Checkmate

Superman: Action Comics (DCU/Bendis)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev (Illustrator)

The sequel to 2019's hit mystery Event Leviathan arrives, as unlikely allies unite to take on the DC Universe's deadliest threat!

The award-winning team of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev are back with Event Leviathan: Checkmate, the sequel to the hit 2019 mystery that upended the DC Universe!

Leviathan has agents and acolytes all over the world--but what is the secret behind its power? The planet's last, best hope to infiltrate Leviathan may be a motley collection of spymasters, now teamed up to try to take back the world that was stolen from under us all! Green Arrow, the Question, Talia al Ghul, and other unlikely allies converge to tackle Leviathan as members of the new Checkmate--but who is the surprise hero behind this team? Big clues to the future of the DC Universe start here!

Collects Event Leviathan #1 &Checkmate #1-6

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2022

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mark Shaw took over Leviathan which then took over every spy organisation in the DCU. Now, Checkmate reforms to take on Leviathan.

Was anyone champing at the bit for a sequel to 2019’s Event Leviathan? I wasn’t and I was surprised to find out that Bendis’ version of Checkmate turned out to be that unwanted follow-up. Maybe put a subtitle, or some reference to that previous book rather than just “Checkmate” on the cover?

As underwhelming as Event Leviathan was, Checkmate manages to be even more dull. Bendis has the uncanny ability of turning a relatively straightforward story - this group vs that group - and somehow making it seem unfathomably convoluted. I guess Leviathan is bad because… we’re told that? And Checkmate is… a chess-themed group for… reasons? And they’re trying to take out Leviathan because… chess-themed reasons…? This is also a story where Superman pops by and can’t immediately fix these non-problems single-handedly for contrived non-chess-themed reasons.

It’s such an uninteresting story. The Checkmate line-up is a collection of dreary people - Steve Trevor, Manhunter, Director Bones, The Question, Robin/Damian Wayne, Talia Al-Ghul, Lois Lane, Green Arrow, and “The King” (because chess) - who stand around just talking waaaayyy too much (ie. the Bendis special) or just punch stuff to seem like they’re doing something.

I couldn’t tell you what happened by the end, I was so numb from boredom (though I could guess that it’s probably: good guys won, bad guys lost). All I know is that I don’t want to read any more of Bendis/Maleev’s ultra-boring Leviathan story or anything featuring this Checkmate group ever again. Checkmate had me checked out long before the end.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bendis and Maleev's follow-up to Event Leviathan. There's a couple decent moments in this but most of it just feels like wheel spinning. He introduces that Lois Lane has a brother but between this and his Justice League appearance, he reveals absolutely nothing about the character. Like most of this Leviathan stuff, it's likely to be set aside and forgotten about now that Bendis has left DC.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis' tenure at DC Comics, which has essentially ended, has made me rethink his prior work. Frankly, I enjoyed what he did on most of the titles he worked on, including Superman, JLA, Naomi, and Young Justice. Here takes his mini-event than ran through his Superman titles, Leviathan, and gives us a new take (the third) on DC's version of a super-spy agency, Checkmate.

The core group that make up this small sized agency includes Lois Lane, and The Question for their investigative abilities. Mr. Bones used to head the DEO, so that make sense. But, Green Arrow seems out of place, Manhunter is under used, and Talia al Guhl well...

I still really liked this.. I think it does quite a good job at beginning to set a new, and hopefully by those who follow Bendis on stories likes this, smart status quo for how intelligence agencies will have to work in a world populated by super heroes.

Or, at least I can op they will be as good as the Greg Rucka run o checkmate.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first Event Leviathan mini-series is probably the best thing Bendis has done during his entire tenure at DC (although that's not saying much). Unfortunately, the follow-up feels more like it's a necessary evil than a book that actually needs to exist.

