Convergence #0: Part Story, Part Atlas

It all starts with Superman.

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That’s probably as it should be, as the Man of Steel is central in most of the epic DC Comics events. You just need to be aware that he’s really vital in Convergence #0, which is essentially a Superman and Brainiac story.

Writers Dan Jurgens and Jeff King and artist Ethan Van Sciver give us what appears to be a pretty standard confrontation between two archenemies that gets steadily more mysterious as it goes. It’s also the kind of thing that would boggle the mind of any non-comics fan, but given the central premise of Convergence itself, it’s pretty safe to say not too many folks will be choosing this series as their first super hero comic.

Van Sciver gets to depict Superman mostly with a five o’clock shadow as he goes up against every version of Brainiac we’ve ever seen, which must have been fun to draw. The layouts keep us as disoriented as the hero himself, never quite sure exactly what’s real or what’s really going on. What is clear is that there’s an even larger threat pulling Brainiac’s strings, which is a sobering thought in and of itself.

The ending, which ensures that only the reader gets the answers that Superman is seeking, would be weak sauce in a normal comic, but this is a #0 to a major event. That pretty much excuses it for existing mainly for exposition. And even if you aren’t sold on that line of thinking, you’re probably going to enjoy the last part of this issue: 10 pages that explain exactly which times, worlds and characters we’ll be seeing along the way. Your favorite is in here (unless it’s Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns, maybe).

There’s enough intrigue here to keep you interested in what’s going to happen next, and the beauty of this particular crossover is that even if the main title is a dud, the tie-ins promise to be a lot of nostalgic fun. Can’t be too upset about that.

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!

The New 52 Superman is confused. He can’t remember anything other than Brainiac infecting him with the Doomsday virus, and that Vril Dox was involved.

After being told he killed Dox (kind of unlikely, given who we’re talking about), we see that Supes is actually a prisoner of Brainiac in a place beyond time and space. The villain admits that in any reality, he usually ends up defeated by Superman, but others have been able to kill him.

Fearing that Brainiac is after Metropolis, Superman digs down deep and escapes, only to find he’s not in Kansas any more — or on Earth, for that matter. Wandering around in a desert, he bumps into Brainiac again, who changes from his Silver Age appearance through almost every other form we’ve ever seen him in as they talk. He reveals that he’s in charge of the cities on this world, though none of them are Superman’s Metropolis.

Instead, they are cities plucked from all kinds of realities throughout DC history. Not one to be denied the truth for very long, Superman gets filled in on how Brainiac’s master shaped this giant but desolate world as a holding place of sorts for cities from timelines fated to end. The two of them have a discussion about the ethics of imprisoning people even if it saves them from ceasing to exist, and Superman gets a little punchy.

Their fight ends when Brainiac reveals that his master went to collect a city from Superman’s Earth but did not return. He sends Superman back and wipes his memory, which stinks for him. The final page sees Brainiac take on a new form as he resolves to determine which cities deserve to survive and return to the universe while the others are wiped out. In other words, if you got your hopes up that your favorite DC time period was back to stay, you might end up heartbroken.

But hey, at least there’s a chance!

Which cities are involved? Here’s the list and who you’d find there:

Pre-Crisis 30th Century Metropolis ( Legion of Super-Heroes, v. 1.0)
31st Century Metropolis (Legion of Super-Heroes, SW6 version)
853rd Century Metropolis (Justice Legion Alpha)
Altanta, Georgia (Hex during his post-apocalyptic period)
Bizarro World (Bizarro, naturally)
Bottle City of Kandor (Superman’s original people)
Cap’s Hobby Shop World (Sugar and Spike!)
Central City, Tangent Universe (Tangent Comics heroes)
Durvale (Atomic Knights)
Earth 2, Post-Flashpoint Universe (The most recent Earth 2 heroes)
Earth-A (Lawless League)
Earth-C Minus (Justa Lotta Animals)
El Inferno (Justice Riders)
Electropolis (Lady Quark and Lord Volt)
Fawcett City, Earth-S (Captain Marvel and the Shazam Family)
Follywood, Califurnia (Captain Carrot and his amazing Zoo Crew)
Pre-Crisis Earth-One Gotham City (Silver Age Batman)
Pre-Flashpoint Gotham City (Modern Age Batman)
Flashpoint Gotham City (Flashpoint heroes and villains, plus Modern Age Flash and Reverse-Flash)
Gotham City, Batman Beyond Universe (Terry McGinnis Batman)
Gotham City, Gaslight Universe (Steampunk Batman)
Gotham City, Injustice Universe (Characters from the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game)
Gotham City, Just Imagine Universe (Stan Lee’s versions of DC heroes)
Gotham City, Post-Flashpoint Universe (New 52 Batman)
Gotham City, Red Rain Universe (Vampire Batman)
Hub City, Earth-Four (Blue Beetle, The Question and other Charlton heroes)
Pre-Crisis Earth-Two Metropolis (Golden Age Superman)
Pre-Zero Hour Metropolis (Modern Age Superman)
Metropolis Earth-Three (Crime Syndicate)
Metropolis, Kingdom Come Universe (Characters from Kingdom Come)
Metropolis, Superman Generations Universe (Descendants of Superman and Batman)
Metropolis, Superman Red/Blue Universe (Two Supermen from one wacky Silver Age story)
Moscow, Russia (Red Son Superman and others)
New York City, 35 Years Later Post-Flashpoint Universe (New 52 characters turned into evil cyborgs)
New York City, Angor (The Extremists)
New York City, Earth-A.D. (Kamandi)
New York City, Earth-X (Freedom Fighters)
Qward, Anti-Matter Universe (Pre-Crisis Weaponers of Qward)
San Diego, California (WildC.A.T.S.)
Skartaris (Warlord)
Vanishing Point (Rip Hunter, Waverider and the Linear Men)

Next: Exclusive: Character pages from Convergence: Infinity, Inc. #1

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