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.
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