Sargon the Sorceror: Helmet of Fate Review and Spoilers

[drwho]

I have to admit this issue was very enjoyable considering I knew zip about the original one. The art is very moody and dark, but fits the story well. The story is Sargon is dead and his grandson inherits his estate. The people that advise Sargon's grandson are actually after Sargon's source of power a ruby and they try to swindle him out of the estate. The helmet of fate really is a non factor in this book if anything just to cause a distraction. Anyway Sargon's grandson gets the powers of his grandfather. Some cool things is the mansion where he lives has a spell of protection on it which causes the house to protect him. Things like suits of armor become animate. Only thing I didnt like was his costume. I would actually try a series starring this character done vertigo style. Much better than the ibis one shot, but doesn't expand on the helmet of fate storyline.

[SKJAM!]

Neatly enough, this isn't a completely new character. He appeared way back when in the Flash comics when Sargon turned "evil" for a while, and was going to do something bad to the kid for reasons that escape me just now.

[marshal99]

Talk about ultra slow inheritance , Sargon died like nearly 20 years ago along with Zatara during the darkness saga and only now his grandson inherit his estate ?!??

[joint venture]

Aside from this you guy mentioned, the name Sargon comes from the Sargon of Akkad, the third ruler able to set up an empire in which is now Iran, Irak and a chunk of Turkey(2334BC). Bastard son of a concubine or "priestess", changed his name from Sargon the Bastard to Sargon The Great, and is known to be the first individual who tries or plans to rule the entire world.

There is alway more to a simple name than one thinks.

I'd like to see this more focused on Fate and the helmet though.

[Thnikkaman]

I'd say this was the worst of the specials so far. Basically a repeat of the Ibis special, but with a hero with absolutely no personality and even less relevance to the Fate storyline.

[FanboyStranger]

Talk about ultra slow inheritance , Sargon died like nearly 20 years ago along with Zatara during the darkness saga and only now his grandson inherit his estate ?!??

Except that was only a few years ago in the DCU, and Sargon's been back at least twice since then. Plus, David Sargent is a known vagabond on the first page of the book, which means tracking him down for a legal inheritance could be tricky and time consuming, if you forget that the lawyers in question use magic in the book itself.

I was underwhelmed with the book, as I've been with the entire Helmet of Fate event so far. The new Sargon just seems like Jared Stevens in a new suit to me, and I have no love for Jared Stevens.

[Indigo Al]

I enjoyed the art and the costume design, and the weird way that Sargon's portrait resembled Aleister Crowley ---

but yes, it seems like everyone offed in the Baron Winters Swamp Thing seance is now getting an heir who's sort of a wet blanket personality.

[David O Burcham]

I'd say this was the worst of the specials so far. Basically a repeat of the Ibis special, but with a hero with absolutely no personality and even less relevance to the Fate storyline.

The new Sargon's costume is cooler than the new Ibis'.... that's gotta count for something.

Right?

[David O Burcham]

What bothers me about this comic is that the one thing that made the original Sargon the Sorcerer different from all of the other magic-based characters from the Golden Age is gone. He had to have physical contact with the person or thing to affect them with his magic.

The new Sargon is just another magic user with no gimmick to distinguish him from a host of others except a cool costume.

[Jack Zodiac]

Even though nobody read it, Sargon was brought back from the dead to be the villain of the most recent Swamp Thing relaunch, where he uses his Ruby of Life to try and turn Tefé into a Life Elemental to fighther father. Then he dies, again, a villain this time.

Just like Ibis the Invincible, nobody's given Sargon the Sorcerer any attention at all in forever. Ibis showed up in Seven Soldiers to die, then nobody noticed or cared that he died, and Sargon's been brought back at least twice before this, but the only reason he was brought back here was for an off-panel death. And just like Ibis the Invincible, the only reason he was dug up for this was to introduce a new hero.

