DC COMICS
WRITER: Dwayne McDuffie
ARTISTS/COVER: Joe Benitez, Victor Llamas

The Tangent Universe intersects with the DC Comics universe... but what does it all mean? And why should we care?

"Tangent" was an imaginative experiment by DC creators a few years back where they created completely new characters in a completely new continuity, using the names of existing DC characters. But now, with all the multiversal cross-overs taking place, we have some Tangent heroes entering the mainstream DC universe. This may sound exciting. Yet, the creative team refuses to exploit this promising premise. The Tangent version of Atom, a nuclear-powered superman-type, pops up in a storage locker and Green Lantern, Red Arrow and Black Canary arrive to investigate. There is the usual introductory fight scene but all parties involved treat it more like a nuisance rather than actual combat. No attempt is made to introduce us to the wider "Tangent" universe, despite a cover showing a selection of characters from that universe.

The art again has the heroes in poses better suited for posters than for telling a story. There is an actual three-panel sequence in this comic that is so small that you need a magnifying glass to tell what is happening. The poor use of panel space is shocking-- especially since the creative team clearly saved the last page of the story for a giant splash showing a skimpily-clad teenage girl-- a girl who is just standing there, showing off her goods for the sweaty-palmed readers to ogle.

There is also a back-up feature on Red Arrow's encounter with an old enemy at Christmas time. It is amusing but doesn't really add much. The art is even more of a mess with dark, monochrone panels where you can't even understand what is going on.

Frankly, it appears that the creative team just slapped this issue together without any enthusiasm or inspiration. Maybe the editors told them they needed a "Tangent" crossover as part of the wider "COUNTDOWN" event, so they figured they might as well just get it over with as quickly as possible. This issue could have had the kind of excitement of the old JLA/JSA crossovers. Instead, it reads like a forgettable fill-in tale, with 
 
Two stars out of five.... and that is being generous.