Blackest Night #2 *Spoilers*

[darima80]

Edit: Lucas Siegel here, just wanted to explain what just happened. You've got a great discussion going here, so I put a link up on the front page to the thread. Hopefully that helps make the conversation even bigger, and if there's a good response, that's something we'll be trying out a little more often from now on. For now, enjoy the discussion, and remember, SPOILERS AHOY!

You've been warned:

-BL Hawkman sets a trap for Ray Palmer. He's waiting on the other side of the line.
-BL Aquaman makes his first appearance. His whole army (Atlanteans) fear him. Killing begins. Power Levels at 2.63%.
-Interlude. Boston Brand in Gotham. BL Deadman appears.(See BN: Batman)
-Don Hall of Earth. Ri-... Nope, no shenanigans with Don. Hank Hall of Earth "Hawk's gotta do all the dirty work himself."
-BL Dolphin and Tula fight over Tempest. Atlanteans are fish food.
-BL Pariah brings on BL Spectre.
-Interlude 2. Flash/J'onn continue to battle in Gotham. (See GL #44) Hal and Barry take J'onn down using Flash Facts.
-Back at the beach... BL Dolphin battles Mera while BL Tula kills TEMPEST!!! Power Levels 3.43%. BL Tempest rises.
-Interlude 3. Abin Sur's tomb visited by a BL ring.
-Face the BL Justice League: Carter, Kendra, Ralph, Sue, Ronnie and J'onn.

Plus 3 pages of "The Book of the Black" Chapter 1, Verse 1, written by William Hand.

[NickmanPrime]

BL Spectre!?

You gotta talk more about that.

[IvCNuB4]

To appreciate BL Spectre you have to see the 2-page spread of him rising !

There's already a lot of speculation over at CBR on why Dove couldn't be risen. Maybe only those that don't want to be dead can be risen ?

It was great to see Mera taking a more aggresive role and kicking some serious ass ....

[Xanrn]

Well they continue with the butchering of their b-lister and lower heroes.

For some reason I forsee a mass ressurection before the end and then anyone who dies after that stays dead.

[caats]

nobody is gonna stay dead, they just might not kill anybody so often. but a mass resurrection will be cool, and i think expected by most. well, depends on the character i'm sure. obviously i see all the aqua-family being brought back. cause that whole cast of characters is dead minus mera who's awesome. also great to see the true aquaman kicking butt. even in zombie form.

[scarletspeed7]

My two favorite things about this issue:

-Mera ditching Aqua-zombies! That was pretty awesome. Is there going to be a subplots of Mera running through the woods, all wet and scared like a "real" zombie movie? I hope so!

-Pariah's homage to Crisis plus his zombie ring thing. That so far is my favorite BN moment.

[donna_fan]

-Pariah's homage to Crisis plus his zombie ring thing. That so far is my favorite BN moment.

Yeah, I squealed like a little girl at that. It was embarrassing, but luckily I was alone.

I loved the Barry/Hal scenes too. "Flash fact." heh.

[caats]

i feel like i'm missing out on something. anybody want to explain what Pariah did? i know he's from COIE. i havne't read that.

[Lost_Daughter]

i feel like i'm missing out on something. anybody want to explain what Pariah did? i know he's from COIE. i havne't read that.

'Worlds have died, worlds will rise' is a nod to the COIE 'Worlds will live, worlds will die and nothing will ever be the same '

But I though Pariah was resurrected? He was in Supergirl during countdown at least.


my favourite moment- 'I shouldn't have mentioned Dolphin, I didn't mean to make you jealous'

[darima80]

i feel like i'm missing out on something. anybody want to explain what Pariah did? i know he's from COIE. i havne't read that.

He did what he always did. He announced what was coming to the group at Deadman's grave (Zatanna, Blue Devil, Spectre, and Phantom Stranger.

[ElijahSnowFan]

Another fine issue, nothing out of the ordinary, certainly nothing to complain about. Nice to see Mera kicking ass, as noted above.

