Comics Daily coverage of Final Crisis continues as our more qualified DC enthusiast, Seb Patrick, takes a look over the events of DC Universe #0 and, elsewhere, the viral marketing for The Dark Knight. I geek out about the latest Spider-Man announcement, and then there are more examples of articles we’ve written for Den of Geek, which covers Moore’s defining Batman/Joker story, The Killing Joke, and everyone’s new favourite Marvel character, Iron Man.

So, Barry Allen is back. Am I happy about this? Not really, I must admit. And not just because it’s proven me wrong after I said, a year ago, “given that his sacrifice remains about the biggest that any DC hero has made (he’s been described as “the DC universe’s first saint”) it’s unlikely that he’ll show up in corporeal form again any time soon”. DC have got to be very careful how they handle this. Aside from the odd decent run by certain writers on Wally West’s book, they’ve never really known how to handle the Flash ever since Crisis on Infinite Earths. Part of the problem is that every subsequent Flash has simply worn Allen’s old costume - meaning it’s easier to just stick anyone under there and have done with it. The whole Bart Allen situation was a fiasco from day one, and since then it doesn’t really feel as if Wally has reasserted his role either. But is bringing back the absolute icon of the Silver Age really a good way forwards? As I mentioned in the above article, his death is one of the greatest in comics history - it served a purpose, and it made the character legendary. Do we really want him back? My only hope rests with the fact that the first person to write about his return will be Grant Morrison - and the fact that perhaps Allen’s fate is tied in closely with that of the DC Universe itself (as it has been ever since Crisis - remember that we essentially left him as an infinitely-looping streak of energy). If he turns out to be a more ethereal presence, and perhaps even a reflection of a sentient universe itself, then maybe this could work - it would, at least, be better than simply putting him back in the role of the Scarlet Speedster. Or, worse - it’s been speculated that he could have something to do with the Black Lanterns (when, Johns? WHEN WILL IT END?), what with being dead and all… (SP)

As if Spider-Man hasn’t been back on form enough already, editor Steve Wacker, in his capacity as mouthpiece for the entire Spider-Man cadre of writers, has unveiled plans for another new villain called “Anti-Venom” who looks to quite obviously have some ties to a similarly named classic Spider-Man villain as it is. Seeing the new, higher-quality Spider-Man writers taking on Venom? All I can think is : Yes, please.(JH)

Since James is always doing the Den of Geek plugging, I might as well have a go as well - here’s a review of the recent Batman : The Killing Joke deluxe hardcover edition, released (presumably) to coincide with The Dark Knight, and with a lovely recolouring job by Brian Bolland. Although, as I concluded, you can’t help but feel that a big lush hardback release is a tad pointless for only 48 pages worth of story… (SP)

And, for good measure, here’s my DoG plug for this week - a nice Iron Man movie companion piece entitled “Iron Man: The Best and Worst Stories” (JH)

Speaking of The Dark Knight, meanwhile, I’m sure that any comics nerd worth their salt has already watched a shaky handheld version of the latest trailer on Youtube, prior to its official release this weekend. But how many of you are aware of this? It’s one of the reels that were given out to lucky fans at the end of the recent “treasure hunt”, and is the latest salvo in what has been a really quite fantastic marketing campaign. I’m not really sure what the point of it is - I mean, is this version going to be seen by a confused general public at all, or was it just for this one showing? - but it’s rather genius, and in the wake of a certain shellhead’s box office and critical success, has succeeded in once again getting people talking about Ol’ Pointy Ears instead… (SP)

Tags: Alan Moore, Barry Allen, batman, Brian Bolland, Final Crisis, Flash, Iron Man, Killing Joke, Spider-Man, The Dark Knight
Publisher: The Sunday Pages