Comic Review: Event Leviathan #5

Event Leviathan #5

DC Comics

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Alex Maleev

Who is Leviathan?  I wish we knew.  We are five issues into this event, and we still have no idea who Leviathan is.  This is probably because the only plot to Event Leviathan is characters trying to figure out who Leviathan is.  And even with the help from an entire second team of detectives (which only lasts a handful of pages), no one can figure it out

There are two kinds of scenes in Event Leviathan.  There are scenes where the detective team tries to figure out the identity of Leviathan, with a sprinkling of scenes where Leviathan kindly explains to a hero how the world has to change.  That is all.  There is absolutely no action or plot in this entire series. Instead, the majority of each issue is one of the heroes accusing Lois Lane of running this newfound terrorist organization.

And it’s a shame because if things did happen in this event, it would be awesome.  Leviathan is an incredibly interesting villain.  Instead of instantly resorting to force, he actively tries to convince the heroes to join him.  His conversation with Superman in this issue was very compelling.  But what does Leviathan want?  We still have no clue what his plan is or how it changes the world (probably because it’s not, A: the team trying to figure out Leviathan’s identity, or B: Leviathan explaining that the world has to change).

But in this issue, we cross off a few more names in the Leviathan candidate pool.  The issue starts with an amusing joke that the majority of the internet thinks Maxwell Lord is Leviathan.  And towards the end of the issue, it’s revealed that Leviathan was a previous Manhunter.  This heavily implies that former Manhunter Mark Shaw is the true identity of Leviathan.  But to me, this half-reveal only confirms that Leviathan is someone else.  In a story where the only semblance of a plot is the occasional red herring, I expect nothing less from Bendis to reveal Leviathan is someone else.

At this point, Event Leviathan lives and dies by Alex Maleev’s phenomenal artwork.  His gritty and stylized pencils don’t miss a beat this issue.

Unfortunately, Event Leviathan #5 falls victim to the same problems of previous issues.  Bendis offers about a hundred times more word bubbles than plot points in this series.  And in a story so heavily focused on dialogue, Bendis does little to break from his choppy writing habits.  The occasional humorous or cleaver line is overshadowed by the sheer slog of dialogue to get through (or more realistically, skim over).  Event Leviathan #5 feels less like an event and more like a game of Guess Who that’s gone on too long.