Review: INFINITE FRONTIER #5
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artists: Paul Pelletier, Jesus Merino, Tom Derenick, Norm Rapmund, Raul Fernandez
Colours: Hi-Fi
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
Infinite Frontier #5: Roy Harper finds himself forced to do things on his own. He’s been through a lot since he was Green Arrow’s sidekick, and usually, the only person he can count on is himself. Hence, he’s hiding the fact that he’s back from the dead from his old friends. He comes across Jade, who has also been stranded by herself-can he help her while letting her help him? Because neither of them can handle Darkseid all by their lonesome. Meanwhile, Barry Allen sends out a call: it’s time for all the heroes exploring the Infinite Frontier to come to the Omega Planet!
Positives
In Infinite Frontier #5, Joshua Williamson has assembled all the characters on Earth-Omega for the climactic battle. On the heroes’ side are the Justice Society/Infinity Inc., Justice Incarnate. And arrayed against them is Darkseid’s Injustice Incarnate.
The story begins with a flashback of Psych-Pirate recruiting the members of this team. While some of them are clearly villains like Superwoman and Doctor Sivana. Some of them are (or were) heroes like Captain Atom and Fate. And some have been been both or in a gray area in the middle like Mister Bones. When you add to this the fact that Psycho-Pirate manipulates emotions, it raises an important question. Did all of them side with Darkseid willingly? While it was great seeing Mister Bones in his supervillain costume again, has he truly reverted to villainy. I presume that will have to be explored in the pages of Checkmate.
We also learn the true identity of X-Tract. It turns out that she is the Cameron Chase of the original Earth-2. I didn’t see that coming, but it makes sense in retrospect. If Bones remembers Earth2- and Chase is one of his most trusted agents, it seems likely he would recruit that world’s Chase.
Positives Cont.
Psycho-Pirate also reveals that Roy’s ring is more than just a Black Lantern ring. He says, “It’s something else in disguise. Something much older and darker”. He adds, “This ring chose you for a reason… you have a history o letting the darkness inside you Roy. You know pain, you know isolation. When the Multiverse was recreated…Just like Hal Jordan’s ring looked for the fearless… that ring searched for someone who suffered”. Psycho-Pirate then attempts to goad Roy into despair.
But Roy manages to find hope in the midst of that despair. He allows his pain to power the ring. But he uses the ring’s power to free the heroes before losing control. He tells them, “I have faith in all of you, dammit. Save my… daughter. Save… the… Multiverse”. I love that Roy manages to wring some hope from a moment of defeat.
And this might be his final defeat, as he give in to his zombie form, as Darkseid appears to proclaim Roy his Omega Lantern. The title ends on an ominous note as Darkseid appears on the cusp of victory. But we’ll have to wait until next issue to see if the heroes will prevail.
I really love the art in this book. There are a lot of iconic characters in this story and they all look perfect. Darkseid appears to be every bit the archvillain he is. And seeing Mister Bones in his supervillain costume brought back memories of the original Infinity Inc. title. Every page of Infinite Frontier #5 is absolutely gorgeous.
Negatives
I’m very much enjoying Williamson’s story, and the art is flawless. So, I have absolutely nothing to complain about.
Verdict
Infinite Frontier #5 is another great chapter of Joshua Williamson’s event. While the event is lower key than Dark Nights Death Metal, the story is no less cosmic than DC’s previous event. Williamson has clearly made the right decision to make this a more streamlined and focused event than Scott Snyder’s epic.
