Day of Vegeance
終於看完Countdown to Infinite Crisis的故事了，這下可進入大直路了。
不過還是要先記下簡單的讀後感，免得記性甚差的自己兩下子就把劇情都忘得一乾二淨。
以下的故事內容轉載自維基百科：
The seduction of the Spectre
Jean Loring, ex-wife of Ray Palmer (The Atom) and murderer of Sue Dibny in 2004's seven-issue limited series Identity Crisis, is transformed into a new version of the villainous Eclipso by mysterious forces. Loring escapes from her Arkham Asylum cell to unknown whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Spectre, the vengeful right hand of God, is now without a host since the revival of Hal Jordan. Eclipso persuades the Spectre that magic is evil because it breaks the laws of nature set by God. This logic makes sense to the hostless Spectre, who vows to destroy all of magic.
The Shadowpact
Having witnessed his attack first hand, Enchantress summons Ragman to the Mist Woods to save her from the Spectre, who has just defeated and killed "seven hundred combat trained sorcerers" who were having an informal gathering. As Blackbriar Thorn provides a distraction, they retreat to the Oblivion Bar, a bar between dimensions where magically powered beings meet to trade war stories. The subject of the day at the bar is the Spectre and his attacks on magic across the world. The bartender is Jim Rook (the Nightmaster) and the bouncer is Blue Devil. When Enchantress proclaims that the magic world needs to make a stand against the Spectre, she gets no agreement, save for Detective Chimp.
Detective Chimp reveals that the Phantom Stranger, one of several "big-gun" magicians that Ragman believes is better suited for this type of fight, has been turned into a mouse, emphasizing the importance of fighting the Spectre. These five are joined by Nightshade as the Shadowpact and they all agree to take the fight to the Spectre. While the mystics plan this attack, the ancient wizard Shazam recruits his champion Captain Marvel in a bid against the Spectre. Also notable, the other "big-guns" mentioned by the patrons in the bar were Doctor Fate and Madame Xanadu. Both have already been disabled by the Spectre, Doctor Fate being imprisoned in the dimension within his helmet and Madame Xanadu having been blinded by the Spectre, disabling her abilities to interpret magic.
The first battle
Promotional art for Day of Vengeance #3 (August 2005) featuring the Spectre fighting Captain Marvel. Art by Walt Simonson.
Through the Enchantress, the group, later named the Shadowpact, learn that the Spectre was being seduced and corrupted by Eclipso. They plan what is essentially a suicide mission to find the Spectre (and Eclipso), attack Eclipso with overwhelming surprise and numbers and to kill her, hoping to free the Spectre before he turns on them. As Enchantress, Blue Devil, Ragman and Nightmaster teleport in, they happen on Captain Marvel fighting a duel of magic versus spirit, which gives them the time and a chance to try to defeat Eclipso, while the Spectre is distracted. Hoping to give Captain Marvel more time to hold off the Spectre (which gives them more time to defeat Eclipso), Enchantress siphons magical energy first from herself; then from mystics around the world including heroes such as Alan Scott, Zatanna, The Phantom Stranger (in mouse form); villains like Blackbriar Thorn; and finally, ordinary mortals with little magic power, adding to Captain Marvel's own magical power. Meanwhile, Detective Chimp and Nightshade work on a backup plan by trying to bring back Black Alice, a girl with the power to steal another's magical abilities for a short period of time, leaving her target powerless. The Shadowpact defeats Eclipso when Blue Devil skewers Eclipso with his trident of Lucifer while Captain Marvel gains the upper hand over the Spectre, thanks to the tens of thousands of magic users supporting him. However, the strain of gathering such immense quantities of magic drives Enchantress temporarily insane, and she releases her link to Captain Marvel to battle her own teammates. Captain Marvel's strength fades, and he is barely defeated by the Spectre. The Spectre, who is now heavily drained, rescues a stunned Eclipso, and Eclipso uses the last of her power to fly both of them away to safety. Blue Devil knocks Enchantress out, and the Shadowpact return to the Oblivion Bar with Captain Marvel to regroup, surprised to be alive, and amazed to have temporarily beaten back the Spectre.
The second plan
The Shadowpact, along with Black Alice, decide on their next plan of attack: they will kill the Spectre and defeat Eclipso before she can complete her war on magic by using Black Alice's ability to steal powers. The plan reaches a snag, however, when a powerless Spectre is revealed to be an empty spirit who cannot be harmed. During her brief possession of the Spectre's powers, Black Alice uses them to help Nightshade send Eclipso into a perpetual orbit around the sun, which weakens her power.
