"Chapter Six: The Death of Magic"
Writer: Bill Willingham
Artits: Justiniano (p), Walden Wong (i)
Publisher: DC Comics
Plot: The Shadowpact make their final assault against the Spectre and the new Eclipso. The Spectre manages to escape and faces off against the wizard Shazam. The result of the conflict has dire consequences not only for the people of Earth, but for magic in the DC Universe as well.
Commentary: Beneath a very poor cover beats the heart of a great story.
Back before all of these mini-series that spun out of Countdown to Infinite Crisis began, it was hinted that one or all of them might actually lead into Infinite Crisis itself. I've been around this block long enough to know that DC wouldn't put out four mini-series like they did unless they ALL led into the main event, which has been described as starting with the worst day the DCU has ever faced. This makes for a very dramatic concept and the term "infinite" implies that the crisis is coming from all sides.
I am pretty sure I know how Villains United fits into this day, and I have a small idea how The OMAC Project is going to play out. The Rann-Thanagar War is obviously the space side of the conflict, but I still can't see what is going to happen there though it is possible that I'm not looking hard enough.
Of all of the series Day of Vengeance was the biggest mystery to me. I couldn't figure out what the Spectre was going to do that would be so bad to warrant the name Crisis. Willingham's writing played up the character more than the event, so it was easy to get distracted. Now that I finally know what happened in this series everything starts to become clear.
At first I was kind of upset that the main characters driving this series were given a bench seat to the major events that unfolded. Sure they beat Eclipso in a most innovative way, but to follow them for six issues and then have the group play observers to the final act took some getting used to. From a story stand point, I understood that this is the way it had to happen, but I felt bad for the characters, which speaks well for Willingham's ability to make this disparate (personality wise at any rate) group of people likable.
It was the characters that made this issue and this series work. Everyone had his or her own voice and the changing of narrators from issue to issue lets just about all of the characters have their moment in the sun. The team work was great, and I like the fact that the ending paved the way for an ongoing series. More than anything I liked the fact that Willingham admits through his characters that through it all, these characters are superheroes. It was a brave move on Bill's part and made for a defining moment for the team.
Despite my doubts about how the story was structured, the battle between the Spectre and Shazam played out beautifully. Shazam's explanation as to why the Spectre's plan is flawed caused one of those light bulb moments for me. It all became clear and the best thing about the revelation is that I saw the ending coming and knew there was no way to stop it. There could be no way. Without this ending, a major part of Infinite Crisis would never happen, which makes for a more cohesive DC Universe and potentially creates one of the best event stories since Invasion!
Justiniano and Wong's artwork ended on a strong note. I especially liked the sequence on the Rock of Eternity. The detail in the faces of Shazam and the Spectre gave both characters a disturbing quality, and the page layouts made for a roller coaster ride of a fight.
In The End: I got to the end of this issue and actually said, out loud, to no one but me, "Oh my God, this is going to end badly." I mentioned in my review of the previous issue that this book could have been a sleeper hit. I still think that this one slipped under a lot of readers' radar, but I'm glad I picked it up. The ending was exciting, and when I realized what was going on I knew that I didn't waste one moment on this series.
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