As the story progresses through the annuals, heroes or their loved ones are enslaved one by one by Eclipso. Throughout all this, the only man with the power to stop Eclipso is his old nemesis, Bruce Gordon, a solar-energy scientist who uses light, Eclipso's only weakness, to attack him. With about half the heroes under his spell, Eclipso awaits an attack from the others in his lunar hideout. Although the heroes appear to destroy his base, Eclipso is not so easily defeated, as readers of the ongoing series soon found out.
 

Review

THROUGHOUT THE LATE 1980s and early '90s, DC re-invented several of its heroes and villains. Superman became less super and more human. Wonder Woman became more connected to her Olympian roots. Batman became darker. And Eclipso -- well, he became the meanest s.o.b. you can imagine.

The 'old' Eclipso was never more than a second-rate villain that menaced DC's B-list of heroes, so this new spin on the character is actually not too bad. I'm still not clear on exactly where he fits in to the already crowded pantheon of DC's gods and spirits, but his updated 'secret origin' and his inherent cynicism about humanity's motives -- as well as his penchant to act as the narrator of his own stories -- make him a little more interesting as a villain.

"Not bad, as crossovers go, but equally disappointing as they tend to be, promising much but changing little." - The Slings and Arrows Comic Guide

The problem is, he's too evil -- being the spirit of vengeance incarnate doesn't give him any of the usual foibles that make villains so interesting. Doctor Doom has his sense of honor and Magneto sees himself as a misunderstood savior, but Eclipso -- well, Eclipso is just plain mean. So his motives are never that well developed. He simply is.

As for the story surrounding him, it's better than your average crossover, and the annuals are interesting in that they give you a peek at what makes each hero -- or their loved ones -- really angry (Lois Lane, for example, doesn't like being patronized, as poor Supes finds out). The ending is a bit too pat, though -- when the bad guy is down, dammit, you make sure he stays down.

The heroes' carelessness is our good fortune, since the end of the crossover marks the beginning of the Eclipso series. Surprisingly, it's not that bad, though definitely not for the squeamish.