COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS REVIEW [PART TWO]

[ACT II - Evil Does Not Sleep]

• Batman #639 - Family Reunion, Part I : "The Word on the Street" = Nice kickoff to the next act of this storyline, but I never would have expected to get a stealth Identity Crisis follow-up inserted into this! If it wasn't more evident from the final pages of IC #7 or AoS #636, this should only cement the fact that the Bat found out! Savage put-downs for Zee and Ollie, super tragic but then again they do deserve it. Introducing Onyx as a new player is cool, and I'm eager to learn more about her character and what role she'll end up playing. I can praise Mahnke's art until the end of time, but Winick's dialogue is so freaking great.
• Batman #640 - Family Reunion, Part II : "While the Cat's Away" = Man what a quick read. Literally nothing happened in this issue besides a nice convo between Bats and Supes and some good action sequences. Paul Lee was a surprisingly nice fill in for Mahnke, an Winick's dialogue continues to keep you turning the page.
• Batman #641 - Family Reunion, Part III : "Face to Face" = Fuuuuuuuuck! Wonderful issue, wonderful standoff, and a gut punch for an ending that leaves you with a jaw hitting the floor! Onyx's role in this seems pretty useless, and it's unfortunate she was reduced to essentially a McGuffin to lure Batman in and catch the narrative up to the opening sequence from #635. In my opinion, this story should have been the end all be all for these "Batman doesn't kill" argument/debate comic-essays that everybody loves to bring up in regards to the caped crusader. Excited to move forward with this subsection of Countdown nonetheless!
• Villains United #1 - "And the Empires In Their Purpose" = 
  Holy both perspectives of this book are so engaging. I was hooked to see the Society at work, but using the book as a sleeper secret six vessel was brilliant on Gail Simone's part. The concept of Mockingbird is awesome and his incentive system is hilarious given the eventual reveal. Why was the lozenge they planted in the Amazon? How did they get access to the House of Secrets? What's in the letter sent to Green Arrow?
• Villains United #2 - "A Fire In The Steppes" = 
  How did they smuggle a bug onto the Secret Six plane? Who is Scandal's significant other? What leverage does Mockingbird have over the other five members of the team (besides Cheshire)? What happened to Catman to turn him into a total badass? What is Cheshire planning?
• Villains United #3 - "Privileged To Spill Her Blood" = 
  Wonderful issue. The highlights were Catman's escape and the Society gaslighting Black Adam into staying with them. We get the answer to the Lozenge, though I wonder if the one near Kahndaq was actually put there by Mockingbird or if it was just Luthor's manipulation. I definitely want to own the Metropolopoly game they were playing.