Captain Marvel, meanwhile, has returned to the Rock of Eternity, where the wizard Shazam reveals that he is ready to face the Spectre. The restored Spectre travels to the Rock of Eternity to battle the wizard Shazam, changing Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson, his alter-ego, to keep him out of his way. The Phantom Stranger, returning to his human form, uses his powers to allow the Shadowpact and Black Alice to watch the battle between Shazam and the Spectre from Earth. After it appears that Shazam has beaten his opponent, the Spectre revives himself, drains the wizard of his powers, and kills him. The Rock of Eternity begins to disintegrate, and travels through several dimensions as it does so, eventually appearing in the sky above Gotham City before it explodes into "a billion pieces".
Conclusion
The destruction of the Rock frees an untold number beings of evil magic back into the world, among them the "living" embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, who were formerly trapped in stone statues in Shazam's throne room. The scarab belonging to the original Blue Beetle, which Shazam had acquired from his successor, Ted Kord, lands in El Paso, Texas. Billy Batson, unable to remember his magic word, is seen falling from the Rock above Gotham City. The scene leads directly into Infinite Crisis #1. The Shadowpact, meanwhile, agrees to continue the fight, but will do so without Black Alice, who, as she is still a teenager, plans to return home.
在看本作之前，我有預感這是我最難看畢全作的一部countdown故事。因為我對魔法系的角色興趣不大，Constantine之類的人物我可沒有心機追看，更何況本作的領軍人物除Spectre之外統統都是二線角色？
有趣的是，我竟然很快就看完本作了。一來本作的故事並不複雜，就是Shadowpact不停的狙擊暴走的Spectre，二來Shadowpact這個新組合成員的關係和相處很是有趣，不時看得我會心微笑。
可憐的Ragman，自作多情的小毒男，慘被Enchantress瘋狂恥笑，明明Blue Devil也有強吻她呀，但她卻只針對著Ragman。我對Enchantress的認識不深，受Flashpoint故事的影響，在先入為主下，一直以為她是個純粹的反派，不料她原來是個正派角色，只是偶爾也會暴走成反派罷了。另外，她真的是個很可愛的女生，堅強得來帶點淘氣，難怪毒男Ragman把持不住。
本作的大反派是Spectre，沒有了人類宿主的祂只是個一心想著復仇的強大能量體，在缺乏判斷力和體恤的祂，普通人就算是小小的個錯也會被施以極刑。這是個有意思的設定，也合乎情理——太高等的生命體對於渺小的人類，本來就不會帶有多餘的情感。當然Spectre過火的行為部分歸咎於Eclipso的唆使，而Eclipso這個反派的真身/宿主是Identity Crisis的元兇Jean，Identity Crisis的影響真是有夠深遠。不過我由頭到尾都不喜歡Eclipso這個角色，很單調，反而不及本尊Jean的狡獪多智。
本作中最震撼的戰役當數Captain Marvel與Spectre的單挑，前者在Enchantress的協助下，得到全地球Sorcerer的力量，從而巨大化與Spectre一戰，要不是Enchantress快要被強大的力量淹過理智而中斷協助，Captain Marvel可快要把Spectre打殘了。我第一次看到上述的畫面時，我還以為自己在看龍珠crossover Ultraman。而最終大戰雖不及上述那場戰鬥般激烈，但看到魔法界的殘兵為著正義而以「明知不可為而為之」的心態死鬥比他們強上不知多少倍的Spectre，我心中可是有點激動，也為這班勇敢的小人物吶喊助威。
本作最教我無言的是結局的處理。其實本作既然是Countdown故事，其主要作用就是作為Infinite Crisis的鋪排，這個作用遠比故事本身的完整度重要，故我之前看的Countdown故事都是餘韻未止的結局。然而像本作般仿如突然中斷的突兀結局，卻使我有點失望了。我明白這都是為了烘托更大型事件的必要手段，我不過只是在可惜而已。我可是很想能看到Shadowpact親手打敗Spectre的，這種以弱勝強的故事，可是我的至愛。
總括而言，本作不是一部不看不可的作品，可是頗為有趣，要是不會對魔法系故事強烈排斥的話，花少許時間一讀也不壞，至少我看得很爽。而本作的重點就是Spectre的暴走，祂打敗了很多魔法系的猛人，也解放了Wizard看守的七原罪，知道這些就可以去看Infinite Crisis了。
我來了！
75分類
不過還是要先記下簡單的讀後感，免得記性甚差的自己兩下子就把劇情都忘得一乾二淨。
以下的故事內容轉載自維基百科：
The seduction of the Spectre
Jean Loring, ex-wife of Ray Palmer (The Atom) and murderer of Sue Dibny in 2004's seven-issue limited series Identity Crisis, is transformed into a new version of the villainous Eclipso by mysterious forces. Loring escapes from her Arkham Asylum cell to unknown whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Spectre, the vengeful right hand of God, is now without a host since the revival of Hal Jordan. Eclipso persuades the Spectre that magic is evil because it breaks the laws of nature set by God. This logic makes sense to the hostless Spectre, who vows to destroy all of magic.
