Post by jakefury on Sept 6, 2012 10:11:07 GMT -5
Written by: Dan Didio
Art by: Brent Anderson
Disclaimer: My knowledge on the Phantom Stranger is extremely limited. According to internet sources his true origin or identity was never fully revealed in the old DCU. There are some theories/plot lines floating around out there you can check out for yoruself. To the book!
The Story:
If you picked up the DC Free Comic Book Day issue you saw the teaser for this book involving PS, Pandora & the Question. This book gives you the complete happenings from that regarding the Phantom Stranger. Right off the bat there are several clues that hint strongly to his origin. I won't spoil it for you but it involves betrayal and 30 pieces of silver. We see his sentencing from the Council of Wizards and learned that he's doomed to walk the Earth for all eternity. Again, we get a strong hint of his identity only this time using the era depicted, a few other clues and the environment.
The story progresses into the present and Gotham City. A cop named Jim Corrigan is on the hunt for a child that's been kidnapped. Stranger shows up to give him a hand and leads him to where he believes she'll be found. However, she's nowhere to be found and Corrigan is gunned down by the crooks. As Corrigan dies, the SPECTRE is unleashed and he gives some hints to his true identity.
The Stranger leaves the scene and the issue ends with him wandering off into the darkness. The teaser for the next issues promises a showdown with Trigon.
Thoughts:
This issue was full of characters I know next to nothing about. Stranger's origin seems to be a causing a bit of controversy with long time fans but it didn't really bother me. It's a new universe and I like what's going on in this issue. The religious references have really caught my interest and I'm eager to see what happens next. The art was good for the book with some shadowy sequences that fit these type of characters very well.
3.5/5
