Little by little we're getting some answers. Unfortunately with those answers, we're getting plenty more questions.

At the end of last summer's major event for DC Comics, Flashpoint, we saw a mysterious pink glowing lady whose name would later be revealed to be Pandora. As Barry Allen was trying to fix the time stream that resulted in the Flashpoint world, Pandora showed up and the result was a brand new universe. The characters were the ones we knew but some of their history had been tweaked or altered.

Since then, Pandora has shown up in all the #1 issues of the "New 52" simply observing in the background. A back up story in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE #6, revealed a connection to the Phantom Stranger but we were still left with more questions. With the beginning of last week's "Second Wave" of new titles, she was seen in three of the four new titles (no presence in EARTH 2, which could be the due to the story taking place on another 'universe'). In the Free Comic Book Day edition of THE NEW 52, even more information has appeared. Be sure to read the Free comic book first because there will be some spoilers below.

When Pandora first appeared, she mentioned that the "history of heroes was shattered into three long ago." We were to take that as the main DC Universe along with the Wildstorm and Vertigo "Earths" that appear to have been merged with the main universe ("New Earth" or "Earth 0"). Pandora also mentioned that the history was splintered to weaken the world for "their impending arrival." One of the big questions remains to who exactly is coming?

DC's also been big on trinities. In THE NEW 52: FCBD Edition, we see Pandora in her early days being sentenced by the Circle of Eternity (higher beings at the Rock of Eternity). Pandora was grouped with two others and they were labeled The Trinity of Sin.

One of the others was the Phantom Stranger, seen with Pandora in JUSTICE LEAGUE. Phantom Stranger was sentenced because of his greed and he was to be a witness to what greed could do on Earth. Despite being sentenced, he was sent after Pandora due to her more active involvement in the DC Universe.

What specifically his role in the universe or how much he might serve the Circle remains to be seen.

The third of this trinity appears to be the Question. When sentenced, he defied the Circle and declared he would "rise to power again" and that they would fear his name "as does the world."

The Circle's solution was to make him forget his name and sentenced him to forever question his identity and have a need to constantly search for answers. We have yet to see him in the current day in the "New 52" comics.

What about Pandora? Why was she sentenced?

Apparently it goes back to that famous box of hers. She opened it and unleashed the terrors of man. The box was to be a prison to "tragedy and torment and torture." The Circle saw her as an evil girl for doing so and sentenced her to an eternity of loneliness.

It seems since her sentencing, Pandora's spent centuries in tears, some in shame and others in isolation. But after all this time, she's become more active. Merging the different timelines is a pretty big move for someone who got in trouble for opening a box. But it should be noted that she was never actually sentenced. When she didn't have anything to say for herself, the Circle went off on her telling her how bad she was and then sent her off.

In the FCBD issue, we see Pandora is even more active than before.

She may have opened the box centuries ago, but what happened to the box since? What was actually inside the box? If you've read the issue, you have an idea. She does get her box back and we do find out what's inside.

And this will also be leading into next year's Trinity War as we got a glimpse of "the near future" in the issue. What's inside the box could mean the end of the Justice League. Looks like we'll have to keep our eyes peeled in the next few #1s in the "second wave" as well as for wherever Pandora shows up next.

that was a n interesting thing to include in a FCBD title. It always seemed before like FCBD was about new readers, but these last couple years the bigger companies have put out crucial information about big events.

I like.

So many....Questions.... 
 

Is it just me or is anybody else thinking Phantom Stranger is Judas?

So Question is no longer a normal human who is trained and a conspiracy nut? He is now a mystical character? I read it but I still have questions.

i thought it was a cool build up..but i gotta say i think geoff johns shouldve introduced different characters...i dont like him using two of DC's stranger characters for his huge arc he does every once in a while....i liked phatom stranger to STAy a stragner...he was cool being mysterious and not knowing anything about his past...and questions is a character that shouldnt even be involved in this whole magic ancient storyline....i mean i understand what geoff is trying to do. he is trying to OWn all of DC..and DC seems to want him to, he is basically Marvels' Brian Michael Bendis. but i mean these are two characters that shouldnt really be used like THIS. i think geoff couldve created two new characters i mean afterall pandora is new and people are interested in her having known only little to nothing about her. im sure he couldve conjured up two completley new faces to the mix....but this is just my opinion..i know everyone else loves what geoff does no matter what...i dont.

