s and 670s. During WWII on this world, Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl fought alongside Green Arrow, Robin, and the Flash against Per Degaton and Baron Blitzkrieg. Several decades later, while Wonder Woman continued to fight crime all over the world for the Inter-Agency Defense Command, Batman and Robin were active in Gotham City. Just moments prior to the collapse of this universe in INFINITE CRISIS, Brainiac stole a piece of it and placed it underneath a dome on Telos, alognside various other cities from across time and space.

COMMENTS: The only appearance of the city of Earth-462 was in FUTURES END #41. Nothing else was shown of this city in any of the CONVERGENCE books. The Batman of this world was among the characters seen by Hawkman in Brainiac's grid, putting this in continuity.

I'm not sure who the character is being pinned by Wonder Woman in that first image, nor the one just above her leaving the energy trail.

CRISIS OF CONVERGENCE, PART FIVE: Earth-395

Earth-395 was where baby Kal-El's ship landed in medieval England. His planet had been destroyed over a millennia before it happened in the main universe. However, he was still found by farmers, only he was raised to be a blacksmith. He attracted the attention of one Lady Loisse, the daughter of his village's former protector, and Baron Luthor, an oppressive land owner. After Luthor found Kal's ship, he had a suit of armor made from its metal. He also invoked a privilege where he could take to his bed any lady on her wedding night, so he took Loisse from Kal after the two wed and used his kryptonite gemstone to keep Kal at bay. Unfortunately, things got worse when Kal discovered that Luthor had beaten Loisse to death during a rape attempt. Kal became infuriated and took up arms against the ruthless, despicable land baron. He led a rebellion,and in final battle with Luthor, the two enemies stabbed each other with their swords (Luthor's was made of kryptonite gemstone).

However, just seconds before his demise, Brainiac spirted Kal away, along with the area, and placed it within one of his domes on Telos, alongside the other numerous cities he had stolen from time and space. He healed Kal and then left the city to its own devices.

FUTURES END #41: Kal was seen by Futures End Hawkman within the grid of cities along with other denizens of other domes.

COMMENTS: Kal's only appearance was in FUTURES END #41. He did not appear in any of the CONVERGENCE tie-ins or the main mini; however, since he was seen in the grid in this issue of FE alongside characters that did appear in CONVERGENCE, this makes the scene in continuity.

It was also rumored in the story that Kal's sword went on to become Excalibur.

CRISIS OF CONVERGENCE, PART FOUR: Cap's Hobby Shop

Cap's Hobby Shop was a place where townspeople gathered to listen the advice Cap gave on building models and other hobbies. A few of these citizens were Casey the Cop, Binky, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sugar Plumm, and Cecil "Spike" Wilson.

CONVERGENCE: SUPERGIRL: MATRIX #2: Ambush Bug and Supergirl (the Matrix version from post-Crisis) happened upon the city containing Cap's Hobby Shop. They quickly came upon Casey the Cop, who was out foraging for food in the wake of a zombie outbreak. Casey mentioned that he, Binky, Sugar, and Spike were the only humans left in the city. Before they could be overrun by the undead, Ambush Bug teleported himself and Supergirl out of the city, leaving Casey alone to cover their escape.

COMMENTS: Why in the holy nine rings of hell Brainaic thought that Cap's Hobby Shop would even remotely be worth his time and consideration is beyond me. I mean, they couldn't possibly survive in a battle with any other city he took. And I mean any. Even Captain Carrot could kick Casey the Cop's ass. Maybe Dean Martin was an iteration of Superman? Yeah, sure, right.

CRISIS OF CONVERGENCE, PART THREE: The Bottled City of Kandor

Kandor was the capital city of the planet Krypton, until it was stolen by Brainiac several years before Krypton's destruction and shrunk down to miniature size to best fit his collection. Superman eventually recovered the former capital and place it in his Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping until a way could be found to restore Kandor to its proper size. However, at some point just before or during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Kandor was once again stolen by Brainiac, only this time he transported it to Telos, the planet containing numerous other cities he had stolen from various alternate realities and timelines.

CONVERGENCE #3: Kandor resisted the commands of Telos to fight for their lives against the champions of other cities. To force them to comply, Telos killed their champion, Nightwing (aka Van-Zee, Superman's lookalike cousin). The angered citizens of Kandor proceeded to open fire on Telos, but all this did was infuriate Telos enough to slaughter them all, leaving no one left alive in Kandor. This was his example to any other city that decided they would try and resist his demands.

