Smart, stylish, silly, even sexy; Trinity's many things – so why isn't it making more waves down at the beach? That's become quite a fascinating question for me, and though I don't have all the answers, you can bet I'm going to keep pondering…out loud.

Godhead: Still more important pieces of the trinity's world fall into the hands of the villains, and while on Antimatter Earth, Batman and Wonder Woman make a keen deduction – and Superman gets himself in a universe of trouble.

It's Heaven: I've said it before, but I'll say it again: it's so very refreshing to have a comic where you don't have to scream at the leads to "figure it out, figure it out!!!" I'm referring to what I saw as Superman and Batman exchanging personalities but now has been revealed as the entire trinity being bound together so strongly by mystic forces that they're adopting each other's traits. None of this wandering around in a haze; two of Our Heroes are aware of it and the third can be filled in, I reckon. That is, if Superman survives his one-man band approach to, uh, "negotiating" with the Crime Syndicate.

I'd also like to point out once again Trinity's use of the 52 universes. It's done in a somewhat minor way but actually spreads out as the underpinning of what's going on with the Syndicate. I think this is an aspect of the book that if more people knew about they'd hop onboard to check it out. Vixen in particular seems fascinated by the idea of multiple Earths, and she ropes Red Tornado, himself a witness to the Multiverse, into a short speculative conversation about the whole rigamarole. Good reading. Adds a nice extra layer to the goings-on.

If I didn't know better I'd say that there's a concentrated effort to raise the character of Hawkman to a new level of awareness in DC fans' eyes. He's taken quite a nice role of prominence in this title, and the back-up tale is dominated by him this week. Nicieza is working overtime to cement not only Carter Hall's personality but also his history and his place in the DCU. He's also nicely developing Hawkman's interactions with his fellow heroes and in particular his working relationship with Gangbuster. I'm excited to say that I now officially look forward to further chapters of the back-up tale as much as the main story.

Primat, our educated, entertaining gorilla-gal is back again this week and in full force; she's the sleeper sensation of the year, gang. Mark my words, she's going to be one of the reasons we'll remember Trinity years down the line, I think.

In Purgatory: Even after all this time I can't muster up any interest in Carter Hall as anything but a blonde. It's the Golden Age JSA fan in me, what can I say. And listen, as well as Tom Derenick can draw a shapely pair of gams, you have to admit that the sharp-edged cheesecake of Katana this week was pretty superfluous. It existed for no other reason than to exist, not playing into the story in the slightest. Meh.

Also, if there's any sort of trinity-ness being built in the back-up story, I'm missing it.

From Hell: There's something that didn't sit right with me about the JLA's confrontation with the Crime Syndicate this issue: the lack of fireworks. I get that the Syndicate held a few trump cards and that the League was on foreign soil and all that, but man did they just kind of stand there and do nothing. And by nothing I mean Canary, Arsenal, Vixen, Firestorm, Flash, etc., many of whom have streaks of hotheadedness – no Firestorm pun intended. Alas, they said nothing at all. No outbursts, no tough talk; nothing. No suggestions to the trinity, either. What gives? Were they scared? Were they plotting and planning? There isn't even much of an aftermath with the League, in terms of their reactions to what just went down. I realize it's the trinity's book but the rest of the JLA simply and calmly "disappearing" for this event seemed pretty wrong.

Superman Descending: Hate to say it but Superman's new emoting is getting kind of old real quick. It all seems so one-note. I'd like to see him struggle with these new passions, go in and out of it. As it is, he's just a whiny bully currently.

Batman Ascending: Extra points to Batman for handling both some strange new feelings and for still being the consummate detective. I like what Trinity's doing with the character.

Wonder Woman: For at least the second week in a row Diana does virtually nothing except clench her fists, state the obvious, and agree with everyone. One more week of this and I may be soured on her all over again.

Dogma: All of Primat's dialogue is a joy, of course, but I want to give Busiek a special award here for one name: "Shazamazon." The mind boggles, Kurt. It truly does.

Monsignor Wanty: has a confession to make. I've been carrying this around for about seventeen years now and its time to come clean: I once pissed Mark Bagley off. It was back in 1991 or thereabouts, and I was attending one of my very first conventions, the Motor City Comic Con. I was stupidly excited to get Mark to sign a copy of New Warriors and, well, I was younger and in less control of myself in those days. Mark gave a little talk in one of the side rooms and I raised my hand more than once to ask a question and ended up just speaking without waiting to be called on. Mark, exasperated, said "Geez, don’t you ever shut up?" [Editor's Interjection: I've also asked Jim this question.] To say I was – rightly so – humiliated would be an understatement.

Mark, you're doing such a fine job on Trinity that I just want to say that I'm sorry, and yes, I finally learned how to shut up at conventions. Not in my reviews, no, but in public and in front of incredibly patient comic pros, yes. It feels good to get that off my chest. Now, if only Kurt can forgive me for that time I had him sign a copy of Jack Kirby’s Teenagents…

What? Hey, I liked that book!

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