Convergence #1

 
Writers: Jeff King & Scott Lobdell
Pencils: Carlo Pagulayan
Inks: Jason Paz
Colors: Aspen MLT’s John Starr & Peter Steigerwald
Letters: Travis Lanham

Newcomer Telos, the apparent right-hand man to the now missing multiversal Brainiac entity, leaves a lot to be desired as a villain. His entire motif seems to be taken from longtime DC heavy hitter Mongul. Let’s compare the two, shall we?
 
Telos: Multidimensional villain that captures key cities from throughout the DC multiverse – 90% of which seem to be different incarnations of Gotham – places them on another world, and pits them against each other in a battle to the death.
 
Mongul: Intergalactic villain that captures key heroes from the primary DC universe, places them on another world, and pits them against each other in a battle to the death.
 
See? Telos even looks like a Brainiac-themed Mongul. A towering muscular figure, off-white yellowish skin, AND a purple and grey outfit? I mean, c’mon. It just feels lazy.
 
That being said, I think it’s fair to note that the general consensus on the main Convergence event is currently lukewarm at best and as someone who legitimately enjoys these humongous, often over-the-top events, I have to agree. After reading every issue of Superman: Doomed, Earth 2: World’s End, & Futures End, I expected a lot from the Convergence storyline but at the end of issue #1, I still feel confused and bored. On the other hand, and I know I’m not alone in this either, the artwork is phenomenal. Brainiac is the most terrifying I’ve ever seen him and the different iterations of him in Convergence #0 were translated from their source material with expert precision. Shout out in particular to the DCAU Brainiac who looks absolutely stellar. All said and done, I do have high hopes for the series as it still is very early on. For now though, I remain unimpressed by all but the art.