COMMENTS: Kandorian Van-Zee and his partner Ak-Var took up the identities of Nightwing and Flamebired and fought crime in Kandor in SUPERMAN FAMILY #183, inspired by Superman and Jimmy Olsen, who both had taken those identities during a visit to the bottled city in SUPERMAN I#158.

CRISIS OF CONVERGENCE, PART TWO: Angor/Earth-8

Angor. AKA Earth-8. Home of Lord Havok and the Extremists (Gordon, Dreamslayer, Dr. Diehard, Tracer, Brute, Carny, Death Angel, Barracuda, and Meanstreak), They were so villainous that, at one point, they turned their world into a nuclear wasteland.

CONVERGENCE: THE TITANS #1-2: Like everyone else trapped within their respective cities on Telos, the Extremists were commanded to fight the champions of another city in order to survive. In the case of the Extremists, they were transported to the city of pre-Flashpoint Gotham. They separated in order to do the most damage and began attacking the city. Dreamslayer, Lord Havok, Tracer, Gorgon, and Dr. Diehard attacked the docks, until the arrival of the Titans, Arsenal, Starfire, and Donna Troy. Dreamslayer of the Extremists decides that it would be amusing if the Titans fought each other instead of them. So, he offered Arsenal his heart's desire: The return of his deceased daughter, Lian. But only if he killed Starfire and Donna Troy. But, Arsenal instead grabbed Lian and took off, heading for his bunker. Dreamslayer followed him and placed Lian back into the timestream from which he had plucked her. Arsenal gives in and attacked the Titans via remote controlled cannons he had bulit throughout Gotham. However, Arsenal changed his mind and started attacking Dreamslayer, who promptly brought Lian back as a ploy to make the hero surrender. He didn't and used an EMP device to displace Dreamslayer's teleportation field, causing him to vanish, leaving Lian still present. Dreamslayer rejoined his compatriots and continued their rampage through Gotham City. The Titans, of course, went after them, but the battle was inconclusive.

CONVERGENCE: BATMAN & ROBIN #1-2: Elsewhere, Carny led Brute, Death Angel and Meanstreak in an attack against the heroes Batman, Robin, and the Red Hood. Carny used an army of creepy killer dolls to take down the champions, who weren't exactly fighting together as a unit. Batman let Brute grab him and nearly kill him, hoping this action would inspire his comrades. It did, and the heroes defeated the four Extremists, who were promptly sent back into the timestream to the moment from which they had been taken prior to their initial capture where they died during the events of Flashpoint.

CONVERGENCE: THE ATOM #1-2: Barracuda of the Extremists was transported to some sort of cave where he took on Ray Palmer, the hero also known as the Atom. The battle was quite vicious, with Palmer losing his hand. The battle ended when Ryan Choi, also known as the Atom, shrunk himself down inside Barracuda's body and rendered him paralyzed. Because he lost, Barracuda was promptly sent back to the time period of his capture.

CONVERGENCE #6-7: Lord Havok, Dreamslayer, Dr. Diehard, Tracer, and Gorgon were summoned by Deimos to the villain's final battle with various champions of the cities, as well as the Wonders from Earth-2.

COMMENTS: I am one of the few people who probably enjoyed all of CONVERGENCE. It was great to me to see all these characters from various different worlds and timelines, most for the first time in a decade or more. However, only one mini-series from this batch did I consider to be extremely bad, and that was CONVERGENCE: THE ATOM. And it was more than bad; it was horrendous. I don't know what writer Tom Peyer was smoking when he wrote this. The only thing I'll say about it is that, at the time period in which Ray was taken, Ryan Choi was dead. In this story, like all other champions trapped within their domed cities, Ray lost his powers...except for his giant hand. Yes, a giant hand. And after his hand gets sliced off by Barracuda, it morphed into Ryan Choi and...trust me. You don't want to know. It was all just plain stupid.CONVERGENCE: THE ATOM should be avoided at all costs.

And I can't tell you how great it was that Lian Harper was brought back, even though it was just for CONVERGENCE: THE TITANS. Her death was so wrong.