Another week, another bucket of blood spilt in the DC universe.
Faithful fans of 52 and Batman were “treated” this week to two of the more disgusting scenes in recent comix memory.
(Which, given Infinite Crisis, is pretty disgusting…)
The first, featuring our old friend Black Adam, is yet another example of extreme violence used for “shock effect.”
Without giving too much away, DC’s answer to Prince Namor publicly demonstrates his zero-tolerance policy toward crime by ripping a B-level Superman villain to shreds.
To really hammer home Black Adam’s point, the reader gets to see pieces of said B-level villain spatter all over Lois Lane and other members of the media.
It’s very gory, but does it serve the story? Black Reign, one of the best JSA/Hawkman stories in years, already demonstrated Black Adam’s notion of “justice.”
And if that wasn’t enough, well the Psycho-Pirate could probably put in a word or two about going up against Shazam’s original champion.
(If the villain still had a mouth to speak with, or even a head for that matter…)
In the Keeper’s opinion, that particular 52 sequence added little to what is otherwise shaping up to be a fascinating tale. Black Adam’s little tirade is just one more example of DC’s recent fascination with dismemberment, and the Keeper wouldn’t be shocked if Geoff (”Tear ‘Em A New One”) Johns is responsible for that graphic gem.
The other scene that disgusted your squeamish host can be found in this week’s Batman, and involves the classic arch-villain Two-Face. Without giving too much away, let’s just say the sequence brings poor Harvey Dent back to his “roots.”
Unlike 52, however, this particular scene does serve a purpose.
When we last saw Harvey, he was apparently cured and eager to make a new life for himself. The Dark Knight, who consistently (and surprisingly) strives to rehabilitate his foes, even left Dent “in charge” of Gotham during his 52-week absence.
Yet Dent’s scars remained in his psyche and it was only a matter of time before things went horribly wrong. In this instance, the gory end of Dent’s rehabilitation is appropriate for a character who contains so much anger and - for want of a better word - ugliness in his heart.
The scars of Two-Face will leave their mark on Batman as well, and will undoubtedly leave the Dark Knight in an interesting place for new writers Grant Morrison and Paul Dini.
The two stories, which utilize extreme violence to differing degrees of success, also leave DC in an interesting position.
Although company execs keep talking about a brighter DC universe, readers have yet to see any evidence of this brave new world. True, we no longer see heroes breaking people’s necks but it doesn’t make things any better if writers constantly give us “bad guys” committing similar atrocities.
The truth to DC’s assertions will be tested as current storylines progress. If extreme violence carries extreme consequences, then the company may be on the right track.
But if we’re still mired in shock for shock’s sake, then DC’s current renaissance may prove to be very short-lived.
