The Good

We've been watching the Crime Syndicate and other villains move throughout the DCU but we still don't know the full details as to what happened to Earth 3, the Syndicate's home dimension. Geoff Johns comes up with a great way to fill us in on more of the story behind some of the characters. It seems like we should already know about them. The Syndicate members are backwards evil versions of our heroes yet they're stories still offer some surprises.

One member, in particular, takes the center stage in this issue (and it's not who you might think based on the cover. What's fascinating is seeing the story unfold from different angles. It's interesting that issue 25 was released a couple weeks ago and we're already getting this one in the same month. Johns fills us in on the other members besides Owlman and Ultraman by jumping back five years ago for some of the characters. It's still an eerie feeling seeing these twisted versions of the characters we know. You almost get a dirty feeling inside seeing them portrayed in this way.

The art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado is as great as you'd expect. With the art and colors, the story has a great feel to it and you can't help but feel pulled into the story. Seeing the backstories on these members for the 'first time' in the New 52 is something that can only be done once. It's great seeing them handled by a top notch creative team.

The Bad

The story is moving forward a bit but this is more of a focus on the other members of the Syndicate. There are definitely some cool moments but compared to last issue and some of the seeds planed in this one, it feels like we're going to get an even bigger issue next time.

The cover is a bit misleading. We do see Power Ring's story but the image on the cover doesn't have anything to do with this issue. It looks more suitable for next month's issue of FOREVER EVIL.

The Verdict

Geoff Johns continues to flesh out the members of the Crime Syndicate. You would think it'd just be a matter of taking the origin we know and turn everything around so it's all evil. Johns does a great job in fleshing them out and making us understand where they're coming from. One member takes the center stage in the 'narration' portion of this issue and it will be interesting to see how things progress for this character. Ivan Reis and Joe Prado do a fantastic job with the art. It's a weird feeling seeing the flashbacks for some of these characters. There are still some mysteries to see unfold and Johns plants some big seeds for the next issue. The story keeps getting better and better.

That cover looks amazing! I might just buy this! Great review BTW

need to get this

@crazyscarecrow: The issue is good, but the events on the cover doesn't happen here.

MUST READ

The Bad:

The entire time I kept thinking, "Who gives a **** about any of these characters?"

Also,

More Cyborg torture porn. Yay!

@captain13: My thoughts exactly, This title should be known as what not to do with pointless crossovers in a pointless event.

Wait so we got 2 Justice League issues this month?

@br_havoc said:

And what might be considered a good crossover?

@hawkguy: Honestly I thought the Avengers Infinity tie ins where good. It added to the story if you read them but if you did not the story was still there in the core 6 parts. Since Forever Evil Justice League and JLA are directionless they add nothing to Forever Evil other that could not be told with maybe a page or two in the main story. There is just no need for a 21 page comic book to show the inner tension of the Ultraman, Superwoman and Owlman.

@br_havoc: I guess you have a point. I did like that Avengers added to the story but it did feel a bit filler at times. I guess it depends on your likes and dislikes when it comes to JL. If you don't care about the characters then these back stories won't really matter, but I did like the unknown prisoner tease as well as the ending of this issue.

I can't help but agree that JLA is silly, I can't read anymore of that story.

I actually liked the origins for the Syndicate here. It makes them much more interesting in my opinion. Granted, there are only so many ways you can do evil counterpart origins but I really liked the ones here.

I want this cover as a poster.

Hal a sissy, hmmm, interesting.

I think the hooded mystery man is jimmy olsen, lol.

I still haven't seen enough Monica Rambeau to get me interested in Infinity. :(

Forever Evil, on the other hand, brings a bunch of what the DCnU needed: personality to more characters who wouldn't otherwise get it.

The Justice League tie-ins to Forever Evil so far have been almost perfect.I like the way Johns is introducing to us the Syndicate but even though this issue was great last one was the best.

seriously what would have made a better crossover then?

Two issues this month because there wasn't one last month. Nice. :)

This is the most miss leading cover ever.

Nah, the cover to Justice League 18 was so misleading I was infuriated for the first and last time by a comic book cover.

Other than the cover having NOTHING to do with the actual book it was a good read.

Im calling it now the hooded man is Lex Luthor.

The hooded man is Alexander Luther guy

I hate misleading covers. Great issue but I got too excited thinking after I read forever evil I was going to have a follow up.

The Hooded Man is Steve Trevor!

@saren: See I completely disagree with you on this one. I felt the Avengers tie ins did work helping piece in battles or showing the motivations of characters and I liked that. We saw that many characters were fighting battles and to that character it was the most important battle of their lives. It was showing a war from the many different perspectives of the heroes, Some have larger roles than others but in the end it added to the war they were fighting.

