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admonition : spoilers for Outsiders # 6 before !
Summary
TheJustice Leaguehas go through many different rosters and loop , but one of its strangest members has to beZauriel , the often - forget Angel Falls of the 1990s . A hard persona to ascertain a tarradiddle for , DC finally reveals where Zauriel has been since theRebirthevent — and does so in a way that evermore changes how storylines form in the DC Universe .
Outsiders#6 by Jackson Lanzing , Collin Kelly , and Robert Carey open up with the squad ’s latest multiverse experimentation pass horribly skew-whiff , place the Outsiders and Lucius Fox to " the Place Between the Pages , " a pouch reality where DC ’s characters domicile when not currently in issue . Stepping into a malt workshop , Luke and Lucius are greeted by " Zee , " a picket winged man whom astute readers will instantly recognize asZauriel of the Justice League .
Zauriel serves Luke and Lucius umber malt while another inhabitant ( possibly DC ’s Lieutenant Carson ) explains the publication limbo in which they have found themselves . This new locale — and Zauriel ’s presence there — open up a figure of storytelling routes for the DCU , many of them deeply unknown and complex .
The raw Outsiders series has add back a surprising bomber from DC ’s past , and they could be bringing a whole existence with them in the process .
Zauriel Is the Justice League’s Very Own Angel
Who Is DC’s Niche Angel Character?
This is a welcome coming back for Zauriel , one of DC ’s most bewitching niche characters . Zauriel first look inJLA#6 , abandoning his position in the heavenly host after flow in sexual love with a mortal cleaning woman . TheJLA : Paradise Lostminiseries further exposit Zauriel ’s fib , with him play a key role in stopping the rogue angel Asmodel and the devil Neron ’s rape on heaven . Afterward , Zauriel is bequeathed Modern armor and formally induct into the Justice League as the squad ’s house physician expert on the supernatural , and is include in the JLA roster fromJLA#16 onwards .
Zauriel was created by some of the most well - known cartoon strip creators of the ' 90s and 2000s : Grant Morrison , Mark Millar , Howard Porter , and John Dell .
As an angel , Zauriel is well - equipped to defend the Justice Leaguefrom scourge both physical and metaphysical . A formerly heavenly being , his firsthand knowledge of the divine and mysterious is second to none — save for the mellow tier up characters of DC ’s cosmogony . Zauriel also wields ace - strength , flight , a sonic riot to match Black Canary ’s , and a Shangri-la - forge flare sword and suit of armour . chip in his persuasiveness , it ’s no admiration that early issues ofJLAconveniently and frequently saw Zauriel teleported away by some scoundrel lest he directly mess up their programme .
DC Comics Has a Major Cosmological Problem
Where Do Angels Fit into DC’s Cosmic Mythos?
Placing a fictitious character like Zauriel within the DCU get with a unique set of problemsthat are n’t necessarily apparent at first coup d’oeil . On the macro level , summate angels and an Abrahamic Heaven and " Lord " build wreaks havocwith DC ’s existing cosmic ordering . There are dozens of " creator " figures and godly pantheons at play in the DCU outside of classical mythic figures : the New Gods , the Lords of Chaos and Order , Perpetua , the Hands , the Endless , and more . Between figures of such a colossal scale , it is difficult to appropriately place an Abrahamic God and their Heaven in the omniverse .
Azrael , make by Denny O’Neil and Joe Quesada , is another well - known angelical digit from the DC Universe . Unlike Zauriel , Azrael is most often associate with Gotham and the Bat - Family .
Then there is the government issue of moral totalism . In world-wide Abrahamic theology , God is ( generally ) the divine , sodding rationale , and angels are God ’s messenger ; having an holy man as a member of a superhero squad implies that the team has divine approval . This seeming approval deflower any attempt to search the moral quandary of said desperate figures , asthe simple front of an angel in the Jutsice League ’s midst acts as robotlike validation that their actions are correctand that the actions of those who oppose them are morally wrong . Such calamitous - and - white morality realise it incredibly difficult to forge compelling characters and conflict .
DC’s Versions of Heaven and Hell Have Long Histories
New Gods,Sandman,Hellblazer, and More All Explore Big Concepts
In a sensitive such as comics , where conflict and Crisis tug the narrative , it is sluttish to let in the presence of a Hell — even in a Justice League story — asHell presents both the ultimate adversary ( in the configuration of demons like Neron , Trigon , and creatures bent only upon destruction ) and the ultimate temptation(promises of tabu power , agile rich people , and source of corruption ) . Hell is also visually interesting to explore : one need only think of Hieronymus Bosch ’s crowded and eerie hellscapes to imagine the opening , and as such , series likeHellblazerandSandmanhave fitly spent meaning resourcefulness on inking hell .
By direct contrast , Heaven is much more sedate . While Hell is disorderly by definition , Heaven is ordering ; outside visual motif such as swarm or garden landscapes , Heaven offers artists less margin to explore . Likewise , as ostensibly beingness of pure " skillful , " angels are difficult to fit into a story ; in ordering to conserve engagement , angels most often look in funnies as imitation prophets ( as inSandman : Nightmare Country ) or as resister ( such as Gabriel inHellblazer).The battle - driven nature of comedian does not act well with divine interventionsuddenly solving an issue — and angels are godly intervention made manifest .
The Place Between The Pages is a treasure trove for exploring characters that DC has overlooked , and Zauriel stands out among his other forget peers .
Zauriel’s Place in DC’s New Liminal Space Shows Big Storytelling Promise
OutsidersContinues to Explore DC’s Weird Corners
All of this utterly explain why Zauriel is in the Place Between the Pages : the angel is too thorny a character for general mainstream use . At the same fourth dimension , publishing Zauriel in this manner allows the backer to still exist in the general DC consciousness . Zauriel could become the agonist for day - to - sidereal day story of life in the Place Between the Pages , or even the caretaker and defender of his new home . The Place Between The Pages is a gem treasure trove for explore characters that DC has overlooked , and Zauriel stands out among his other forgotten peers .
Zauriel ’s issue history has been enthralling and pregnant , but it is good to see that DC has given him an appropriate protection in the Place Between the Pages . Outsiders#6 is quick to point out that being kick downstairs here is not the end , however , with the team ’s roundabout way turn up polar in the upcomingPlanetaryplotline revivification . Zaurielmay no longer be with theJustice League , butwith series likeOutsidersproving more and more willing to explore DC ’s metanarrative potential drop , he may have just find himself on the frontier of the wildest history yet to come .
Outsiders#6is useable now from DC Comics .
OUTSIDERS # 6 ( 2024 )