@ssejllenrad: I believe it's heavily implied that he is. Just glad they brought the Question back in some form or another - albeit this version should be far more supernatural.

I just want to know who are these gods are,and who is the god with the shazam lighting symbol on his chest

Geoff, pleas stop re-writing characters to the point that they no longer resemble their previousl selves. The Question was an awsum conspiracy theorist character, he doesn;t need to be a "MYSTICAL MYSTERY" character... actualy i think we;d prefer him as the mortal conspiracy theorist.

And am i the only one seeing the Pandora story as DC keeping an UNDO button for their continuity changes. People are not going to take continuity changes seriously so long as theres a mcgufffin character there who has shown the ability to alter reality. just sayin.

@ssejllenrad: No, That's exactly what DC's doing with the Phantom Stranger.

This isn't exactly the way I wanted to see the Question come back but I am glad to see him regardless. I thought the issue was pretty decent. I at least interested enough to check out Trinity War when it comes out.

"The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets....their true purpose is sinister"

I am intrigued.

Pandora's secret that is that DCnU flops month after month. Over 20 of The New 52 now do cancellations numbers already! DCnU's top books lose thousands of readers month after month. Lots of others do worse than before the reboot! Time to fix this mess and bring back the real DCU!

@Deep_shock said:

Pandora's secret that is that DCnU flops month after month. Over 20 of The New 52 now do cancellations numbers already! DCnU's top books lose thousands of readers month after month. Lots of others do worse than before the reboot! Time to fix this mess and bring back the real DCU!

@Deep_shock said:

Pandora's secret that is that DCnU flops month after month. Over 20 of The New 52 now do cancellations numbers already! DCnU's top books lose thousands of readers month after month. Lots of others do worse than before the reboot! Time to fix this mess and bring back the real DCU!

Well Pre 52 DCU was not doing great. At least DC can now point to dominating Top 10 Sales Lists. What is your solution to DC's sales and lack or retention?

@ssejllenrad said:

Is it just me or is anybody else thinking Phantom Stranger is Judas?

My thoughts, too.

@Skaddix said:

@Deep_shock said:

Pandora's secret that is that DCnU flops month after month. Over 20 of The New 52 now do cancellations numbers already! DCnU's top books lose thousands of readers month after month. Lots of others do worse than before the reboot! Time to fix this mess and bring back the real DCU!

Well Pre 52 DCU was not doing great. At least DC can now point to dominating Top 10 Sales Lists. What is your solution to DC's sales and lack or retention?

I never read a Dc comic before the new universe except the Red Robin, and now I enjoy at least 10 comics a month so what's the problem. The old stuff was rubbish and the editors knew it. As for cutting books it makes sense... from the sales and marketing point of view. I liked the New world finest issue, and if some weren't canceled this would not see the light of day... Just sayin'

I would love if The Question were just a conspiracy theorist that starts to investigate a lot of disconnected facts that lead him to find out about the multiverse; because of that, he would end up crossing paths with Huntress (Helena Wayne), and they would start a relationship like in the JLU...

Oh, let me go back to the fanfics, because such good things never happens in the comics...

@Deep_shock: Do you even read them?

@Planewalker said:

@Skaddix said:

@Deep_shock said:

Pandora's secret that is that DCnU flops month after month. Over 20 of The New 52 now do cancellations numbers already! DCnU's top books lose thousands of readers month after month. Lots of others do worse than before the reboot! Time to fix this mess and bring back the real DCU!

Well Pre 52 DCU was not doing great. At least DC can now point to dominating Top 10 Sales Lists. What is your solution to DC's sales and lack or retention?

I never read a Dc comic before the new universe except the Red Robin, and now I enjoy at least 10 comics a month so what's the problem. The old stuff was rubbish and the editors knew it. As for cutting books it makes sense... from the sales and marketing point of view. I liked the New world finest issue, and if some weren't canceled this would not see the light of day... Just sayin'

I agree with Planwalker, before the new 52s i used to download the odd comic via Sonys now defunct comic book store but i never really got into any of the DC stuff and for the most part id read Marvel or Image. Since the new 52s i am now collecting 25 of the books a month which is pretty huge for me, the history and legacy of the the existing characters had become so confusing for new readers that outside of graphic novels i had no real way of getting in.

DC have had most of the top 10 comic books tied down since the re-launch, i remember a couple of times where it was only DC books in there so even if some of the older fans are disgruntled, you cant argue with the results. Clearly the universe needed a reboot or it would have kept going the way it was, if the old universe stuff was still doing great numbers there is no way they would have gone ahead with it.

