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Sue Dibny Queen of Spades

Who else was it going to be?

At first glance the Dibnys' arc in this story looks like it has all the same problems as, say, the plot of the Mario franchise: guy is despondent without girl, guy quests for girl while girl appears to do nothing to facilitate her own freedom, guy succeeds in quest and unites with girl happily ever after as though this is a natural consequence of success and not a relationship with its own intricacies and challenges.

But there are a few key differences that make this a lot less problematic.

1. Ralph isn't questing for some princess he's just heard about- he's questing for his wife. The relationship between them isn't founded on this rescue, it's already long-established when our story begins.

2. Sue isn't off in another castle sitting idly and waiting for rescue. She's dead, which means by definition a) she's got a damn good reason not to succeed in escaping on her own, and b) we can't actually say she's not trying because we have no idea what she's doing. (This also means Ralph's quest isn't just a rescue, it's the biggest mystery ever- the perfect job for the Ductile Detective.)

3. Ralph doesn't actually rescue her. Along the way his quest becomes thoroughly complicated by the actions of numerous third parties, and by the end of the story his final victory is in doing something completely separate from resurrecting his dead wife. In fact, rather than overcoming the menace holding her and him apart, Ralph is reunited by succumbing to it- in the end he dies, and joins Sue in the afterlife. To reiterate: the guy doesn't defeat the thing that overpowered the girl and prove his superiority- he surrenders to it, and meets her again by joining her in captivity. Take that, traditional narratives!

This is the final card in our Deck of 52. Thank you for reading.

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Ralph Dibny King of Spades

If you've been wondering where one of our protagonists has been this whole time... here he is.

Ralph has been through some shit in this story. He started this year having lost his wife, and it's been huge ups and downs ever since, from the not-quite-defacing of her grave and the locked-room murder of one of his closest colleagues to a wild ride through the mystic side of the universe that nearly cost him everything he had left.

But in the end, not only did he endure all this, he won. He beat two of the baddest bad guys in magic using nothing but his detective skills and his flask- and he earned his happy ending.

Thank you for reading Deck of 52.

One update remains.

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Mister Mind Four of Hearts

Wow. This guy certainly looks out of place next to those smiling faces from the previous card, doesn't he? But then, that's the point. Four is Death, after all, and who better to represent the death of caring and friendship than the monster who assembled the first Rogues' Gallery team to counter the forces of three orphaned kids, killed the most endearing sidekick in this book, and now threatens to tear apart the very fabric of space-time? He's even the villain of a family-driven storyline, bringing together three generations of time-traveling Carters to defend all of existence at a very personal cost.

Thank you for reading Deck of 52. Two updates remain.

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Cliff, Ellen and Maxine Baker Three of Hearts

We're approaching the end of our journey here, so it only seems fitting to arrive at what some of us have been pulling toward all along. This is what Animal Man has been fighting for all this time. This is what's been his compass, his goalpost, his horizon. Not world peace or lost treasure or untold fame and fortune- just the waiting hearts of those he loves, hoping to see him again.

There are three people on this card, but I think even if there weren't it'd be in the same place in the deck. Three hearts- three make a family.

Thank you for reading Deck of 52. Three updates remain.

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Shaolin Robot / August General in Iron Ten of Clubs

Okay, so I missed a whole week, but can you blame me? I had to figure out how to explain Shaolin Robot.

And that's hard, because 52 tells us nothing about this thing. Literally nothing. It doesn't get talked about. You can't read its dialogue unless you know the I Ching off the top of your head or have a copy handy- and even if you do, the concepts expressed are so vague that it's more like reading tarot cards than translating from another language.

So we're down to what we can tell by looking at it- that is, what it looks like, and what we see it do.

What does it look like? A human-shaped, human-sized, armored robot with a gun for one arm and a blade on the other. So Shaolin Robot is made for fighting. It's got a Chinese character on its chest, too- I don't know what the symbol means, but I know it's intended to mean something. So Shaolin Robot is like Superman- there's a message in what it does, or at least an identifier.

What do we see it do? It fights Black Adam. In accordance with its design, it shoots at him and tries to hit or stab him. It doesn't last long, but it's hardly alone in that, and it gives its all. More specifically, it does so as a member of the Great Ten, at the orders of a teammate. Like a soldier.

We don't know what the Shaolin Robot is, where it came from, or what purpose it ultimately serves. But we know that it fights, and it fights in service of something greater than itself, as a super-functionary of the Great Ten. Of the four suits- Hearts for love and family, Diamonds for wealth and perfection, Spades for death and absence, and Clubs for growth and energy- it clearly belongs in the fourth.

Thank you for reading Deck of 52. Four updates remain.

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Seven Deadly Brothers / Celestial Archer Seven of Clubs

Due to a spell cast on him by seven taoist sorcerers, Yang Kei-Ying possesses complete knowledge of the seven schools of kung fu, and the ability to divide into seven identical selves each of whom is a grandmaster of a different style. However, he is also cursed with a supernatural lust for violence and unnaturally long life, making him a great Seven of Clubs- a team unto himself, embodying brute force and mysticism.

This card probably makes a lot more sense the second time around.

