There was another DC series by this name that ran for a year-and-a-half in the '90s. For the record, and before I forget, the acronym stands for "Revolutionary Elite Brigade to Eliminate L.E.G.I.O.N. Supremacy." Yes, Vril Dox II put an acronym inside an acronym. 11th-level intellect can't substitute for style. In this case, L.E.G.I.O.N. was a for-hire peacekeeping force Dox created, that was subsequently usurped by his kid, who was smarter than Vril from birth, but also insane.
I don't know if Dox was the offspring of the original Brainiac back then, DC continuity being what it was, but in the late-2000s, he is. He'd been a sort of lab assistant Brainiac created, and was ostracized by the Coluans for it. Dox seemed to take the approach, if he can't make people love him, make himself indispensable, then charge out the nose for his services. Except someone takes control of his robot peacekeeping force. Someone using mind-control starfish. Someone who wants to attach one of those echinoderms to Dox.
The first 14 issues are Dox avoiding capture, while trying to assemble a force to take said enemy down. He gets an assist from Brainiac 5, out to ensure his own existence by sending info back inside Supergirl's mind (from that stretch post-Infinite Crisis where she was in the Waid/Kitson Legion of Superheroes title), about how to build a team like the Legion. Dox, being a controlling dickhead with a superiority complex and little use for social niceties, takes his own spin on things. Rather than recruit Supergirl, he seizes control of a powerful, but near mindless, creature that was part of the force hunting him, because he wants power that won't buck his commands.
The big deal of this title was Bedard presenting a Starro the Conqueror who is actually an alien that managed, through force of will, to assert control over the Starros when they tried to control him. He's conquered entire galaxies, and can draw on the strength of every being controlled by the starfish. I recall the reception to this not being positive, but I look at it as a temporary thing. There were Starros as generally presented before this, and once this guy was dealt with, the Starros went back to that. A big starfish that controls people with little starfish, for some reason or another.
I started buying this after the Starro storyline was already over. I'd dropped Power Girl due to not liking the direction Winick was going, and the ongoings I was buying from Marvel were canceled or would be soon, so my pull list wasn't exactly stuffed. And Bedard was adding Starfire to the cast, and I was curious to see her away from the Teen Titans. Plus, Bedard had earned some credit with me for his Exiles' run.
By that point, the book shifted to Vril Dox playing a public relations game. He got credit for defeating "Starro," was getting all sorts of new client worlds, and was trying to get people to regard him more favorably. And stop referring to him as "Brainiac-2." His methods left something to be desired, as he's morally flexible to an extent at least parts of the cast questioned whether they could really trust his judgment or continue to follow him.
The book was one of a handful canceled before the New 52 was even announced, I believe to make space for various Flashpoint tie-in mini-series. Probably not a surprise, since Starfire and Lobo were likely the two most popular characters, and they both showed up in the last 10 issues. Green Lanterns are involved, but mostly rookies rather than the established characters, and they're antagonists, because Dox questions the validity of a police force that appointed itself. He has a point. At least the worlds he protects hired him. Nobody asked the Guardians to create so many fuck-ups.
Still, Dox is a tough protagonist to root for, so willing to sacrifice others for what he deems the greater good, which typically involves ensuring his survival. But aside from himself, he doesn't play favorites. He'll sacrifice anyone, including his son, if he thinks it's the best option statistically. And even if things ultimately work out for Dox, Bedard has enough things go wrong, and lets the rest of the cast push back against Dox enough, that it maybe keeps him from being too insufferable. It's at least fun when he cancels a contract with the Psions because it's better than dealing with a pissed-off Starfire, or Lobo makes him drink some hideous concoction because he knows Dox is desperate enough for his help to do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment