I guess time and reality were not built to last in the DC universe. This week from DC comics we get yet another splintering of time and the multiverse. From the pages of Detective Comics 1027 and the ongoing Dark Knight: Death Metal series we have the 77-page, Generations Shattered 1.
Atreu and his horse Artax must race across the multiverse to stop the Nothing…wait. Wrong story, but not far off either. In Generations Shattered 1 all of the time continues to disappear as the ‘Goneness’ (The Nothing was already taken) devours all. A boy on a savage planet, Kamandi, flees from its erasure only to stumble onto a mysterious man with a talking bionic arm. This mysterious stranger ends up turning out to be none other than Booster Gold and his droid Skeet, now an arm gauntlet instead of a floating ball.
Booster takes a mortal wound and Skeet jumps to Kamandi’s arm and they teleport out of the disappearing time. It turns out Booster and Skeet were attempting to assemble an army of superheroes from across time to confront and stop the Goneness. They proceed to grab Superboy from the 31st century (when they meant to grab Brianiac), Steel from 1993, Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi from 1987 (Dr. Light), modern-day Booster Gold, 1983 Starfire, Sinestro 2814, and finally 1939 Batman (purple gloves and all).
Once assembled they take on Dominus and his altered crew to stop the erasure of time itself.
Generations Shattered 1 – Where Are We Going With All This?
Parts of this issue are really cool, especially if you like old school DC. The writers bring back the era in every way. The 1983 Titans LOOK like they were drawn in 1983 and their vernacular matches the period as well. The art throughout does a good job representing the different eras we visit, and the interactions between our ‘heroes’ and Kamandi also come across well. Keep in mind Kamandi has no idea what is happening either.
Sadly the overall feel of this issue gets lost. I have not read Detective Comics 1027 nor the Death Metal storyline, so I do not know how this story interacts. For those that did read those titles, this story may contain more nuanced than I can see. The story here remains viable even on its own, you just feel like you are missing things here and there.
My one big problem comes from the overall arc of Generations Shattered 1. The idea of gathering heroes from across time seems cool. We have 1930 Batman with 1980s Starfire and modern Booster, so the dynamics really do play well. The problem comes from the time we get with these heroes. After only a page or two they commence fighting Dominus and his crew, so we really don’t get much interaction.
Over half the issue assembles the team, but once the fighting starts, Dominus then scatters the heroes across all of the time. Imagine a 1930s Batman in the 30th Century. Sinestro and Booster back in Nazi Germany World War II, but again this is all represented in single panels. we do not see any depth or story taking place.
Generations Shattered 1 – The Ending
Then we reach the final pages, and I am still trying to make sense of them. Almost all heroes maintain an alter ego for one reason or another, and Dominus is no exception. The problem comes from the form of his alter ego. I have a theory about what happens and why, but the final pages really make you wonder what is REALLY at stake. Our answers come in Generations Forged 1.
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