Convergence #2 Review: Like Son, Like Father

It’s not a spoiler to tell you that the Earth 2 heroes are going to try to get to the bottom of whatever is going on in Convergence. After all, it’d be pretty silly to have them all captured for the entire series.

As Jeff King and Carlo Pagulyan remind us in the opening pages of Convergence #2, these are heroes who have been through a lot. Namely, their world was invaded by Darkseid twice, and they’ve got both physical and emotional scars as a result.

You certainly can’t call them quitters, and a big part of this issue revolves around their determination to free themselves from the clutches of Telos, especially once they see what the robot/planet/whatever is capable of and the effect his tournament of cities is having on their denizens. Green Lantern gets a nice moment to shine along the way.

The emotional focal point is definitely Batman, who goes looking for help in one of the versions of Gotham City he spies. If you know who the Earth 2 Batman really is, then you don’t need me to tell you why it’s a powerful moment when he meets the pre-Flashpoint Batman, and Pagulyan draws an excellent unmasked Bruce Wayne following this meeting as he contemplates the encounter he just finished.

King leaves us with a cliffhanger and a new version (I think) of an old villain who makes a very interesting claim. Of course this guy has been known to be a bit deceptive in the past, so we’ll see.

The only real qualm I have with Convergence #2, and perhaps with the event as a whole, is that an awful lot seems to be happening off-panel. We’re told of some titanic battles yet we don’t witness them, and while the story that’s unfolding is more interesting so far than just a bunch of world vs. world clashes, I still think the fanboy in me would like to see some of these throwdowns.

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!

A flashback shows us the impossible choice the Earth 2 Dick Grayson had to make in the last days of his world, one that ends with an ironic tragedy.

On Telos, Dick is still being held prisoner along with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash and the Avatar of the Red. They chide Telos over the fact that some of the cities are reluctant to fight, but he has ways of persuading them.

Superman discovers that while Telos is concentrating on the cities, his bonds are weak enough for him to break free, and the others get loose in short order. Green Lantern is able to tap into the power of the planet to lend a hand, but it drains him in the process.

Dick and Thomas Wayne butt heads over the latter’s use of Miraclo, and when Telos returns for Round 2, Superman is able to fight him to a standstill … until the villain simply leaves. Green Lantern reveals that linking to the planet gave him some knowledge on how to defeat Telos, but also that the key to pulling it off was somewhere underground. Batman tells the others to search for a ruined city that was supposed to be the key while he takes Grayson with him to a nearby version of Gotham City.

Once there, the duo finds its way into the Batcave since Thomas finds the secret entrance exactly where he’d put it himself. Dick is startled by the appearance of Oracle on the computers there — since he was married to the now-deceased Barbara Gordon of Earth 2 — and doesn’t seem too hip to the idea of alternate Earths. Alfred takes the news of a Thomas Wayne Batman in surprising stride, telling Dick to let the two Batmen talk privately.

In the meantime, Flash is scouting around, and the other Earth 2 heroes discover that the circumstances on the planet have made the regular citizens of some of the cities kill each other to try to survive. Batman and Dick say goodbye to Batman and Alfred, who give them a Batmobile and a Kevlar suit for Dick. Bruce Wayne is noticeably affected by the chance to talk to his “dad.”

Finally, the other heroes stumble across a man being chased by Telos’ drones. After he thanks them, the man says his name is Deimos, and that he can lead them off the planet. The only Deimos I know is a foe of Warlord, which probably means he’s not to be trusted. Guess we’ll see!

Favorite Moment: The meeting between father and son Batmen has to be it. Really nicely done, and King lets Pagulayan show Bruce pondering the meeting in a gorgeous full-page panel.

Final Thought: Convergence has really only scratched the surface of having the various world interact, but the final page of this issue suggests that’s going to change soon. The spotlight on Batman was cool, but you have to figure we’re going to get an increased role for Superman, or more likely Supermen, once Brainiac returns.

Next: Previously: our review of Convergence #1

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