Not that I mind. I like seeing new heroes, and DC's done a lot with new heroes over the past two years. Can't say I'm all that thrilled about the new guy's costume, but just like Ibis, who'd really take a guy in a turban doing magic seriously today? I'd check out a new book with the character, but I'd rather see him and the new Ibis make appearances in the new Dr. Fate book instead, just to flesh 'em out. No use making a new series for every single new character DC pumps out.

Another team book, or an anthology book with a rotating cast, wouldn't hurt though.

[David O Burcham]

Another team book, or an anthology book with a rotating cast, wouldn't hurt though.

Maybe they are gearing up to have a rotating roster in Shadowpact or a rotating back-up feature in Dr. Fate... all to explore the New Age of wild magic in the DCU.

[Jack Zodiac]

I'd really like it if they did that. Or they spun Tales of the Unexpected into an ongoing, too, to feature all of these new magic characters. They made such a big deal out of the Tenth Age of Magic, but we haven't seen a whole lot yet besides random villains in Shadowpact and a bunch of new "gods" in Trials of Shazam.

A rotating Shadowpact would be pretty cool, though; but Bill hasn't even done much to flesh out half of the cast he already has, so I'd like to see him do more with them before they start bringing on more hands.

[David O Burcham]

Here's a thought. Instead of a rotating roster or the like on Shadowpact, the Phantom Stranger puts together quicky teams of two or three to handle separate magic threats in a back-up feature than those the main team face.


Another thought. Could Blue Devil Annual #1 be considered a version of Shadowpact?

http://www.monitorduty.com/mag/fanzing06/clsrev.shtml

[Jack Zodiac]

I like the idea of The Phantom Stranger putting the teams together. I also like him narrating each issue. Him being a seldom used, overly powerful magic character, I think he fits the "magic narrator" role nicely, as he did sort of in The Books of Magic.

[Desaad]

I have to say, I've enjoyed every issue of this little series. A lot.

Which is surprising, because I cared not at all for most of these characters at the outset. But each issue has been great, introduced a new concept of some sort and told a compelling, full story.

I am amazingly surprised by the quality of this event.

[marshal99]

I like the idea of The Phantom Stranger putting the teams together. I also like him narrating each issue. Him being a seldom used, overly powerful magic character, I think he fits the "magic narrator" role nicely, as he did sort of in The Books of Magic.

They did have a similiar idea with the sentinels of magic that they did during the crappy Jared Stevens Fate series where a congregation of magic users , both good and bad , come together to maintain the status quo of magic.

Say , whatever happened to Tim Hunter ? He's suppose to be the most powerful magician alive and he should be grown up by now.

[Sandy Hausler]

Talk about ultra slow inheritance , Sargon died like nearly 20 years ago along with Zatara during the darkness saga and only now his grandson inherit his estate ?!??



Must have something to do with a punch by Superboy-Prime.<g>

Sandy Hausler

[Jack Zodiac]

Say , whatever happened to Tim Hunter ? He's suppose to be the most powerful magician alive and he should be grown up by now.

They did a short-lived series about him three or four years ago, where Zatanna and John and a bunch of other magicians are all fighting some huge war in another dimension over Tim. I think, in the end, it turned out to be all in his head or something. I'unno, nothing important like Books of Magic.

[FanboyStranger]

They did a short-lived series about him three or four years ago, where Zatanna and John and a bunch of other magicians are all fighting some huge war in another dimension over Tim. I think, in the end, it turned out to be all in his head or something. I'unno, nothing important like Books of Magic.

It wasn't in his head, but a series of parallel worlds infected by a renegade female version of him. It sort of played off the notion of Tim's Other slaying all alternate versions of himself before arriving in Tim's reality (Peter Gross' BoM, which, amongst other things, featured a parallel Tim leading the Teen Titans, written by Mark Millar with art by Phil Jimenez), but it wasn't clear until the first year ran out. To be frank, I hated the first few issues of Life During Wartime, but by issue 10 or so, when more of my questions were being answered, it became one of my favorite books of the time. It can also explain why Tim wasn't around during Day of Vengence, and a prefiguring of the multiverse's return, if they chose to spin it that way. (I wish they would.)