At the Center of Trinity War

So Bleeding Cool posted briefly about this new triptych, all of which dealt with the characters on either side of the image -- but not with the red-cloaked figure kneeling in the middle.

I know pretty much nothing about Pandora or Trinity War or the Trinity (my DC knowledge is almost exclusively Bat-based and New 52). But clearly this event is a big deal and this character of which I'm clueless is a big deal. Do people already basically understand what this is all about (and if so, can someone point me towards relevant threads)? Or is this one of those things that's just a bunch of speculation and confusion and rumor-mongering?

And I understand Pandora's getting her own series or something?

I don't really know what the function of this thread is...I guess I just have absolutely no idea what I'm looking at in this image and I'd love elucidation (or to know where to go for that elucidation).

Well, last year DC released a free comic for the FCBD (Free comic book day). I recommended getting it (I think it's free at Comixology) since it explains some stuff about Trinity War and a lot about Pandora, Phantom Stranger and Question.

It's also worth mentioning that Pandora was apparently responsible for the New 52 based on her appearance in Flashpoint and the fact she was hidden in all issue 1's (the original ones), just in case you didn't know

Just read articles on wikipedia to get more information on Pandora, Justice League of America, Phantom Stranger, Justice League, Question, Justice League Dark. It seems that magical Pandora wants to do something with the magic skull for whatever magical reasons, and Pandora is opposed by magical Phantom Stranger and magical Question for whatever magical reasons. The cover seems to suggest that Justice League of America is on team Pandora, Justice League is on team Phantom Stranger and Justice League Dark in on team Question. There could also be villains who want the skull for whatever reasons such as Black Adam. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dc-free-comic-book-day-issue-clues-1.html

Thanks for the advice, folks. Just read the FCBD issue and it definitely helped me understand a bit more why, or at least that, Pandora is at the center of this conflict. Kudos to the artist, then, for placing her appropriately. Now I'm really looking forward to her series, and seeing how this all goes down.

So, I'm trying to read all of Pandora's appearances leading up to this event, which is slightly complicated by the fact that she "technically" appeared in every first issue for the past two years. So I went through all of her appearances, and this is the list I have (other than the FCBD):

• Flashpoint (Deluxe) #5 (should read all of Flashpoint though)

• Justice League #6, #12, #0

• Justice League Dark #14

• Team 7 #7

I guess what I'm wondering, since I don't read any of these series, is:

1. Does she play enough of a role in these issues to warrant buying them?
2. Does her influence extend beyond her appearance (that is, would I need to read previous/later issues around the appearance issue to fully appreciate her role in, say, the JL issues?
3. Were any of her #1 "appearances" actually relevant (beyond establishing that she was there)?

In Justice League Dark #14, she's in one panel and doesn't say anything.

@v_scarlotte_rose: Thanks. Updated accordingly.

@akbogert said:

I will refer to her Flashpoint and JL appearances since those are the ones I've read:

• She plays a very big role in Flashpoint towards the end, in fact she's the one responsible for the new universe. And yes, you do need the other 4 issues to understand this one.
• She appears in a back-up story in Justice League 6, you don't need the other 5 issues to get her back-up story since it doesn't have much to do with the main story. It's not that important IMO. Her appearance in Justice League 12 is just a promo for Justice League of America/Trinity War you can see online, not important at all. Her appearance in Justice League 0 is very important and it's a brief follow-up to the FCBD issue I mentioned some time ago. You don't need the other JL issues since, again, the back-up has nothing to do with the main story.

I hope this helped!

@jldoom:

Definitely! Thanks!

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised no one has commented on Team 7, seeing as apparently no one is reading Team 7, haha.

Can anyone comment on the #1 appearances? I ignored them because she was inconsequential in all of the first issues I've read thus far, but that may be because she's less intrinsic to the Bat Family stuff than other reaches of the universe, and I've mostly read Bat books.

Pandora does the same stuff in all of them, she's just there, being creepy and stuff:

@smashbrawler: Haha. Being creepy and stuff.

Alright, thanks (and thanks for the scans). Unless someone hops in here and says "no wait, in _______ 1 she was actually a character!" I'll continue with my assumption that those "appearances" are irrelevant beyond easter egg/she's been there since the start purposes.

--

So Flashpoint, Justice League #0 & #6, and Team 7 #7, plus FCBD 2012.

Does that sound about right to everyone?

@akbogert: No problem!

@akbogert: Ha, no problem. And Pandora was kinda creepy. I remember that she had giant claws in Resurrection Man for whatever reason.

And she kinda looked like a dude. Hey, maybe this is how Pandora would look like if she was in Injustice!

@smashbrawler: What, like a dude? Haha. That's pretty much how all the other women look in Injustice, it seems.

Well, the game, anyway.

On the off chance that anyone cares, I assembled/wrote this summary of Pandora thus far.