Here I find all the characters not likeable so its hard for me to care then John's does this silly origin where you can tell he is just sitting there saying hmmmm how dark can I go with this before it's a huge joke. There is no point to having JL running when this event is going on because all they are doing is drawing out a subplot that could be told in 5 pages and stretching it for 21.

This issue was pretty good.

Atomica & Johnny Quick = Bonnie & Clyde. Man, I hope those 2 somehow stick around.

@kazekaine1: Honestly how about stories that have something to do with the Justice League. A tie in should give you a bit of story or add to an events story but have enough to stand on its own. This book simply does not if you collected JL and chose not to get Forever Evil there is no point in reading them because this book cannot stand on its own away from the event.

Ole ole ole ole.

The hooded man is Detective Chimp.

It is so oblivious.

The Hooded Man is The Hooded Man!

@saren:

I love when people say someones opinion was false. Many of the tie ins from The Avengers to the New Avengers heck even the Captain Marvel tie ins. Showed more of the story, I have no idea why you say they acted like they never happened. Maybe they wanted people that just read the core books to be about to follow along, So they did not reference the events in the Avengers or New Avengers as much but they still happened and it still expanded the event and the war. Where is with FE they expect you read everything all the tie ins and if you do not there is huge holes in the story.

Ex Nihili focused tie in but I believe the point of that issue was to show that he needed to be with his people and help them break away from the creators.

Once again there is no reason why these motivations and origins could not be told in the main story. Justice League has become a book that is telling small subplots to this event that are being dragged out to fill a full book. Right now I am in the mind frame that the Forever Evil mini series was unnecessary and could of easily of being told in the pages of the Justice League title with a backup that gives us the same information that we are getting from the title now.

I always think the crime syndicate origins are going to bore me but then I pic them up and I'm instantly drawn in. Forever Evil has been an amazing event so far and I have personally loved all of the tie ins.

I read justice league after forever evil 4.

I'm sick of waiting to know who the guy in the hood is!!

@br_havoc: I disagree...The characters are interesting and of course it adds to the story...Having more fleshed out characters is always a good thing...nobody likes random villains with no personality...Justice League is my favorite forever evil tie-in...

the JL is gone for the moment the current JL books serve as backstory for the CS so they dont have to waste time telling it in the core issues.

FOOLS! The hooded man is a threat so great the syndicate fears him. With that being said there is only logical choice for him to be b'wana beast.

@saren: LOL I guess my opinion is not a very popular one around here. Honestly dude you are taking this a little overboard now. I get you did not like the tie ins to Infinity so they did not matter to you. Maybe I am seeing them threw rose colored glasses because I join Hickman and really enjoyed the event as a whole. Maybe the point of the Ex Nihili was to plant seeds for future storylines, I do not know and maybe you are right and it's a time waster guess we shall see when Hickman leaves the Avenger's universe.

Huh, I do see your point but you mistake my views for the JL tie ins. I feel they add nothing to the story that needs to be told in a full book. This is my issue these stories are filler that have no reason to live as a 21 page book. When the one little tidbit of information they give you to "add" to the story as you put it, Could of being told in a backup of the main story. So when you asked if I want to see pointless filler or plot development, it really comes down to entertainment. JL and JLA we get the worst of both worlds poor filler stories that give small bits of new information that could of been easily covered in the main storyline. When I read this tie in I think what is the point because they fail to be entertaining and they fail to give me any new plot development to make me dive into the FE world. To modify a quote from you, What we are getting are issues that pretended they matter, when they simply do not".

At the end of the day it's all a matter of opinion we have different ones and that is fine.

If the hooded man is such a threat to the syndicate why did they bother bringing him over?

So much win in this issue, I just want more. It would be cool to have a limited series based on the secret origins of the CS like they have FE: Arkham War and Rogues Rebellion.

This cover confused me, read FE #4 expecting this to be a continuation because of the cover and it definitely wasn't... I wish they printed somewhere (on the cover / on the first page) anything about the reading order of this story, I can get by if stuff is released week after week but stuff released the same day is a bit tricky

A possibility is that the Hooded Man could be a person that could have followed the Syndicate on his own and that it was a better option to keep him sedated under their supervision as they can only trust themselves in regards to the prisoner, the better question would be why they don't just kill him if he's such a threat while he's sedated. More likely it would be plot related why he's being kept alive but the exact reason is the question.

was a good issue but i was hoping for this issue to focus on superwoman as we have already gotten the tales of the other members of the evil trinity but of course not its all about grid (who cares) and the other members dont get individual issues but have their tales all told in one, no respect or too much fan service to the wrong fans. no equality at dc.

still waiting for that superwoman centric issue......