Brightest Day #0 by Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi, and Fernando Passarin - A Review/Primer

Review by Chris Clow

“Once dead, twelve heroes and villains were resurrected by a white light expelled deep from within the center of the Earth. Deemed a miracle by many and a sign of the apocalypse by others, the reasons behind their rebirths remain a mystery. But it will not be a mystery for long. This is the BRIGHTEST DAY.”

A common criticism I hear from people who see the posters for this series go along the lines of, “Oh great! Now DC’s stories are going to be happy, bright, and shiny! BOOO!” However, after reading this introductory issue to Brightest Day, #0, it appears that the stories within the pages for the next year will be far from light-hearted. This issue was full of a despair wrapped in a blindingly bright white light. Not the warm, reassuring kind of light. This bright light felt more as if it could be on the front of a train that you can’t see barreling toward you, and it seems that the heroes and villains that have returned, except for maybe Deadman, might not get out of that train’s way fast enough.

Osiris finds himself without a family after his return. Captain Boomerang is stuck in Iron Heights, and is bold enough to threaten the Fastest Man Alive. Aquaman’s return is rejoiced by his wife Mera, but the King of the Seven Seas looks in the water and sees himself as a Black Lantern staring back at him. Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch are the new Firestorm, but Jason’s hatred toward Ronnie for what his corpse did as a Black Lantern could fracture their partnership before it even begins.

And Deadman isn’t dead anymore, and is adjusting to life, and his larger role in the DCU. All the heroes that were resurrected by the White Entity no longer need to wear their White Lantern Rings. So, why can’t Deadman take his off? What does a man so defined by death do when the death that he touches gains new life? Is this a good second chance, or does his new life spell doom for our heroes?

A lot of questions, I know. But after reading Brightest Day #0, it seems that questions are exactly what you’re supposed to have. Issue #1 is on sale next week, and if you’re at all curious about what’s in store for the twelve resurectees of the DCU, Brightest Day is the book to read.

GRADE = B