The Shadowpact
Having witnessed his attack first hand, Enchantress summons Ragman to the Mist Woods to save her from the Spectre, who has just defeated and killed "seven hundred combat trained sorcerers" who were having an informal gathering. As Blackbriar Thorn provides a distraction, they retreat to the Oblivion Bar, a bar between dimensions where magically powered beings meet to trade war stories. The subject of the day at the bar is the Spectre and his attacks on magic across the world. The bartender is Jim Rook (the Nightmaster) and the bouncer is Blue Devil. When Enchantress proclaims that the magic world needs to make a stand against the Spectre, she gets no agreement, save for Detective Chimp.
Detective Chimp reveals that the Phantom Stranger, one of several "big-gun" magicians that Ragman believes is better suited for this type of fight, has been turned into a mouse, emphasizing the importance of fighting the Spectre. These five are joined by Nightshade as the Shadowpact and they all agree to take the fight to the Spectre. While the mystics plan this attack, the ancient wizard Shazam recruits his champion Captain Marvel in a bid against the Spectre. Also notable, the other "big-guns" mentioned by the patrons in the bar were Doctor Fate and Madame Xanadu. Both have already been disabled by the Spectre, Doctor Fate being imprisoned in the dimension within his helmet and Madame Xanadu having been blinded by the Spectre, disabling her abilities to interpret magic.
The first battle
Promotional art for Day of Vengeance #3 (August 2005) featuring the Spectre fighting Captain Marvel. Art by Walt Simonson.
Through the Enchantress, the group, later named the Shadowpact, learn that the Spectre was being seduced and corrupted by Eclipso. They plan what is essentially a suicide mission to find the Spectre (and Eclipso), attack Eclipso with overwhelming surprise and numbers and to kill her, hoping to free the Spectre before he turns on them. As Enchantress, Blue Devil, Ragman and Nightmaster teleport in, they happen on Captain Marvel fighting a duel of magic versus spirit, which gives them the time and a chance to try to defeat Eclipso, while the Spectre is distracted. Hoping to give Captain Marvel more time to hold off the Spectre (which gives them more time to defeat Eclipso), Enchantress siphons magical energy first from herself; then from mystics around the world including heroes such as Alan Scott, Zatanna, The Phantom Stranger (in mouse form); villains like Blackbriar Thorn; and finally, ordinary mortals with little magic power, adding to Captain Marvel's own magical power. Meanwhile, Detective Chimp and Nightshade work on a backup plan by trying to bring back Black Alice, a girl with the power to steal another's magical abilities for a short period of time, leaving her target powerless. The Shadowpact defeats Eclipso when Blue Devil skewers Eclipso with his trident of Lucifer while Captain Marvel gains the upper hand over the Spectre, thanks to the tens of thousands of magic users supporting him. However, the strain of gathering such immense quantities of magic drives Enchantress temporarily insane, and she releases her link to Captain Marvel to battle her own teammates. Captain Marvel's strength fades, and he is barely defeated by the Spectre. The Spectre, who is now heavily drained, rescues a stunned Eclipso, and Eclipso uses the last of her power to fly both of them away to safety. Blue Devil knocks Enchantress out, and the Shadowpact return to the Oblivion Bar with Captain Marvel to regroup, surprised to be alive, and amazed to have temporarily beaten back the Spectre.
The second plan
The Shadowpact, along with Black Alice, decide on their next plan of attack: they will kill the Spectre and defeat Eclipso before she can complete her war on magic by using Black Alice's ability to steal powers. The plan reaches a snag, however, when a powerless Spectre is revealed to be an empty spirit who cannot be harmed. During her brief possession of the Spectre's powers, Black Alice uses them to help Nightshade send Eclipso into a perpetual orbit around the sun, which weakens her power.