Most of this book is about undoing everything Bendis did in the first one. He hamstrings the Leviathan character as well as the organisation so that he can put all his toys back in the pram at the end so whoever wants to play with Talia Al Ghul next time is free to do so. He also introduces the Daemon Rose character before promptly doing nothing with him either here or over in Justice League where he pops up next, so he's a complete non-entity that'll likely be forgotten.

There's no mystery, there's no compelling storytelling, there's nothing that makes this any kind of worthy successor to Event Leviathan except perhaps Alex Maleev's artwork. I'm not sure if editorial interference or Bendis' apparent departure from the main DC books has made this lose its impact, but it definitely feels like a book that had to happen rather than one that anyone wanted to see.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea what I've just read #seriouslydisappointing

[Simone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preso semplicemente per la presenza di Freccia Verde nel cast. Effettivamente, Bendis scrive un Oliver Queen decisamente dignitoso e all'altezza delle aspettative. Non dico che vorrei vederlo su una serie regolare dell'Arciere di Smeraldo, perché non vorrei si ripetesse l'esperienza con Iron Man avuta in Marvel. Nelle serie trattate dallo scrittore di Portland, Iron Man era ONNIPRESENTE in ogni sua produzione e riusciva nel bilanciare la parte originale fumettistica e la rinnovazione del MCU; solo che ogni aggiunta del Vendicatore di Ferro, era quasi un grido al "datemi una serie di Iron Man". Una volta accontentato... Beh, forse certi personaggi in mano a certi scrittori funzionano meglio nel ruolo di comprimari.

Ma a parte tutto questo sproloquio, questo è il secondo volume DC che leggo di Bendis. Il suo cambio dalla scuderia rossa a quella blu speravo fosse un segno di rinascita, ma qui ritrovo un mischione fiacco e senza mordente di opere meglio riuscite in Marvel. E' un mix tra Secret War e The Pulse, uscito maluccio.

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Лімітка «Шах і мат» (2021) #1-6 Майкла Бендіса і Алекса Малєєва є сиквелом коміксу «Подія Левіафан». Але якщо перший комікс мені сподобався попри мінуси. То тут все навспак.

Левіафан має агентів і помічників по всьому світу. Але в чому секрет його сили? Остання надія планети — команда шпигунів, яка має проникнути в Левіафан, щоб спробувати повернути світ до звичного стану. Зелена стріла, Запитання, Талія аль Ґул й інші малоймовірні союзники об’єднуються, щоб боротися з Левіафаном як члени нової команди «Шах і мат».

Тут багато води. Він стримує від активних дій усіх герої, втягуючи нас в затяжні діалоги. Немає жодної цікавої таємниці, немає переконливої ​​оповіді, немає нічого, що зробило б цей комікс цікавим. Окрім малюнку Малєєва, який, на жаль, відійшов на другий план з таким сюжетом. Історію можна було б покращити, просто спробувавши більш відвертий стиль розповіді, а не намагаючись заплутати кожну деталь.

Поганий Бендіс. Поганий.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually quite pleased to see that Checkmate existed, given that the ending of Event Leviathan was so unsatisfactory. In that ending, Leviathan has been unleashed and... that's it. The end! So long!

Not that Leviathan really matters in the grand scheme of DC crises, but I did at least want some sort of conclusion. Checkmate offers that, with a grab-bag team of heroes coming together to take on Mark Shaw and Leviathan. Some of the twists are clever and Alex Maleev's artwork continues to excel. Like in Event Leviathan, Bendis writes action scenes as dialogue, so it seems like no one is actually doing anything, they're just talking about it. An acquired taste.

Checkmate features a stronger conclusion than Event Leviathan, so if you were at all intrigued by the latter, check out the former.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of water treading here—like most of Bendis’ stories it would be improved by simply trying a more forthright style of telling the story instead of trying to obfuscate every detail. This is supposed to be a spy thriller thing and while we got the spies, we got no thrills. I can’t remember any of the cliffhangers and by the time we reach the end of the story which includes surprise deaths, sudden betrayals and other revelations (as these stories do) the punch had been weakened to the point of not really caring.

