Updated again recently, and I have to start out by saying this is my favorite regularly updated WIP. Max is a rare OC that feels like a true part of the universe instead of a self insert.

 

This updated again. Still an enjoyable read, and I would say it’s one of the few Kenchi fics I really like. The only issue I really have with it is that

Spoiler

Even when stuff happens, nothing really happens. Like some big stuff has been happening to Max lately. He’s been on a date with Supergirl, the Bat people know who he is and he knows Barbara is batgirl, he’s become sort of allies with Red Hood- but his character has been pretty static since Ravager left.

There felt like a real chance that Max was gonna go full villain before their relationship went kaput. I love the character and im gonna keep reading because its a fun read, but I just want to see some more progression out of Max as he gets more powerful. He can’t stay smalltime forever.

 

Yeah read like one of those silver age comics. Just missing one of The Titans having a random personality swap because of some random item of the week. I liked it.

 

Definitely more exciting than the last few chapters. The whole Eurotrip subplot has been pretty boring so far.

Things also seem to be going... well for Null right now. Waiting for the shoe to drop and Null to mess it up.

 

Spoiler

I wonder how Max does damage control here. I mean, him killing Lord was 100% in self defense. Mind controlled Superman wouldve killed Max in 5 seconds flat.

 

The most recent chapter was pretty good. Like the conflict its building towards and I’m wondering where

Spoiler

Null and Kara’s relationship goes from here and how that conversation with Ravenger is going to go.

Kara can’t just pretend Null is the harmless criminal anymore when he’s already killed a few times. But Null can’t pretend he’s just in it for the money anymore either. He has become better by being with Kara. He’s much more willing to stick his neck out and help people.

Kenchi’s stories can be hit or miss for me, but with this story he’s really hit it out of the park. Null has progressed in an interesting way, and everything he’s experienced has made his growth feel natural. Probably my favorite character he’s written.

 

So I just blasted through this in two or three sittings. 5/5 for sure, and it can easily hang with the best cape fics like Shocker: Legit. This is surprising for me because I started this fic ages ago and had put it down out of boredom, plus I've never been a huge fan of the author. Spoilers ahead.

It wasn't perfect by any means. I actually felt like the beginning dragged at times, and it only really took off once Max gained some independence after his first big fuck up. Even then though, there were some highlights for sure. I really appreciated his steadfast desire to not fuck with any of the bat family while simultaneously chumming it up with Barb.

Once things got rolling though I couldn't put it down. Max's earlier cowardice and pragmatism has been paying off big time as he gains confidence and competence. I felt like his relationship with Rose was the only time I've enjoyed seeing a Ravager pairing, and I also like that it's been established that it was pretty toxic. Fits well with the constant theme of people not being perfect and still wanting to help and care for them like an idiot. Unlike his Mutant story, I also really appreciated that Max is just kind of doing his own thing while not really knowing what he wants his Thing to be. No team or school just letting him autopilot down a path.

The whole Eurotrip arc wasn't my favorite, and the Society arc wasn't much better. Just too much happening too quickly to really stick the landings. Still, it was what firmly cemented Max as a Heavy, so it was fun to watch.

The latest chapters have been pretty good. At this point, Max is just kind of spinning his wheels while trying to figure out who he is, which brings me to Supergirl. I've liked her addition, and going from Clearly Villainous to America's Sweetheart is an interesting way to show his internal struggle, so it also just feels like better writing compared to when the relationships are just arbitrary window dressing. During their confrontation, I loved Kara's quiet confidence being played off of Rose's vicious pettiness. Really excited to see how the next chapter pans out, because I feel like we're about to hit real inflection point for the story and Max is gonna end up having to decide what he really wants.

This is easily the best thing Kenchi has written in my opinion, and I hope to one day see where this all ends.

 

I like Kenchi’s work too, but I’m of the opinion that the earlier chapters are better than the newest stuff. Now it seems the story is more concerned about drama and estrogen related problems than survival and necessities.

Before the power-ups I feel that Null had to be more creative in his fights and that avoiding fights or running away allowed for more diverse encounters. In the new chapters Null finds ways to go through people- which is fine, but now fights are spectacle than cerebral. I find characters that act clever to be more enjoyable reads than characters that run through walls. At some point running through walls isn’t special anymore. Null had to steal to survive, now he steals out of boredom. Null had to fight to live, now he fights just because. Prime example: Null stops a jewelry store robbery because he’s bored.

Other notes on Less than Zero, I thought Null getting away with stealing kryptonite and later date supergirl was pretty obvious plot points and we have some pretty obvious drama scenes coming up. Null is seemingly the perfect toy for Kenchi to play with, as the character growth and interactions all allow Kenchi to practice different emotional scenes. Zero is the next step for Kenchi as an author, but he still falls into that trap of “labeling”. And it’s in a different, deeper way than your typical fanfic.

