Monday, July 20, 2009

The Top 15 Worst Moments of Countdown



The 15 most awful moments from the dreaded series! ‎

77 comments:

Azerth said...

I love Top 15 Videos There So Long

Kamen Rider Gumo said...

Are you ever going to stop torturing yourself like this? We're starting to worry about your sanity.

Also, nice bit with the comic-monster and the Dragon Dagger. 'Tis only the second time I've seen you actually *destroy* a comic (the other was, of course, "Superman At Earth's End"). And speaking of that monstrosity, wasn't THAT also supposed to be a Khamandi tie-in, as well?

Slade Dreizehn said...

great work. good to see you survived through yet one more painful sitting of 'countdown'. really like how you used the "final countdown" very awesome.

till next...

Matthew said...

I still can't believe there was a Batman Beyond cameo in Countdown. Either way, liked the video, are we to expect a top 15 best moments for 52 coming soon? Just wondering, were you a fan of Dick Grayson becoming Batman after Final Crisis?

Anonymous said...

Was that the Team Rocket music at the end? HAHAHAH!

Lautreamontjr said...

Will you be reviewing Final Crisis? You are on the side of the fence which says it sucks balls, I would like to see your take on it.

Anonymous said...

Linkara already said he wouldn't since he did a Final Crisis in 5 Panels video, which showed his view on it.

Dan said...

I couldn't quite see...

Which issue did you rip up, and was it your least favorite?

YhuntressE said...

A fitting end to this mess of a series. Personally I'm a little surprised you didn't include the torture of Mr. Mysprixlix (sp) in this since you ranted and were pretty upset with it.

Anonymous said...

Don't you just hate when a pile of bad comics turns into a monster?

magus_69 said...

About Karate Kid becoming infected with Morticoccus: actually, that one is plausible, because he had been in the present since before the beginning of JLofA #1. It doesn't explain why nobody else seemingly caught the virus, but it gives him a reason to have had it.

Of course, a good writer would have had his physiology create Morticoccus. Then again, a good writer would have had the Legion send him to the Phantom Zone until such time as a cure could have been found, so yeah.

Mothra said...

Eee! Nanda Kanda no Kikare Tara (that's the long name for the Team Rocket theme, for those who don't know) and the win of the ending song has forced me out of hiding.

Rachel said...

Technically speaking, since Morrison was already writing Final Crisis before Countdown started, Countdown was ignoring what it was counting down to, not the other way around.

Joshua the Anarchist said...

So does this mean you hated the death of Captain America because he didn't go out swinging? I mean, sure it was noble of of him giving himself up to save lives and even throwing himself in the path of a bullet to save one of guards escorting him, but it was hardly the character's crowning moment.

James said...

Okay Linkara, you definitely need to submit "Orgasmo-pole" to the urban dictionary.

Man, a month ripping apart Amazons Attack, a month ripping apart Countdown... you are the MAN.

Unknown said...

Will you ever do a Top 15 worst superhero costume? I think the word for a good character death is "A blaze of glory". Wasn't Wally West Bart Allen's nephew?

Anonymous said...

Wai to go, Linkara. That was for sure a worthy ending for such a wicked series ^^

The Trembler said...

Linkara, I gotta tell you, you undercut your own argument with #8 at the end of the video. When you said it, the line sounded kinda cool!

Another thing worth noting is that that the image of a beaten-up super[whatever] Prime in your title card looks a lot like Adolph Hitler. I can evan see the mustache.

(Does that count as an application of Godwin's Law?)


One serious thing I should say is that I found it persistently hard to load this video. The only time I could get the video to play at all was from the Blip.tv permalink: http://blip.tv/file/2380774

If anyone came to the comments unable to load the video, I want them to know that.

I also just want to thank you for this video. You do great with big picture stuff and with little details. Countdown was so long that your could hardly do any details in the review proper; so having this conclusion added that extra bit of detailed commentary was missing from the summary.