[Cristhian · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a convoluted read

[Tony Laplume · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Christos Gage and Mike Costa launched their Cobra for IDW’s G.I. Joe line, they not only debuted a new level of sophistication for that franchise, but added to the base level for the medium in general, and I haven’t seen anything like it until Brian Michael Bendis tackled Event Leviathan and its sequel, Checkmate, which is perhaps a better achievement. Fans, as they did throughout his DC work, trashed the results, especially the reveal of Mark Shaw, but the crescendo here if anything ends up all the more deliciously ironic.

As with most Bendis comics it seems as if the whole thing is people talking and people doing very little, but the maneuvering around all this represents what all these people are capable of, what Bendis sees as their potential, and some of the big beneficiaries are Manhunter Kate Spencer (who has never been this consequential despite an enduring cult following), Talia al Ghul (who even when Grant Morrison originally introduced her behind Leviathan was never as important as her dad), Lois Lane (who gains a brother), Steve Trevor (who finally really something other than almost-Wonder-Woman’s-significant-other), and the mystery character behind Checkmate’s new King (adding significantly to their legacy, which draws on Bendis’s tour of future history from Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium).

Now, it seems unlikely Bendis himself will be playing further in the sandbox, but he’s left fascinating prospects behind. I love how he handled Shaw, a genius manipulator who was himself manipulated out of power because he simply got complacent (with exactly the wrong kind of people). Perhaps he was always intended for such a fate. It would really have been interesting to see all this from his perspective.

In an age where spies in the real world flared up in importance when it seemed they had became irrelevant, it’s interesting to read fictional ones, how they’re still hard at work trying to outmaneuver each other. This is surely not Cold War storytelling, but as superheroes go, I’m not sure it’s ever been done better.

The fans didn’t care? Well, it still happened. It will still be built upon. Checkmate.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool.

It's nice finally getting to read Bendis doing other characters. Albeit some very obscure ones but still very brilliant. Top marks.

[Arianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many twists, turns and revelations make this way too convoluted. The point seems to be that the Leviathan members have deemed Mark Shaw to be unfit as a leader and they plan to replace him. When I read Event Leviathan I was so captivated by the mystery but then there was no real confrontation of the enemy. This continuation also provides no closure, as it seems like Leviathan will keep being a state where Markovia used to be.
As an aside, can we talk about why the Justice League needs dozens of 10 year old, presumably unpaid interns? Are they that low on money?

[Dave Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll say up front that this one probably deserves a 3.5 rating. In the absence of that option, I've rounded up. Having explained that, I also think that most of the frustration I've seen other readers express about this miniseries is a bit overblown. I agree that it's a spy thriller that doesn't contain all that much espionage or all that many thrills. Yet I think the dialogue is consistently entertaining, the plot is neither obvious nor obscure, and I read through this collection pretty quickly. I also enjoy the overall aesthetic of Maleev's work here.

I suppose the frustration is largely rooted in the disappointment that Bendis didn't do more with this story or these characters during his time at DC. And that I would understand. All in all, I'd say this is a lesser follow up to Event Leviathan but still a worthy one.

[Dexter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis schreibt Dialoge und Szenenübergänge, als würde man einen Film schauen, in dem alles perfekt miteinander verzahnt ist. Hier stimmen Timing, Tempo und Dynamik. Für die LEVIATHAN-Fortsetzung der Spionage/Geheimagenten/Superhelden-Geschichte aus dem Haus DC tut er sich erneut mit Zeichner Maleev zusammen und ich frage mich mittlerweile, warum dieser Typ sich keine Romanreihe vornimmt. Der beherrscht sein Handwerk beängstigend gut und wenn man Bendis‘ Werdegang anschaut und somit die Bandbreite an Storys, Zielgruppen und Figuren in ihrer Gesamtheit erfasst, dann muss man auch noch neidlos anerkennen, dass sich dieser Typ in nahezu jedem Genre wohlzufühlen scheint. Ich fand CHECKMATE jedenfalls herrlich kurzweilig, hochspannend und mindestens so unterhaltsam wie eine Staffel ALIAS.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Checkmate, you got your money and you get your team. But you have to answer to someone.