I'm almost positive that the Phantom Stranger is Judas because he was sentenced because of his greed...he asked the gods to forgive him as "He" would...and one of the gods is seen throwing what looks like silver coins...Just sayin'

Great article Tony! You've piqued my interest. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.

curious and curiouser

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

Pandora is the new Crimson Avenger.

@kagato said:

@Planewalker said:

@Skaddix said:

@Deep_shock said:

Pandora's secret that is that DCnU flops month after month. Over 20 of The New 52 now do cancellations numbers already! DCnU's top books lose thousands of readers month after month. Lots of others do worse than before the reboot! Time to fix this mess and bring back the real DCU!

Well Pre 52 DCU was not doing great. At least DC can now point to dominating Top 10 Sales Lists. What is your solution to DC's sales and lack or retention?

I never read a Dc comic before the new universe except the Red Robin, and now I enjoy at least 10 comics a month so what's the problem. The old stuff was rubbish and the editors knew it. As for cutting books it makes sense... from the sales and marketing point of view. I liked the New world finest issue, and if some weren't canceled this would not see the light of day... Just sayin'

I agree with Planwalker, before the new 52s i used to download the odd comic via Sonys now defunct comic book store but i never really got into any of the DC stuff and for the most part id read Marvel or Image. Since the new 52s i am now collecting 25 of the books a month which is pretty huge for me, the history and legacy of the the existing characters had become so confusing for new readers that outside of graphic novels i had no real way of getting in.

DC have had most of the top 10 comic books tied down since the re-launch, i remember a couple of times where it was only DC books in there so even if some of the older fans are disgruntled, you cant argue with the results. Clearly the universe needed a reboot or it would have kept going the way it was, if the old universe stuff was still doing great numbers there is no way they would have gone ahead with it.

Yeah, no, THe Phantom Stranger is definitely Judas, there is NO doubt about it. 'Forgive me as HE would'? They throw a bunch of SILVER PIECES at him, likely THIRTY? Yeah.

Which, I have to say... that just sucks. Geoff Johns has completely missed the entire point of the character. The Phantom Stranger is a walking enigma, a mysterious force who simply 'is.' To give him a definitive origin story completely goes against the entire appeal of the character.

@csguterres: I'm with you. The Question/Huntress stuff from JLU was neat.

So we got the original Pandora, we've got a new twist on the Question, and apparently Phantom Stranger is Judas...

Am I the only person who is a little bothered by that? It just really bugs me how comics, epsecially DC, keep throwing people and elements from the Bible into their stories and act like we Christians should not be offended by that. I don't mean to sound preachy, but this is a sore subject with me.

@ssejllenrad said:

Is it just me or is anybody else thinking Phantom Stranger is Judas?

come on, I don't want to see a villian or supernatural question, the guy got along with out abilities fine for what, going on 30 years I think?

@TheWitchingHour said:

"The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets....their true purpose is sinister"

" 29...30...31......32 Flavors! I Knew It "

While Pandora seems a pretty neat idea to guide things to a big story...since they apparently didn't want to use the Monitor, I have to say that the two other Trinity of Sin members are duds for me.

The Phantom Stranger being totally stripped of the mystery that surrounded him in the past simply because no one was sure who he really was or if he was there to help because of his own choice or because of compulsion coming from the outside.

The Question...makes no sense to me on any level that he's a part of this, more like someone leafed through Final Crisis: Revelations very quickly and thought; "Hmm, if the Question is hanging out with the Spectre...that must meant she is extremely powerful or important."

 @TheWitchingHour   said:

"The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets....their true purpose is sinister"

" 29...30...31......32 Flavors! I Knew It " 

@Miss_Garrick said:

@csguterres: I'm with you. The Question/Huntress stuff from JLU was neat.

So we got the original Pandora, we've got a new twist on the Question, and apparently Phantom Stranger is Judas...

Am I the only person who is a little bothered by that? It just really bugs me how comics, epsecially DC, keep throwing people and elements from the Bible into their stories and act like we Christians should not be offended by that. I don't mean to sound preachy, but this is a sore subject with me.

What bugs me about this is that it's such and easy answer. I haven't read a lot with his character, but one of the things I always liked when he would pop up somewhere was that nobody knew exactly who or what he was. I think it was in the Books of Magic series where Constantine says that he once spent weeks trying to find out anything about the Stranger, and he couldn't come up with anything. There are any number of myths about the evils of greed; if that was the angle they were going for, there isn't/wasn't any need to be so blatant about it.