You're no Monitor, Lnkara. You did something!

Anonymous said...

Good list for the most part, though I must take exception to your including the scene with the puppets.

That scene didn't suck because it made Rene Montoya look like an idiot. It rocked because it was the one time in the whole series Trickster got to look like the master-manipulator that he's supposed to be.

You know? The guy who outwitted the devil in Underworld Unleashed? The con-man who saved the collective hash of his fellow rogues by pulling a double-blind scam that resulted in Neron having to agree to forget all the Rogues except Trickster (he wanted Neron to remember who beat him twice) for all time?

*sighs* I'm probably the only fan James Jesse has at this point but dammit if that scene was the one decent moment he got in Countdown.

Paul S. said...

Another great episode. Countdown was one of the most infuriating events in recent memory.

So just out of curiosity are we due for another schedule? I know Xena is due out next week. What's coming up in the future?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

I'll post the list up after Xena's been released. ^^

aa97464 said...

What I like about Linkara is he seems like me.

Doug Walker is the consummate professional, Spoony is bizarrely charismatic, Angry Joe is well...angry.

Linkara's just a guy. Who likes comics.
I can relate to that.

Will Staples said...

Yes! 'Rod Rage Scrappy made the list! XD

ScreamingDoom said...

That amused me to no end. Mary Marvel's Orgasmo-pole! I cracked up so much on seeing that.

I actually rather like the new Question, but then again I've always liked the character. I also happen to be insane.

>.> <.< WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING!

MetFanMac said...

Great as usual. And an absolutely EPIC ending (which still, of course, made more sense than Countdown itself).

But I have to disgaree and say that moments like Piper's Puppet Pals, WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP, and Kungu Fu Scrappy Doo DIDN'T actually belong on this list, since I consider them "So Bad It's Good" moments. A better choice may have been Darkseid growing HUGE--a power he'd never exhibited before--and when Kyle mentions this, Donna responds "Who cares how? It's frikkin' Darkseid!"

PWBOT said...

So I guess you don't like Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, Linkara? I think that in the right writer, Superboy Prime can be redeemed into a good tragic hero. Finally back on the side of good, Superboy Prime is haunted by memories of his time as a murdering monster. He tries to control his urges to end his own life and continue living to try and repay his sins.

spiderman1989 said...

great show as always, though I have to disagree with you on the character deaths for you see not every death has to end in battle for example I know you have more expertise on DC but hear me. Character Captain Marvel died not in battle but of cancer and while he didn't die a heroic death he died surrounded by all his friends, allies and hell even his enemies payed tribute to him. It was a touching, tug at your heart moments knowing that this great hero dies.

WhiteHowl said...

Oh crap... a Hakkaida reference.. :O

Nave_Ninja said...

I know that laugh you gave the entity of Countdown! CARNAGE FROM MAXIMUM CARNAGE!

God bless my childhood Spider-Man games.

Lord Seth said...

"I'll kill you to death" sounds more like what you'd be doing in a PARODY than an actual comic. As an example, in an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series (specifically, "Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Movie") Anubis declares "You're going to die. And then you'll be dead. Because I killed you!" It's bad when your comic's dialogue sounds more like a parody than anything else.

Anonymous said...

COUNTDOWN IS SO RE-TODDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simon Mucha said...

Hey Linkara have you stumbled upon these links yet

http://imgur.com/DKR5j.png - a funny archie artist mishap

http://www.avclub.com/articles/reinventing-the-pencil-21-artists-who-changed-main,30528/2/ -

Reinventing the pencil: 21 artists who changed mainstream comics (for better or worse)

Lizard-Man said...

Great Review

Lizard-Man said...

Man I loved this series, I always heard how crappy this series was but now that I've seen it I have to agree. Such senseless murder and killing off of characters for no other reason then shock value. It saddens me to no end it does.

Quick question though, Batwoman is a lesbian, The new Question Rene Montoya is a Lesbian, I mean thats what I heard. So... are they like... going out or something?

