Get a load of those...hair...

Well, golly, kids! Mary Marvel done gone and turned evil. It looks good on her.

This week’s issue of Countdown (number 47) features a cover illustration with lil’ Mary looking pleased as punch that she’s being hit by a massive lightning bolt. Not that I have anything against sexy covers (like, say, Smell the Glove), but this week is a tad…obvious. Nothing screams “fantasy” like skintight black leather and a flowing mane of hair…but I digress. Countdown 47.

Down to brass tacks: Jimmy Olsen has a nightmare where he’s part of the Source Wall, the Monitors hold a town hall meeting, the Rogues are still the most interesting characters in the book, and Black Adam somehow transfers his power to Mary Marvel. She’s not evil yet, however. Actually, she’s just surprised, and now her costume is kink-tastic.  

The Monitors are leaning in the direction hinted at last issue: Jason Todd, Kyle Rayner and Diana Troy must die (again). In all three cases, this would be a bad idea (again). After all, hasn’t DC learned by now that big, gooey events aren’t synonymous with drama?

How good is Paul Dini? Good enough to make The Rogues—the lamest pack of villains short of those disposable putty men from Power Rangers—a living, breathing assemblage. There are alliances, hatreds, and a strange web of relationships among the Rogues that show Mr. Dini’s eye for character has improved with age.

This week, Tom Derenick is in charge of pencils, and his work conveys the story well enough. He’s at his best drawing the Monitors and the Rogues, and his two page spread of the Source Wall is suitably detailed.

Oh yeah, and the Amazons are Attacking. I don’t know what about.