Review: INFINITE FRONTIER #4
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artists: Paul Pelletier, Jesus Merino, Xermanico, Norm Rapmund, Raul Fernandez
Colours: Hi-Fi
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
Infinite Frontier #4: President Superman finds himself in the wrong world, and it isn’t looking good. Bones and Chase attempt to stop super-powered heroes and villains from crossing Multiversal lines. If they can shut down the President of Steel, they think that it will serve as a signal to all to not mess with Earth-0! This is only a distraction, however, as Injustice Incarnate begins to show them the worst the Multiverse has to offer, and only Flashpoint Batman is there to lend the heroes backup.
Positives
With Infinite Frontier #4, Joshua Williamson is drawing the threads together. The main characters of the series are converging on Earth-Omega, where they will presumably have a climactic encounter with Darkseid.
It appears that Director Bones has made some kind of questionable deal with Darkseid. He has been shipping the characters captured by X-Tract to Earth-Omega. He claims that this is to keep Earth-0 safe from the rest of the Omniverse. This is revealed when Cameron Chase forcibly insists that they are going with the ship to its destination.
I found it interesting that when Chase shoots Bones that his costume from his villainous career as Mister Bones partially appears. Has he been hiding his villain suit under an illusory business suit for all the years that he’s been director of the DEO? I also wonder if Chase knows that the leg she shot him in is a prosthetic, or if she was intending to injure him.
Positives Cont.
Justice Incarnate also decide to set out for Earth-Omega when they discover that Barry Allen has travelled there. But before they can set off, they are faced with a traitor in their ranks. Machine Head reveals himself as part of a group of villains called Injustice Incarnate. This group contains a number of interesting faces. One of them is Lady Quark, which serves as yet another connection between Infinite Frontier and Crisis on Infinite Earths is present. I also recognized Fate, a character introduced in the wake of Zero Hour, and as far as I can remember, hasn’t appeared for the last couple decades. And who is the giant wearing what appears to be the the symbol of Earth-10’s Nazi Superman?
I also loved the scene where the Flashpoint Batman is presented with images of Batmen throughout the Multiverse. Thomas Wayne comes to realize his mistake in trying to stop Bruce from being Batman. He states, “I tried to tell you to not be Batman. Like a foolish and scared old man. That was wrong of me… You are always Batman”. Thomas Wayne has finally come to realize that being Batman is his son’s destiny. I would love to get a scene where Thomas gets to reconcile with Bruce – assuming that Thomas survives to the end of this series.
Williamson has brought a truly eclectic group of characters, but they are representative of the length and breadth of the DC Multiverse. And the stellar team of artists have done a beautiful job of rendering all of them. I am sure we will be seeing some gorgeous fight scenes in the upcoming issues.
Negatives
I can’t name anything that I would point out as a flaw. I am a bit worried about what the future holds in store for Barry after this series. But I am hopeful that Williamson won’t do anything ruinous to the character.
Verdict
Infinite Frontier #4 is another great issue of this event miniseries from Joshua Williamson. Even though I, like many readers, have been suffering from event fatigue, it hasn’t lessened my enjoyment of this event. I am really looking forward to getting into the major confrontation that Williamson has been setting up over these first four issues.