Philosophista said...

BURN COUNTDOWN LEWIS! BURN IT! BURN IT! BURN IT! BURN ALL ITS PAGES WHILE EAT SOME MARSHMALLOWS AND REVIEW A GREAT COMIC STORY! BURN, BURN, BURN, BURN! MAKE THE LINE "WHERE BAD COMICS BURN" REAL AGAIN! BURN BURN BURN BURN! SET THIS PIECE OF DEAD HORSE CORPSE SHIT IN ASHES!!! HONOR THE TREES THAT FALLEN TO CREATE THIS ABOMINATION!!!

Unknown said...

....Can I just say that I love you for that Doctor Who reference?

Among other things, of course, but still, it's nice to see fans of the show doing little things like that.

ezim93 said...

How come it's awesome when you say "I'll kill you to death but when that character that shall not be named says it he sounds like a puss.

Rhomega said...

Well, even though a sizable chunk of the "story" was skipped and I don't recognize most of the characters, I can easily say Countdown sucked after seeing all 4 videos.

spiderman1989 said...

dear god "The Watchers" are more interesting than the Monitors..

Queen Anthai said...

Dear, I was living vicariously through you at the end there. SHRED IT TO DEATH!!!

And I am so, so happy that you showed the Kyle-bludgeon. I'll forever disagree and say it's the most AWESOME moment in COUNTDOWN, though, for the sole reason that...well, it was the only awesome moment in COUNTDOWN.

I mean, dude. KYLE-BLUDGEON. COME ON.

(FYI, "faux" is pronounced "foe." Just a heads-up.)

Go rip apart another issue with your teeth or something; you'll feel better. :)

Hichcoot said...

Great conclution to this crap!
I love your interpretation of Superboy Prime! i hope to see more reviews with him ( yeah he sucks but is so funny )

You should review Superman Vs Mohamed Ali!

Superboy Prime said...

COUNTDOWN WAS BETTER ON MY EARTH!!!

Artimus said...

"This one time, at Superhero Camp, I stuck a magical pole of ultimate power in my..."

Excellent! I honestly didn't see that line coming. That was awesome, but I still can't wait to see the reveal of Asshole-Linkara. (Lets face it, making a humanoid monster out of Countdown is more of an assholish thing to do than evil.)

The House of C.R.P said...

It's over.....

It's finally over.....

Linkara, you are a brave man for surviving the horrors of this series.

And remember comic fans, when all hope of quality is lost, at least it's not Countdown to Final Crisis.

Kevin "Jester" McGill said...

So 2 whole months as others have said dedicated to 2 of the worst series DC has had to offer, any chance on a whole month dedicated to 2 arcs from Marvel that cause "justify your hate"?

Lew Smith said...

Awesome review. I think if anything, this should be evidence that Dan Didio needs to get his act together and let the writers do their flippin' job.

Also...is the ending theme sung by the ghost of Jeff Buckley? O_o

Will Staples said...

@Lizard Man:

Quick question though, Batwoman is a lesbian, The new Question Rene Montoya is a Lesbian, I mean thats what I heard. So... are they like... going out or something?

They used to be a couple as part of their backstories, before they became superheroes, but they're not currently dating each other.

D. R. McLeod said...

So, at the end of Legion of 3 worlds, Superboy Prime has apparently got himself into our world and is getting revenge on the DCU by complaining about it on the internet.

So that means if you see somebody that complains vehemently about DC Comics, they could be Superboy Prime. Hell, his rampant self-loathing could manifest as a hatred for his own presentation in the comics...

...hmmm...

spiderman1989 said...

I read that to, omg that was a great issue the fact that he killed his future version just proves how much of an idiot he is. but at least he was more threatening in Legion rather than Countdown. he whiny though.

John said...

I loved the video, but I've only got one problem with the end fight between you and the "Countdown Creature of Doom". I think that you made that fight look like it was more epic than it should be. If we used what you said mostly happened in Countdown I think that this would pretty be what would have occurred...

