Review:
This volume collects "Smallville: Harbinger" digital chapters #1-4 and "Smallville: Chaos" digital chapters #1-12. The centerpiece is a reimagining of the run-up to the 1980s classic crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths"
"Chaos" is an apt title for these preludes, as much is happening to our heroes, and none of it is good. Superman and Lois Lane get trapped in other dimensions of the Multiverse, where they witness chaos and destruction. Monitors and Weavers are busy spreading destructive Bleed throughout the multiverse. The 80's antimatter has become the 2010s Bleed, in a clever updating.
Meanwhile on our Earth, a shattered gem is spreading Eclipso clones globally, with a mantra of purging in the name of divine wrath, while Lex Luthor and his yellow-ring-powered mercenary force is seeking to barter with the Monitors before they can destroy our Earth. But is he hero or villain?
Appearances by Booster Gold, Superboy and Supergirl (in sensible pants not a mini-skirt, as the characters comment on too often), and the billionaire-businessmen behind Blue Beetle and Mr. Terrific round out the roster of good guys.
For all the potential, all the promising pieces on our board, the Chaos storyline is outdone by the warm-up act of Harbinger - itself a nod to the 1980s Crisis. This time it's Zatanna and John Constantine, among others. It is the most fun of the collection, with several brilliant twists in the plot, and with strong, consistent visuals that play with the magic/non-magic sides of this coin.
The main event, the Chaos story, pales by contrast. It is filled with chaos and danger, yes, but fails to capture the reader's interest. The cuts between subplots are often rough, and inelegant, especially around Eclipso, while the visuals lack the consistency needed to tie it all together.
In the end, this falls well short of the Crisis name and universe-shaping power of the original storyline, and loses marks for its failed effort to leverage that classic. One and a half capes.
Description:
The fight for the universe comes to a climax in this penultimate chapter of the Smallville saga!
Lois Lane’s newest assignment for The Daily Planet takes her to the Antarctic headquarters of the Holt/Kord Supercollider Project; but unbeknownst to Lois, Kord Industries has a new last-second investor—and Lex Luthor always has an ulterior motive. When the facility is sabotaged, the supercollider causes a bleed in the multiverse itself, stranding Lois—along with Superman—on a parallel Earth!
Collects: Smallville Season 11: Chaos #1-4 and Smallville Season 11 Special: Harbinger
Authors: Bryan Q. Miller
Artists: Agustin Padilla, Daniel HDR
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: May 31 2016
Parental Rating: PG
ISBN: 9781401261597
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