Surprise, surprise – Ultraman isn’t the last Kryptonian in his universe after all! Ultragirl, however, is decidedly on the side of the angels, meaning it’s time for an all out ultra-brawl! In the meantime, Superwoman has taken Sinestro and Green Lantern to her home on Devil Island, as she adds another insidious voice to John Stewart’s ear to turn him away from the light. Crime Syndicate #6 written by Andy Schmidt, pencilled by Kieran McKeown, inked by Dexter Vines, colored by Steve Orliff and lettered by Rob Leigh. Backup story written by Andy Schmidt, drawn by Bryan Hitch, colored by Alex Sinclair and lettered by Rob Leigh.
I don’t know if this comic has what it takes for a long running series. I don’t know if the constant violence and cartoonish lack of morality would wear on me after too long, or if it would have just enough entertainment factor to keep me coming back. All I know is that while it’s not been perfect, I’ve enjoyed the hell out of these last six issues and am sad that, for now, it’s ending.
It’s Lonely At the Top
Picking up off of last month’s cliffhanger, it’s Ultraman going head to head against a newly revealed Ultragirl. This Earth’s Kara Zor-El has been living amongst humans for a fair number of years, all the while growing steadily more horrified at the actions of her more vicious cousin. Ultraman himself, though…it’s both amusing and tragic, that this antithesis of hope finds just that when he finds out that he’s not as alone as he thought.
This version of Ultraman has been written as a spoiled brat – if not by his parents, then by the cushy nature of his powers. Where Clark Kent of Prime-Earth is the representative of the American Dream, Ultraman is definitely the American Nightmare – someone born to incredible privilege and power, using both to cement his position at the top. But as the saying goes, it gets lonely up there, and it seems to be why he’s been so receptive to Superwoman’s advances – and even more excited at the possibility of another Kryptonian joining his side. Even as Ultragirl beats the snot out of him, the only thing he can feel is pride.
Of course, Ultraman’s would-be team members don’t see any of this – or if they do, they don’t care. They want an attack dog they can control, and unleash on the world as they will, and what good’s an attack dog whose loyalty is split? It’s Atomica who ends the battle, shrinking down and taking Ultragirl out from the inside – apparently Earth-3’s Kryptonians’ invulnerability is only skin deep. There’s probably a metaphor to be mined from that – and that sort of thing pops up a lot on Earth-3, it’s one of the reasons I’ll miss it so.
Ultragirl falls, and we’re treated to a hilarious homage of that famous Death of Superman panel – Ultraman is cradling the body of Ultragirl, his cape flapping in the wind, but instead of grief on his face, it’s a cartoonish look of shock and indignation. His kind can’t be defeated, that’s not how things are supposed to work. I love the petty arrogance of the man – forced to face mortality, he reacts with confusion, which moves quickly into denial, and that’s that. Up, up and away.
Giving Justice the Finger
Now, the fight between the two Kryptonians would have been a much shorter affair if the Crime Syndicate’s biggest powerhouses had been a part of the fight, but Superwoman, Power Ring and Sinestro are off to Demon Island (warped, evil, Paradise Island, home to bloodthirsty Amazon warriors) to settle John’s position once and for all: is he a bad guy or a good guy?
He’s got a lot of voices in his ear. His ring, begging to be unleashed. Thaal Sinestro, preaching about Justice, Honor, and the Good Man he believes John to be. And Donna Troy, still working to bring the team together, who’s just trying to get John to be able to listen to himself.
Just like Wonder Woman’s greatest strength is in getting her opponents to see the truth of things, Earth-3’s Donna Troy has her own twisted, vicious way of accomplishing the same. She sacrifices her Amazonian sisters to do it. She wraps a potential ally’s finger in her barbed lasso and yanks it right off to do it. She does this because she knows that at the end of the day, when all the world’s pressures are taken away and a person finally has the freedom to choose…on this Earth, they will choose evil, every time, just like John does as soon as he’s able to think clearly for himself.
If Crime Syndicate has one message, it’s that. We’ve seen it in every backup story the series has had so far, we see it in this moment with John, what makes this world work is how inherently bad people want to be. Heroism here is a farce – the art’s consistently shown how silly the do-gooders look, how unnatural it feels in this world where violence and tyranny bring about so much satisfaction.
The Syndicate Formed, At Last
We end the series with the Crime Syndicate finally becoming an official team. If I have one complaint, it’s that it’s taken too long to get here, especially with the series ending. We’re given a montage of potential storylines as the Syndicate takes control – the heroes who would rise against them, the immortals making their plans, the threats that could be coming soon, to an Earth near you…all stories incomplete, now, but very much in keeping with the chaos that this series has been.
If the point of this series was to quickstart a world and make it feel as complicated and lived in as Prime-Earth can be, then I say it’s done its job. While this series is ending, it seems to still have a major part to play in the pages of Suicide Squad. It’s a world that has so much to play with, and I can’t wait to see what other writers do with it now that all of it’s been formed.
I only wish more supervillain teams had a message that defined them as perfectly as their message to Earth: “Shut up and do as we say or else!”