The creature comes to life and looks menacingly at you (well as menacing as 52 comic books looking like Videoman out of 'Spiderman and His Amazing Friends' can). You pull out your magic gun and shoot it and(gasp)... it doesn't die!!! Oh No!!! What do we do now.

The "Countdown Creature" should then do the following - Look down at where you shot it and speak aloud: "We should do something!!!", "Should we do something?". Amidst it's inability to come up with ANY course of action: you pull out the dagger, stab it in the face and blast it into tiny little pieces of birdcage lining.

Is this anticlimactic... Yes, but that's Countdown for you!!!

Will said...

Why can't they just admit Poochie-Prime was a mistake and say he was killed to death while on his way back to his home planet already? Is DiDio keeping him around just to piss everyone off?

Truce Weston said...

wow dude! You survived this insanity finally!

great video, but i got that final countdown song now stuck in my head!

loved the dragon dagger fatality, and rocky 5 reference! and also love the star trek stuff i saw in the background! awesome!

can't wait to see what happens next! mecha-linkara is still out and about, and i still am thinking Dr. Insano has to do with it all!

so until someone finds out what the alchemy machine would turn Countdown into, MAKE MINE LIKARA!

perinigricon said...

Linkara - About your recommendation of 52... I read Crisis on Infinite Earths but haven't followed comics much since then... would I be able to pick up 52 and enjoy it fully without reading Infinite Crisis or should I pick up Infinite Crisis (and possibly the leadup series to Infinite Crisis) first?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

It might be a good idea to do so, if only because 52 follows directly after Infinite Crisis, but you don't really NEED to, though it explains a few questions you might have when you first read it.

perinigricon said...

And I assume that all the tie-ins and sub-comics of Infinite Crisis are worthless in terms of overarching story as most (non-Countdown) tie-ins go?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

Actually a few of 'em do enrich the experience a bit. For example, the Villains United Special leads directly into Infinite Crisis #7 and the OMAC Project Special tells of what happens to Brother Eye.

Otherwise, yeah, pretty much superfluous.

Anonymous said...

Well, I agree fully with almost everything you said.

However, I will defend one thing: Jimmy's costume :)

The reason its so horrible I think is because Mr. Olsen has absolutely no 'super' fashion sense, so he thinks highly clashing colors and everything else makes a superhero ^_^

Its kinda like how Kitty Pryde appeared in her home made costume long ago in the pages of the X-Men. It was horrible, but intentionally so because of of her bad super fashion sense: http://tinyurl.com/lxlt3r

Unknown said...

Hey Linkara, Have you read Legion of three worlds number 5?
Superboy prime is in our universe now D: ,Better watch your back.
love the review,by the way, what you think about the blackest night series?

Andre LeFarr said...

See, you knew we would call it Re-Todded. And I have no choice but to do that. Any other insult would be too clever to use on this comic.

PanNarran said...

Poor Kyle Rayner. Countdown was not kind to him.

PanNarran said...

Oh... and please, please, PLEASE do a 5-panel or review on the Sinestro Corps War. It's utterly awesome, and lured me back to comics and into Green Lantern after Chuck Austen's run on X-Men scared me off.

DaftRaider42 said...

So let me get this straight...

At the conclusion of Legion of Three Worlds, Superman-child Prime, having returned to Earth Prime, finds that his parents have read Infinite Crisis, Sinestro Corps War, Countdown, and Legion of Three Worlds and are now afraid of him?!

That's kinda awesome storytelling there. XD

Ka-Byrnes said...

i was in a book store the other day and passed by a novelization of countdown. I went online and couldn't find any proof that it existed so i caved in, went back to the bookstore and bought the thing...

I don't think I have the right to call myself human anymore.