Sorry to see Tempest get PWNED, but hey, let's be real here: This is a "zombie movie." People are getting smoked, by definition. Before anybody jumps off a cliff, let's remember this is just issue #2.

One other thing: Sure would be nice to see Phantom Stranger take off that fedora and trenchcoat and get into the fight. None of that cryptic talk, jackass! This is an Omega Level Alert! You saw Pariah showed up! Do you need a freaking invitation? Get busy and make something happen for once in yer damn career!

[vbartilucci]

i feel like i'm missing out on something. anybody want to explain what Pariah did? i know he's from COIE. i havne't read that.

Pariah was a scientist from another version of Earth who, like Krona, tried to view the creation of the universe. His experiment allowed the Anti-Monitor to learn of the existence of the positive matter universes, and as such begin his attack upon them.

He became cursed with the aibility to teleport to universes about to die, solely to witness their destruction. Like Cassandra, he could do nothing to stop what he knew would happen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pariah_(comics)

[vbartilucci]

Sure would be nice to see Phantom Stranger take off that fedora and trenchcoat and get into the fight. None of that cryptic talk, jackass! This is an Omega Level Alert! You saw Pariah showed up! Do you need a freaking invitation? Get busy and make something happen for once in yer damn career!

I recall the Phantom Stranger off and decking someone at least once. He described it as "Stimulating" IIRC. Was it JLA?

Stranger is one of those characters you can and should never really nail down. Like the Joker, any attempt to explain him would result in a lesser character. I like the way they did it in Secret Origins, where he got like four probable/possible origins, never saying one or any was true. He's got ridiculous power, on part with the Spectre if not greater, is answerable to The Presence, is either honor or oath-bound not to directly interfere in things, and that's about it. All else is speculation, and his power set expands or shrinks as dictated by the plot.

So actually having him take part in a story changes the game - what's to stop him from getting involved next time?

[donna_fan]

Phantom Stranger also brought Zatanna bread (?), although like many years late, as I recall in 7S.

[Mr. Chaos]

Very interesting that Don did NOT rise.

That something told the ring he was at peace.

I also think it is interesting that the Spectre is TRAPPED within the BL Spectre...are all the dead trapped within their BL counterparts?

And finally...when I believe Tula gets her head blown off and it comes back together...is that a power of hers, or can all BL rebuild themselves.

[Klor]

Having just finished reading all of Johns and Goyers JSA run a few weeks ago I feel like I fully understand why Dove wouldnt rise. The whole yin yang / order vs chaos / peace vs ...unrest(?) is Doves thing. Hawk rising and Dove not just feels right. Dove is beyond curruption.

Also gotta say that I just finished reading BN: Batman and seeing Black Lantern Ventriloquist with Scarface construct was the most satisfying thing I've seen so far. These tie-ins are really great and are really worth the dough, something I dont usually feel.

[kamikazi]

I don't get how a Black Lantern Spectre works. He's not dead, he's a spirit. Why not just make The Presence a BL?

[Klor]

I don't get how a Black Lantern Spectre works. He's not dead, he's a spirit. Why not just make The Presence a BL?

The Spectre needs a human host to work. His dead human host is what became a BL, since Spectre is a part of him it gets sucked in as well. Its pretty much the same thing that was going on with Hal, Parallax, and Spectre in Rebirth.

[U_no]

I still don't understand the Ronnie Raymond thing. Just doesn't make a lick of sense.

And I'm amazed that the Spectre constantly seems to owned unseen powers. I always thought he was supposed to be top of the food chain after The Presence.

[RolandGunner]

Johns is really playing the Blank Lanterns set up close to the vest. In addition to the Hawk vs Dove thing it was really interesting that the BLs couldn't kill Garth until he felt fear. I wonder if someone with intense emotional control like Richard Dragon or Bruce Wayne would be invulnerable to them?