The Multiversity: The Society Of Super-Heroes: Conquerors From The Counter-World #1 Review
By Steve Lam
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Chris Sprouse / Inkers: Karl Story, Walden Wong / Colorist: Dave McCaig / Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual / Cover: Chris Sprouse, Dave McCaig
The Multiversity continues with The Society of Super-Heroes: Conquerors from the Counter-World #1. Yep, that’s a mouthful alright. This second installment one-shot within The Multiversity series depicts an invasion of Earth-20 by Earth-40 counterparts. Though not as mind-bending or “meta” as The Multiversity #1, this issue is still equal in fun. With beautiful illustrations that give it a very “pulp” retro feel, it’s another winner in the series.
Spoilerific Recap
The story starts off with quite a long narration from the point-of-view of Anthro. He’s been summoned to meet with Doc Fate at his mysterious obelisk-of-a-building. Upon entering, he’s greeted by a group of heroes: the Blackhawks, a team of female expert pilots; the Mighty Atom, a.k.a. Al Pratt, a teenager who seems to have the ability to change density and also produce a “deadly atom punch”; Green Lantern, a.k.a. Abin Sur, who has the appearance of the stereotypical look of the Devil. As Doc Fate finally enters, Anthro and the team are quickly given the reason as to why they’ve been gathered — a parallel Earth, Earth-40, is invading Earth-20 and they’re the only ones who can stop it. Doc Fate christens them the Society of Super-Heroes (S.O.S.), basically Earth-20’s Justice Society of America. At the same time, in another location, we meet Earth-40’s Vandal Savage. And I think he’s literal with his name because he bites the face off of one of his minions just because he didn’t like the underling’s tone. Savage’s plan is to absorb Earth-20 and all other mirror Earths.
We quickly fast-forward to five years into the future. An on-going brutal war has been waged and Savage’s arsenal of zombies, robots, and suicide troops have devastated Earth-20. In a last stand, at Doc Fate’s fortress, the Temple of Niczhuotan, the Mighty Atom is blasted through the doors. With his face burned, Doc Fate comes to the rescue to calm him. The Mighty Atom, in shock, starts to mumble about how The Multiversity comic book that Doc Fate told him to put down all those years ago was truly cursed, and that Abin Sur has been killed by “that fear thing.” Suddenly, Earth-40’s Blockbuster breaks through the doors. The Mighty Atom, mustering as much strength as he can, goes up against Blockbuster. Doc Fate moves into his plan to unlock the Gate of Fate via his machine.
Meanwhile, Vandal Savage is flying overhead and has targeted Doc Fate’s fortress. Savage’s other plan is to also kill Anthro via a piece of the meteorite that made Savage immortal. But the S.O.S. doesn’t go down that easily. The Blackhawks launch an airstrike on Savage’s airship. Lady Shiva, an Earth-40 villain, goes kamikaze into one of the Blackhawks. This buys enough time for Felix Faust, another Earth-40 villain, to land and lead the zombies toward Doc Fate’s fortress. As Faust enters, Doc Fate quickly takes out the zombies and, in a surprising move, kicks Faust in the crotch. The Mighty Atom unleashes his atom punch and kills Blockbuster. Doc Fate then hooks Faust to a machine in an attempt to find out Savage’s plans. Suddenly, Parallax, in the form of a pterodactyl skeleton, breaks into the fortress.
On the ground, Lady B, a Blackhawk, fights with Lady Shiva. But backup arrives and Lady Shiva is quickly taken out by a barrage of bullets from the rest of the Blackhawks. At Doc Fate’s fortress, Parallax’s power of fear gains on both Doc Fate and the Mighty Atom. About to fail, Green Lantern appears, with an incapacitated Count Sinestro, and destroys Parallax. Doc Fate volunteers to cross the threshold, so that he can recruit heroes from other universes. But Green Lantern informs him that he has already been assigned to pursue the threat at its source.
Outside, attaching a piece of Earth-20’s immortal meteorite to a spear, Anthro prepares for his confrontation with Savage. As Savage finds him, Anthro gains the advantage and plunges his meteorite-tipped spear into Savage. Anthro makes the decision to kill Savage, so that the war can be ended. Anthro’s final words of narration are a warning to the multiple worlds facing the same type of war. And he feels sympathy for the ones that don’t have superheroes to protect them.
Best Moments
- The introduction of zombies and killer robots. This issue is like an homage to all the classic B-movies.
- Seeing Vandal Savage act like, basically, a savage and kill his minion.
- When Doc Savage uses the most old-fashioned method of defeating an opponent — a kick to Felix Faust’s family jewels.
Overall Verdict
The Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes: Conquerors from the Counter-World is an extremely fun story that pays homage to many classic forms of media. Even its overly long title is reminiscent of B-movies. The art is spectacular. Pulpy and vintage, the illustrations feel like they were drawn on yellowing parchment. This type of art is rare in this day and age. Other than the dynamic paneling, the whole book felt like it popped straight out of the 1940s.
My only gripe is that the final battle between Anthro and Vandal Savage felt a bit underwhelming and short. I mean, we’re talking about two immortals who have lived thousands of years. I was expecting some epic hand-to-hand combat. The two had to have picked up multiple forms of fighting throughout their lives.
Also, I’m feeling like DC, in modern times, is not great at making plot connections. What happens here is also something that happens in their current Futures End September Event series. Now, whether this is Grant Morrison’s fault or an editor at DC, I don’t know. However, the only hint of a connection to The Multiversity #1 is the cursed comic book that shows up at the beginning and mentioned again towards the middle. DC needs to do more interweaving of stories, so that they can create a much more complex and entertaining tapestry.
Don’t let the negatives keep you away from a great story though. There are far too many good things going on that they end up overshadowing most of my concerns. The Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes: Conquerors from the Counter World #1 (I just love saying that title) is definitely one of DC’s highlights for this year. You’ll have a lot of fun reading it.