Everyone has to answer to someone.”

The best possible compliment I can pay this book is that is made me really, REALLY want to reread OG Checkmate.

But it’s a really frustrating read. Especially since all the elements of this SHOULD again, add up to something that I really dig a lot. I love Maleev. I love all these characters. I even love the Secret New White King (despite hating that the reveal of who he really is is kept to three panels in the LAST issue).

But it’s just…such a nothing book. At least I still have Young Justice to go and by all accounts, that’s pretty good! Fingers crossed it’s at least better than this but I kinda think anything would be tbh.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unfortunately muddy follow-up to the Leviathan event.

Much of the problem is Bendis' insistence on jumping his chronology constantly from scene to scene. I love that type of thing when it's used to good effect, but here it just makes the story hard to understand.

Beyond that:

The characters are mostly flat. They're all just joking it up in generic-Bendis-speech, and so none of them really sound or act like themselves.

And then we get a plot that mostly treads water for five issues and then has some major events in the last issue.

Just not a very good event, as a whole.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had kind of fallen out of interest with Bendis when he left Marvel for DC, and unfortunately it was a somewhat unsuccessful transition. However, I think the best thing he did was Event: Leviathan. I'm a mark for DC's spy/secret organizations ever since Grant ended their run with Spyral being behind the strings of their Batman run. It was fun and bonkers. Same as Final Crisis: Escape.

So this book is a continuation of that. And I really liked the end reveal of who the King was. It's superfun, and adds a foible of continuity that I like.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reasonably entertaining. I liked the cast of characters and the conceit was okay, but the plot was in an uncomfortable space between predictable and hard to follow (like many spy stories, to be fair) and there were a few out-of-left field bits that are presumably meant to be followed up in later projects. Plus, the Bendis-y dialogue does get old pretty fast.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lois Lane might be my favorite DC character and Bendis writes her like his life depends on it. The problem here is that the story doesn't pop the way you would hope a spy story would and while I will always love what Alex Maleev did on Daredevil and especially Scarlet, the art here is just okay.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I have always been a Bendis fanboy, when he left Marvel we essentially broke up. I still love him, but I am not as gaga as I used to be. lol.
But teaming up with the extremely amazing artist Alex Maleev was enough to make me check this out, and I am glad that I did.

[J Sams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

The art was too stylized. The writing was mediocre at best. The plot was disjointed. The big reveal was a letdown. . . .and the wonder twins!? Gimme a break. A return to Hanna Barberra is the last thing anyone wants.

[Adam Barrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know why I read this after I read Event Leviathan. This one was actually marginally better in that I "kinda" followed what was going on, but it was still nuclear in most places. This one is for die-hard fans only.

[Ethan Gadbois · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love most of the characters here, but this was such a needlessly convoluted and strange read. I didn’t read the Leviathan event, but nonetheless, Shaw seems like a stupid character and the ending of the story doesn’t really bring anything substantive to the table to me.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.50

I wanted Checkmate….spies, knights, kings, etc the whole organization. Instead this is really a team up of B level heroes.

And I hate what’s happened to Mark Shaw! Serious he’s a hero!

[Scot Gerding · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the characters in this story, but it did jump around a little too much. I felt like the last couple of chapters that I missed something in a previous chapter.

[Will Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof, was I bored. There's kind of a mystery in there? Not sure what anybody's motivation was. Also, everyone sounded like each other, very quippy, even Thalia al Ghul, the least quippy character.

[Elio Herondale · Rating 1 out of 5]

a complete and utter waste of time

[Sebastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sooooooo much nonsense.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from the quality Talia/Damian interactions, this series was largely a slog to get through.