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A crisis-by-numbers?
Yes and no.
You could definitely make a checklist of recurrent elements, but it is a follow-up, after all.
If FC were only a by-the-numbers operation, though, I think you'd see less of the fan-panic about things not happening the way they should in a Crisis. You've got your multiversal concerns, Monitors, a Flash, and some red skies, yes. But otherwise?
Massive groupings and broad vistas have been replaced by individuals, individual missions, individual horrors. It's not about how the DCU responds to Turpin's corruption into Darkseid, but Turpin's response. It isn't how the DCU experiences Barry Youknowwho's return, but how his friends and family, his cast, handle it. Supergirl's apartment and cat are given the sort of emphasis a traditional one of these marketing deals would have given to a giant room full of heroes with some cute gag going on in one corner.
J'onn inspires the big Crisis-standard gatherings, both in terms of the draft and his funeral, but J'onn doesn't have much of a nonsuperhero family anymore. He is superheroes, his relationships and interactions with other superheroes.
The story hasn't spiraled into mad crossover mode dragging every title along with the narrative or, worse, in a holding pattern until it's over with.
Unlike previous Crises, hitting something is not really going to help here.
The narrative structure, while not breaking any new ground overall, is unusual for these types of stories. That the thing was kept relatively quiet and revelations were given us beat by beat to add up rather than all at once is stupidly rare for a big Summer sell-books experience.
The most glaringly by the numbers bit so far, is Morrison's get-to-know-your-redshirt tic. I ride a dog and I love you actiony hero types Diana. Oh, shit. Now I am dead. |
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