The new 52 has an exit plan... just in case it flops. And its name is Pandora. But that's just how I see it. Having one writer do all these plots can sometimes be self serving. He'll take out what he thinks is passe, and what he thinks will make the company flourish. and having one artist doing the re-designs on uniforms just doesn't cut it for me... By dc making so many abrupt changes to well-loved and well-remembered characters and storylines, they have alienated a lot of loyal (and aging) readers, just to gamble to see if new ones will stay on.

@sarahsdad said:

@Miss_Garrick said:

@csguterres: I'm with you. The Question/Huntress stuff from JLU was neat.

So we got the original Pandora, we've got a new twist on the Question, and apparently Phantom Stranger is Judas...

Am I the only person who is a little bothered by that? It just really bugs me how comics, epsecially DC, keep throwing people and elements from the Bible into their stories and act like we Christians should not be offended by that. I don't mean to sound preachy, but this is a sore subject with me.

What bugs me about this is that it's such and easy answer. I haven't read a lot with his character, but one of the things I always liked when he would pop up somewhere was that nobody knew exactly who or what he was. I think it was in the Books of Magic series where Constantine says that he once spent weeks trying to find out anything about the Stranger, and he couldn't come up with anything. There are any number of myths about the evils of greed; if that was the angle they were going for, there isn't/wasn't any need to be so blatant about it.

A mystery loses the appeal once you know the answer. Did Geoff Johns just not understand The Phantom Stranger at all? Did he just look for a mysterious mystical character people liked so he could toss him into here alongside Pandora?

@ssejllenrad said:

Is it just me or is anybody else thinking Phantom Stranger is Judas?

Yes...and I really, really, REALLY hate that. Le Sigh, Johns just can't leave well enough alone.

@The Mighty Monarch:

If you look at the possible origins of the Phantom Stranger, one of them is a man who hated Jesus and took money to flog him. So, Stranger's kind of been tied to Jesus, and I think making him Judas instead is a stronger back story and is a better reason why he was punished so severely.

cant wait to see how this all go down... trinity war?

@BatBen9135 said:

@The Mighty Monarch:

If you look at the possible origins of the Phantom Stranger, one of them is a man who hated Jesus and took money to flog him. So, Stranger's kind of been tied to Jesus, and I think making him Judas instead is a stronger back story and is a better reason why he was punished so severely.

I don't really care as much about WHAT his origin is, but the mere fact that we now know EXACTLY what it is, as opposed to having a group of hypothetical origins, is what's wrong. The Phantom Stranger was interesting because he was such a mystery, and Geoff Johns is taking away that mystery. That's what I mean by saying that he missed the entire point of the character.

Is it me or does the Box remind anyone else of Despero.

@Dedpool said:

Is it me or does the Box remind anyone else of Despero.

Or Trigon (who would make more sense, considering that he is a demon).

ALL MY LOVE.

@TheWitchingHour said:

"The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets....their true purpose is sinister"

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Nothing states the Question will be mystical, just cursed to many incarnations of the same form. I really wish hardcore people got that from the context of the sentencing.

I dont argue the DCU reboot. I argue do the comic book companies advertise their products in enough venues to bring back former customers and capture new readers. DC can have a 6 month, 1 year, or more reign at the top of a sales glacier . . in global warming. Depending on what they do and how they are received in it, they could also lose that capture the flag for a short or long time, but really, what is the growth and sustaining of the consumer base? Open that box Pandora.

@ssejllenrad: I thought that for a second but there are more than 13 pieces of silver there.

@The Stegman said:

@sarahsdad:

@TheWitchingHour said:

"The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets....their true purpose is sinister"

" 29...30...31......32 Flavors! I Knew It "

There was a Magic bullet ! It was forged by Illuminati mystics to prevent us from learning the truth!

That's absurd....I go through everybody's trash.

I'm really ok with each of the trinity of sin being tied to ancient "mythical" figures. Judas, Pandora, and maybe some other ancient figure. I am curious who each of the gods are because they seemed tied to a number of different cultures.

@The Mighty Monarch:

True, but it's a nice little twist. Anyway, I like the new back story on the Trinity.

@Bestostero: Yeah, this will definitely lead to the Trinity War DC has been talking about