It’s hard to write viewpoints for different characters on the same topic. Some know more than others. Opinions are biased and not logical. People don’t fit in boxes and neither do relationships. In the case of the Ravager ship, there’s a lot of noise. Yet the conclusion seems to be that the relationship was “bad”. Several characters including Max, declared Max’s relationship with Ravager “toxic” over and over. To me it felt like they were having fun, liked and trusted each other. They are teens and it’s not like they were married or co-dependent on one another. I think Kenchi is trying to make a mixed narrative on this topic to show that hey it’s not black or white, but complicated. My problem with how he portrays the relationship as bad is just to label it as “toxic” and seemingly further compare it to Joker-Harley. It’s just a heavy handed approach to getting the audience to feel or come to an conclusion to me.

Other topics: Kenchi used to address/justify right after events, but I like him waiting it out to build anticipation. Null kills. Supergirl doesn’t like killing. Then Null kills someone in front of Superman. I appreciate the “let’s not have the characters rationalize or discuss it until a breaking point.”

Other notes, the witty banter is fun, but it’s lame how all the characters follow the same type of logic or internal dialogue. To put it differently, all the characters have the same voice tone. There’s no real misunderstandings, and characters just either ignore or avoid talking about issues. It’s hit or miss for me.

Anyways I enjoy the machismo and bravado of Kenchi so this is a easy recommendation for me.

 

I'm surprised I haven't posted a review for this story yet, but I read some of the recent reviews which reminded me that I should.

Anyways, this fic is way better than it has any right to be. It’s rare that any fic pulls me in and gets me to binge read, but this one one of them. Unfortunately, the story is like twice as long as it needs to be for what it’s actually accomplished.

For one thing, the writing just isn’t that good, and I think that's a side effect of working on multiple fics at the same time. There’s infinite POV changes, so many that it makes the plethora of spacebattle Worm fics seem tame, and even inside each section, the POV just seems to roam paragraph to paragraph. It’s really disjointed, and does little more than to dampen the effect on any actual worldbuilding by being a spoiler.

The dialogue in this story is also decidedly meh. Super clunky. Constantly, you’d have a character say something, and then immediately explain what they said in the dialog tag, and then an addition reaction to that. It happens over and over, and it’s like you’re explaining why a joke is funny after delivering the punchline. It’s just bad writing, and it's easy to see how each chapter averages like 12k words when even simple dialogue turns into 100 word paragraphs.

Despite all that, I just really like following Null as he slowly develops his persona and powers, and every time I come back to this story, I wish there were more out there.

 

So this story has just ended, and I was surprised to realise I'd never posted a review for it. I think it's one of my favourite fanfics I've ever read, and definitely one of the very best for DC comics. Null is a really fun character that nails the Spiderman-esque quip filled dialogue and snark, while avoiding some of the pitfalls less talented writers have struggled with associated with such characters. Watching him slowly get more powerful and experienced as he move up through the rungs of the DC world has been a joy over the years. I enjoyed his dynamic with a lot of the Justice League heroes whenever his path crossed with theirs, and his relationship with Supergirl was great.

There are definitely elements of the ending that are a little disappointing, some loose ends I'd have liked to see tied up or important characters that sat the last chapter out and it will be sad if we don't see closure with them (Catwoman, Batgirl, Robin for example). But for the most part I think Kenchi nailed the landing, and there are some inherent drawbacks when dealing with fanfiction written over half a million words and the better part of a decade that mean not everything will likely always be addressed. His final notes says there is possibility of a sequel despite how much busier his life has gotten over the years, so I'll hold out hope for that. But even if that never comes, this was a great story that stands on its own and one I'd highly recommend to anyone even slightly interested in superhero (sorry Null, but if the shoe fits) stories.

5/5

 

DaFuq? I haven’t read most recent updates but…Null isn’t even close to being fully realized as a character. He still has a long way to go for this to be a proper Bildungsroman.

 

AN doesn't make it sound like it's the end of Null's adventures.

 

The AN at the end says to treat the story as Null's rookie year story. Ending with the conclusion of Infinite Crisis seems as good a spot as any.

That last chapter does feel a bit rushed (even if still quite lengthy). For treating the story as Null's origins and going from nothing to being comfortable with his anti-villain turning slightly hero status, I'm satisfied with the ending and where it leaves us - enough room for adventures to come, but good landing for what it addresses.

And really, I'm just glad there's an ending period - I like Kenchi's stories, but he hasn't finished any of them yet. If this lets him focus more on Better Left Unsaid and Great Clan Days, I won't complain too much.