“Convergence” #3 does so little to offer any course correction that the entire series now looks like a write off. The dialogue is still terribly derivative, the characters are generic, and the threat posed by Telos is undefined. With this chapter Jeff King sets the stage for the mid point of the event with the subtlety of a sledge hammer to the head. The result is a a fairly good climax ruined by shamefully bad plotting, and heavy handed voice over.
WRITTEN BY: Jeff King
ART BY: Stephen Segovia
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 22, 2015
“Convergence” seems to have been written in a vacuum free of criticism or second guesses. It’s as if the script never got a second pass, and the dialogue on the page was all supposed to be replaced with something better. So again, the painful reality of a first time comics writer handling an huge ensemble piece is evident. Most of the issue is devoted to the heroes spouting off recaps of why they’ve tried everything – you know the stuff we saw last week – well they’re going to remind you about ALL OF IT.
When it’s not wading through it’s somehow dense plot – the characters inch a little closer to what Telos is and what convergence is trying to accomplish. This is outside the clear indication that the series is nothing more than a setup for the new iteration of Earth 2 that we’ll see after the event. Despite DC’s press to the contrary, it seems “Convergence” is very steeped in the world of the New 52.
Stephen Segovia’s art suffers from the massive amount of plot. He’s left to wade through troublesome transitions and strange fight scenes with far to many characters on the page. At his best, the work is serviceable and routine. But once the panels become crowded and his action falls to pieces. Our heroes follow the mysterious stranger that appeared last issue into the center of this new planet. Here the reader is greeted with what seems like some semblance of plot development, only to be hit over the head with a jarring scene change that introduces new locations and characters without so much as a caption to indicate time and place. Aside from that there’s the issue of the climax. Painful transitions aside, everything seems to fall apart at the apex of the action. The issue’s most monumental moment of action is confusing.
Spoilers for the event.
The death of Thomas Wayne occurs in this issue to laughable results. Not only is his death almost an aside to the chaos on the page, but the reader is hit over the head with what this death means. Thanks to a hearty dose of voice over narration from Dick Grayson the moment means nothing. King’s script takes the moment to remind you every small thing this Batman has done that mattered. The problem occurring when not a single one of these things occurred on the pages of “Convergence.”
End Spoilers
At this point “Convergence” is hard to recommend. It shows absolutely no signs of course correction and consistently drowns under its own weight. The result is an event without nuance, or even a proofread. That’s right, Green Lantern’s dialogue actually has a misspelling of “Telos” calling the villain “Tellos” it’s not just a quirk either, it’s a real deal one time error. It’s almost the cherry on top of this embarrassingly bad piece.