Five updates left. Be here Friday when we finish with the Great Ten.

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Ghost Fox Killer / Immortal Man in Darkness Ten of Spades

Both of these titles refer to roles more than the people chosen to play them, and both pertain to death in service to one's country, but where the powers of the Immortal Man in Darkness are a slow death sentence, the powers of the Ghost Fox Killer are judge, jury, and executioner. The as yet unnamed Killer comes from a hidden colony of mythical ghost fox women somewhere in the Chinese wilderness, and serves both as emissary and warrior for justice, wielding mystic pistols, a touch of death, and command over the spirits of those she's killed. She is often accompanied by a living jade statue of an Imperial guardian lion, which protects her and obeys her orders.

Simply looking at the Killer's tactics in battle or her actions as a member of the Great Ten, it would be hard to view her as a reimagining of Wonder Woman, but upon learning about her history and background, the parallels become clearer. Does her darker nature reflect some change in the culture that produced both characters at different points in time, or is she simply the other side of the same coin- a peacemaker who accomplishes her duty in battle, rather than vice versa? It is said that the society of ghost fox women will crumble if she fails to deliver the spirits of the evil men she dispatches...

This is yet another example of an interesting and nuanced character created to occupy a space that could easily have been filled by Background Superhero #3, and I salute the creators who made that happen.

Six updates left.

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Socialist Red Guardsman / Mother of Champions Ten of Hearts

We're coming into the home stretch now- which, of course, means that the biggest battles, the greatest shocks, and the most important life-changing events are still to come. The Guardsman here may not directly fuel any of those, but it takes any number of pebbles to make an avalanche...

Gu Lao, like another of the world's greatest superheroes, derives his powers from our sun. Unlike Superman, however, he constantly converts that energy into deadly radiation, requiring him to spend his days locked away from humanity, whether in a shielded chamber or a protective containment suit. He's held his role and powers for decades before the public premiere of the Great Ten, and personally helped implement Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, raising worship of the state above religious or smaller political concerns for the Chinese people. Since then, however, things have been going steadily downhill for Lao, with the dismantling of that regime taking its toll on the man who'd tied so much of his identity to it, leaving him disillusioned with the nation he loves and disappointed by the generation that has superseded his. Perhaps the one new light in his life has been the teammate with whom he shares this card- the Mother of Champions, whose unique biosystem is immune to his radiation and who has been the first human to touch him in over fifteen years.

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Dr. Will Magnus and the Metal Men Seven of Hearts

Things are coming to a head in Gotham, but that doesn't mean they're slowing down anywhere else. On Oolong Island, for instance, home of Chang Tzu and his Science Squad, one of the more reluctant mad scientists among the group that gave rise to Intergang's Four Horsemen is getting ready to make his move.

If you've been paying attention, you remember that in the tradition of the original Justice League, the Sevens of this deck all belong to teams. So that makes sense, especially considering that there are six Metal Men (Platinum being the one not pictured above- that stuff is hard to come by on a remote island) plus the Doc himself. But why the Hearts for an emotionally remote intellectual and his team of two-dimensional machine intelligences?

Because, well, that description is just wrong for these guys. The Metal Men are some of the most expendable characters in comics- Iron and Lead could be rebuilt in minutes from new responsometers and scrap metal- but Magnus never treats them that way. He doesn't even really consider himself their inventor- as he tells Chang Tzu, his theory was always that the elements are already alive, and just need a little push to express themselves. Nor do they consider him either an almighty creator or an oppressor to be overcome- through thick and thin, the Metal Men remain in Doc's corner no matter what he's up against, but treat him as a scientific adviser and mascot more than a "father" or even a team leader. Mercury loves being the center of Doc's attention, and Platinum even has a not-so-subtle crush on him.

In short, like the best teams, they're a family. None of them were born heroes, but they'll never quit, either- not even timid Tin or prideful Gold would think of leaving the others, and that goes double for the Doc. Off his meds and surrounded by madmen with death rays, he's still got the Metal Men in his corner, and that's how you know he'll make it out just fine.

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Renee Montoya Jack of Hearts

At the end of Infinite Crisis she was an ex-police detective turning to alcohol, cigarettes and anonymous sex as coping mechanisms after the death of her partner. It took a crazy old vigilante with no face to get her up on her feet and out of her apartment, let alone the city.

Since then, she's circled the globe more than once, following Intergang and their death grip on Gotham to the Middle East, the Himalayas, and more. She's trained with Richard Dragon. studied with Aristotle Rodor, and been awarded the highest honor the government of Kahndaq can bestow upon a non-citizen.

Now she's back in Gotham.

Her partner is dead. Her city is ablaze, in danger of being wiped off the map entirely. Her ex-girlfriend is held captive by monsters intent on carving out her heart. Her allies are few and far between.

But this time she's ready.

As a police officer she worked by a code of law, and it held her back at crucial moments. Now she's someone new- someone who can write her own code, and feel comfortable with her choices after making them.

If you were given a second chance to make a difference in the world... wouldn't you?

