Fun. Simply put. DC x AEW #1 is fun to read.
Crossovers are a staple of comic books. It’s when creators give fans the unique opportunity to read fantasy bookings. Long time comic readers could easily name Archie vs. The Punisher, Transformers vs. G.I. Joe, TMNT and the Power Rangers, Batman and TMNT. Who could forget the original crossover between DC and Marvel as well as the crazy Amalgam Universe?
The past few years have seen a rise in crossover collisions. Recently, DC Comics has brought a number of crossovers, including Godzilla and King Kong either squaring off or teaming up with the Justice League. Thundercats and the Powerpuff Girls! Batman and Deadpool?
If you’ve been keeping up with DC, it’s been an all-out rumble during the current “Crisis Event” of DC K.O. has pitted our heroes and villains against one another for the rights and power to challenge the near-Omnipotent Darkseid, who has turned Earth into a complete wasteland arena.
This is not AEW’s first foray into comics, as a number of backup stories were featured in mainstream monthlies within the past year. This is not DC’s first jump into a wrestling ring either, as a DC K.O. tie-in called, Green Lantern: Galactic Slam, featured Kyle Rayner landing in the middle of Wrestling Across the Multiverse (W.A.M.), teaming up with former Heavyweight Champion, Omega Bam Man.
This past Wednesday (and you know what that means!), DC Comics’ crossover involves members of the Justice League teaming up with the roster of All Elite Wrestling. It’s DC x AEW!
You read that right, the likes of Orange Cassidy, Toni Storm, Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay, Mercedes Mone, Willow Nightingale, and more find themselves teaming up with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others on a Multiverse spanning Quest to save time and space. It appears AEW is established as part of the WAM promotion.
Who is calling the action you ask? None other than AEW’s Excalibur and DC’s Booster Gold! Perfection!
The backstory, Mercedes Mone cheated to defeat Decelia Starshame by underhanded tactics, capturing the WAM Intergalactic Championship. Starshame opts to shatter the Big Galactic Belt, which sends shards of Element X all over the timestream. The Justice League and the AEW Roster divide in search of each shard. Nightwing and Will Ospreay team up, encountering the League of Assassins! As the action picks up, Nightwing has to stop Ospreay from using his Tiger Driver finisher, exclaiming, “Ospreay, NO! You’ll kill him!” This is a likely reference to wrestlers legit being injured after taking the move.
Of course, Guy Gardner and Jon Moxley make quite the team, jumping to face off with mutants from Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns saga! Gardner giving Mox lantern-powered barbed-wire is certainly a choice. Hangman and Hawkgirl, Swerve and John Stewart, Toni Storm and Zatanna! Willow Nightingale gets to team up with Wonder Woman, while the pairing of Darby Allin and Batman seems to fit perfectly.
Things get intense and a potential heel turn when Orange Cassidy and Harley Quinn go up against the Royal Flush Gang! Finally, Aquaman and Mercedes Mone track down their shard, but a surprise entrant spoils their plans? Or do they?
Kenny Omega vs. Bane? Yes please!
Definitely a very enjoyable and fun read. Serious in plot and campy moments make the comic stand out. Writer Steve Orlando, certainly portrays wrestlers exactly how they’re seen on television. It’s a tough job to get a lot into the first issue, but Orlando pulls it off quite well giving us some pretty unique tag teams in brief pages while still able to convey the long-term story arc.
I do like some of these teams will have their own short-term stories while pursuing the main goal. Batman and Darby Allin seem like a natural fit. Dialogue for Toni Storm is on par with what one would expect. If you are not a fan of All Elite Wrestling, this issue may seem a bit off the beaten path, but then again that’s what makes this enjoyable reading material. Travis Mercer is excellent at bringing the AEW roster to life on paper, with Andrew Dalhouse, who is everywhere these days, pulling banger after banger on color. Josh Reed, letterer and Michael McCalister, editor round out the stable of talent bringing this pay-per-view level crisis to life!
Speaking of life! Who will survive the next issue as the villainous tag team tries to re-write reality in their image!