BUT! The pacing is a thousand times better! (they cut out trickster, pied piper, triplicate girl, karate kid and the monitors talking)

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Legion of Three Worlds, Geoff Johns spoke online about the ending of the story and Superboy-Prime. Here's what he said:

"It's about Superboy-Prime's own private hell. He's created it for himself and we, the readers, are his jailers, we are not him. Prime is not a blanket "metaphor" for fanboys. It's called ironic black humor."

Lewis Lovhaug said...

""It's about Superboy-Prime's own private hell. He's created it for himself and we, the readers, are his jailers, we are not him. Prime is not a blanket "metaphor" for fanboys. It's called ironic black humor.""

And as I responded to him on his forum, I shall say again: why do OTHER PEOPLE have to suffer for his personal hell?

Anonymous said...

Don't villains make other people suffer when their in their own hell?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Don't villains make other people suffer when their in their own hell?"

Not always. Again - why should INNOCENT people suffer along with the guilty? If Prime is in his own personal hell, Shouldn't HE be the one suffering?

Anonymous said...

"Not always. Again - why should INNOCENT people suffer along with the guilty? If Prime is in his own personal hell, Shouldn't HE be the one suffering?"

Sometimes it does happen and, I suppose this is one of times it is happening.

ShadowWing Tronix said...

A couple of months after the fact, but I would like to vote the end credits theme for the official end credits theme of the show.

Kigee said...

Q: Who looks at the people who look at stuff and dosn't do anything but look?!?

A: Scrier!

Lolo said...

O_O
linkara said a bad word....

Anonymous said...

Wow i thought you were going to yell admonition rage when you were ripping the comics

Anonymous said...

Loved the video, and the rst of your Countdown based rage (god knows it deserves the riffing) but with all due respect, isn't it a bit hypocritcal to criticize Re-todd as being abelist language and then use the phrase 'Spasticboy-prime'?

Necrocommenting for the win!

Ming said...

Dude, I salute you for daring to go through all 51 issues of DC Countdown, one of the worst comic series ever.

A weekly series leading up to Final Crisis is a good concept, but when it is in the hands of meddling editors who say every story must tie in to Countdown or kill people at random just to get reaction, it's not 52 done right, it's more like, I don't know, might as well be dis-canon.

The Lord Havok mini-series seems to be good. The Ray Palmer one-shots are entertaining. Harley and Holly in Granny/Athena's "New Amazon" army is enjoyable. Everything else related to Countdown range from mediocre to just plain wrong.

There are so many ways I can make this a whole lot better -- like cut out a lot of unnecessary stuff so that the fall of the Fourth World and Darkseid's death around issue 26 and maybe use the remaining issues to actually set up the seeds to Final Crisis.

Lot of funny moments: Mechakara's attempt at sabotage, which only served to make you walk away with glee from this ridiculously bad excuse of a plot; the fake previously on recap with the Bum threatening to blow up the world; 90s Kid reaction to Superboy-Prime killing a pregnant woman on Earth-15 (along with everyone else) (wow, even he's got his own limits); and five post-credits stingers.

The end sequence where you battle the DC Countdown monster -- definitely epic moment of awesomeness.

D-doc said...

Great work as always but in the Darkseid clips you missed the clip that I always think of when I imagine his arrival

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOmMTRZyoIY

Bekah said...

“If a character dies, they better go out swingin’!" Like Whitebeard and Ace in One Piece? That was the first thing I thought of when you started #9.
Oh, and it kills me when people say somebody died in a comic, but they’re better now. It sounds so silly, and it reminds me of that joke in Monty Python and the Holy Grail when the bride’s father got hurt but kept getting better every time the King revised his speech and was eventually killed. XD

HippyTesla said...

Haaaahahahaha, the puppets rule man! :D

How many people wrote this, and how did they take turns as issues went? It seems that the 1989 TMNT cartoon was written better than this, especially with Bob turning evil (that's still a funny name for a guy who watches over all of the multiverse).

I have to read this now, after 4 episodes about it I developed an interest to see how it feels from personal experience :B