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Bruce Wayne Nine of Hearts

The Amazon Princess isn't the only one who undergoes a major turning point in Nanda Parbat. Heck, it practically seems to be a popular vacation spot this year for heroes in need of a fresh start. But there's really nothing like seeing Bruce Wayne say "Batman is gone" for a shocking twist on one of DC's most popular characters.

Be here on Friday when another hero emerges.

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Wonder Woman Six of Clubs

The original concept of 52 was to show the process by which the DC Universe at the end of Infinite Crisis became the DC Universe of One Year Later. The idea was that minor characters would show us the turning points in the lives of the major characters we were actually there to read about. Somewhere along the line this got lost in the stories that those minor characters would actually be living through during this time, and the places they'd visit along the way, but a few pivotal moments for central characters still made it into the book. This is one of them.

Wonder Woman has killed a man- worse, has killed a helpless opponent, going against her own morals as well as those of Man's World. And yet, by the power of the Lasso of Truth she knows it was the only thing she could have done to prevent a madman sending the Man of Steel against the world.

In the wake of the OMAC attacks, her people on Themyscira have left this plane for a higher reality.

She did the right thing, but she also broke her code. She doesn't know what to make of that, and her usual source of guidance has literally vanished. Now, here, in Nanda Parbat, she consults another source, and is rewarded with wisdom, to face her new existence.

One might even say that it turns her life around.

Wonder Woman is, like most of this suit, aligned with the Clubs for their imagery of brute force and of growth- power and artifice meeting life and nature, the heavy-handed creation so often signified by the hand of god(s). And, like the other sixes and nines, she is a pivotal point in this story. There would be no 52 if not for the central heroes whose absence defines this year- and yet at the same time, without this year, those heroes would not go through the changes that define them at the end of it. More than anything this is the central thrust of the book- a story about change, in the world and the people who live there.

We'll see another of these pivotal moments in the next update.

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Death Ace of Spades

I have to applaud the guys on Oolong Island, and by extension the writers and artists of 52, for not simply making the fourth Horseman a representation of the usual Grim Reaper iconography. This design is much more unique and better for it- can you imagine Black Adam struggling with nothing but a skeleton in a cloak over the destruction of Kahndaq? The wings and cow skull add elements of other traditional symbols to this Death, while keeping the skull for a head and scythe as weapon of choice (with mad-science/Apokoliptian upgrades, of course) and it's all layered on a physically imposing body, with the great effect we see here of being as black as its own outline, so that it appears in silhouette aside from the highlights of the armor, eye, wings, and scythe. Death is both creepy and formidable, as it should be.

Join me on Monday for a rebirth.

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August General in Iron / ??? Ten of Clubs

Fang Zhifu is a soldier and a patriot. This story alone doesn't tell us how he became the supernaturally strong and durable August General in Iron, or how he was selected to lead the Great Ten, but it certainly makes that much clear. And in the People's Republic of China, where the state is to be held above all, including gods and other superstitions, this makes him a perfect fit for the suit of Clubs, which represent brute force and the supernatural.

I know it's been a while since I updated, despite the schedule I set for myself. I'm sorry. But I do intend to finish this project.

Join me on Friday for the big one.

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Isis / Osiris Two of Spades

The queen is dead. Long live the queen.

Way back in the early days of this story, Black Adam declared that Kahndaq would be off-limits to Intergang while under his rule. He may have been a former criminal himself, but he had renounced that way of life and would no longer tolerate it in others, especially within his domain.

Intergang didn't go away from that meeting happy. They may have taken their time building up a force willing and able to fight mortals with the powers of entire pantheons, but they didn't give up, and with the premiere of the Four Horsemen, they've declared war on Kahndaq. The royal family are just the first of the casualties.

They may have been a Queen and a Prince the day before, but Osiris and Isis are at the lowest rank after their transition to the suit of the grave- after all, we're all equal in death.

Join me on Friday for a command decision.

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Pestilence Ace of Diamonds

We've already established who the Four Horsemen are and what they're doing, so I'm just going to take a minute and talk about the design on Pestilence, here.

As the living embodiment of plague, he naturally looks thin and sickly- he's even hooked up to equipment and wearing a one-piece smock, like somebody you just know is going to die before the next time they can leave their hospital bed. Except that he's up and moving, and on closer inspection all that equipment isn't for protecting him- it's for killing you. His arms end in multidirectional spray nozzles hooked to those plague tanks on his back. His respirator is a gas mask turned inside out and cranked up to eleven, letting him cough all over you with the force of a fire hose. And in case you can't see it too well here, his face is one shriveled mass of skin without any features except his permanently grinning mouth and single unblinking eye. He really shows you both sides of the concept he represents- both the power he wields and its effect on his victims.

Isis says that the voice of nature tells her he's nothing but walking disease- a stack of bacteria and viruses eight feet high shaped to look like a man. And he came from a combination of mad science and Apokoliptian technology, so that's just crazy enough to make sense.

Join me on Friday when we set a record.

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Osiris / ??? Two of Spades

SURPRISE.

The Four Horsemen are on the march in Kahndaq, their opening move has dealt a devastating blow to the Black Marvel Family... and even from here, it gets worse before it gets better.

Join me on Monday.