Captain Marvel, meanwhile, has returned to the Rock of Eternity, where the wizard Shazam reveals that he is ready to face the Spectre. The restored Spectre travels to the Rock of Eternity to battle the wizard Shazam, changing Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson, his alter-ego, to keep him out of his way. The Phantom Stranger, returning to his human form, uses his powers to allow the Shadowpact and Black Alice to watch the battle between Shazam and the Spectre from Earth. After it appears that Shazam has beaten his opponent, the Spectre revives himself, drains the wizard of his powers, and kills him. The Rock of Eternity begins to disintegrate, and travels through several dimensions as it does so, eventually appearing in the sky above Gotham City before it explodes into "a billion pieces".
Conclusion
The destruction of the Rock frees an untold number beings of evil magic back into the world, among them the "living" embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, who were formerly trapped in stone statues in Shazam's throne room. The scarab belonging to the original Blue Beetle, which Shazam had acquired from his successor, Ted Kord, lands in El Paso, Texas. Billy Batson, unable to remember his magic word, is seen falling from the Rock above Gotham City. The scene leads directly into Infinite Crisis #1. The Shadowpact, meanwhile, agrees to continue the fight, but will do so without Black Alice, who, as she is still a teenager, plans to return home.
在看本作之前，我有預感這是我最難看畢全作的一部countdown故事。因為我對魔法系的角色興趣不大，Constantine之類的人物我可沒有心機追看，更何況本作的領軍人物除Spectre之外統統都是二線角色？
有趣的是，我竟然很快就看完本作了。一來本作的故事並不複雜，就是Shadowpact不停的狙擊暴走的Spectre，二來Shadowpact這個新組合成員的關係和相處很是有趣，不時看得我會心微笑。
可憐的Ragman，自作多情的小毒男，慘被Enchantress瘋狂恥笑，明明Blue Devil也有強吻她呀，但她卻只針對著Ragman。我對Enchantress的認識不深，受Flashpoint故事的影響，在先入為主下，一直以為她是個純粹的反派，不料她原來是個正派角色，只是偶爾也會暴走成反派罷了。另外，她真的是個很可愛的女生，堅強得來帶點淘氣，難怪毒男Ragman把持不住。
本作的大反派是Spectre，沒有了人類宿主的祂只是個一心想著復仇的強大能量體，在缺乏判斷力和體恤的祂，普通人就算是小小的個錯也會被施以極刑。這是個有意思的設定，也合乎情理——太高等的生命體對於渺小的人類，本來就不會帶有多餘的情感。當然Spectre過火的行為部分歸咎於Eclipso的唆使，而Eclipso這個反派的真身/宿主是Identity Crisis的元兇Jean，Identity Crisis的影響真是有夠深遠。不過我由頭到尾都不喜歡Eclipso這個角色，很單調，反而不及本尊Jean的狡獪多智。
本作中最震撼的戰役當數Captain Marvel與Spectre的單挑，前者在Enchantress的協助下，得到全地球Sorcerer的力量，從而巨大化與Spectre一戰，要不是Enchantress快要被強大的力量淹過理智而中斷協助，Captain Marvel可快要把Spectre打殘了。我第一次看到上述的畫面時，我還以為自己在看龍珠crossover Ultraman。而最終大戰雖不及上述那場戰鬥般激烈，但看到魔法界的殘兵為著正義而以「明知不可為而為之」的心態死鬥比他們強上不知多少倍的Spectre，我心中可是有點激動，也為這班勇敢的小人物吶喊助威。
本作最教我無言的是結局的處理。其實本作既然是Countdown故事，其主要作用就是作為Infinite Crisis的鋪排，這個作用遠比故事本身的完整度重要，故我之前看的Countdown故事都是餘韻未止的結局。然而像本作般仿如突然中斷的突兀結局，卻使我有點失望了。我明白這都是為了烘托更大型事件的必要手段，我不過只是在可惜而已。我可是很想能看到Shadowpact親手打敗Spectre的，這種以弱勝強的故事，可是我的至愛。
總括而言，本作不是一部不看不可的作品，可是頗為有趣，要是不會對魔法系故事強烈排斥的話，花少許時間一讀也不壞，至少我看得很爽。而本作的重點就是Spectre的暴走，祂打敗了很多魔法系的猛人，也解放了Wizard看守的七原罪，知道這些就可以去看Infinite Crisis了。
我來了！
75分類
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