Comic Review: Heroes in Crisis (2018-) #7

Heroes in Crisis (2018-) #7

DC Comics

Writer: Tom King

Artists: Clay Mann, Travis Moore, and Jorge Fornes

Issue #7 of Heroes in Crisis sports an evocative cover by Mitch Gerards, featuring Superman breaking up a fight between Booster Gold and Harley Quinn. In an interesting turn of events, the latter is wearing a Legion of Superheroes flight ring. Unfortunately, none of that happens this issue. Superman doesn’t even appear. I suspect that disconnect is likely another unfortunate result of Heroes in Crisis’ abrupt extension. I will admit that regardless of the circumstances, Superman’s angry, pained declaration of “Enough!” does distill my feelings about this unnecessarily drawn out event. In Heroes in Crisis defense, issue #7 does manage to retain some of the momentum from the surprisingly enjoyable previous issue. But it just isn’t enough to outweigh the many flaws.

The bulk of issue #7 is broken up between Wally lamenting the past he lost and a fight between Harley and Booster. Neither are particularly compelling and it just makes Heroes in Crisis central mystery even more convoluted. Wally’s grief is quickly becoming tiresome and the twist the book has hinted towards doesn’t sound that great. We’ve already seen a better version of this storyline in the Mark Millar penned The Black Flash. It also had Wally “lose” Linda and left helplessly grieving, until he opts for an extreme solution. However, that story only lasted 3 issues, featured one of the most memorable races in the Flash mythos, and had an uplifting, satisfying conclusion. It’s looking doubtful that Heroes in Crisis will end with anything half as fulfilling, much less as enjoyable.

Wally’s plotline, as worrying and unwieldy as it might be, at least feels somewhat consistent with his characterization. It’s the opposite case for Booster and Harley’s confrontation, which is observed by a largely passive Blue Beetle and Batgirl. It feels particularly pointless, navel-gazing, and its attempts at humor all fall flat. It moves the plot forward slightly but none of it feels like real progress. All four of these characters all once had developed personalities, even if they’ve spent years as little more than caricatures. This isn’t something Heroes in Crisis started, it’s just yet another book that continues to degrade these characters.

Multiple artists contribute to this issue, a decision that harms Heroes in Crisis already tenuous consistency. Clay Mann still illustrates the bulk of it and I will say that his art pulls off some technically impressive sequences. Unfortunately, those improvements don’t distract from how his work lacks any real warmth and I daresay humanity. It’s especially apparent when paired with the pages drawn by Travis Moore and Jorge Fornes. Moore provides art that, while not entirely free of sexualization, is considerably more palatable and nuanced. His renditions of Harley and Batgirl are more restrained than Mann’s frankly objectionable approach to those characters.

Fornes’ art is the kind that the superhero genre desperately needs more of. He illustrates the sequences in which Batman labors in the Batcave, while Barry Allen desperately searches every continent. His art follows the genre’s classic conventions, without turning its characters into impossibly idealized figures. He ultimately provides one of the only genuine moments in this entire series. And that’s partially because of Fornes’ refreshingly humanized depictions of those characters. Having an embarrassed Bruce refuse to admit that Barry can run faster than the Bat-Radio’s transmissions was a genius scene. Fornes brings out just the right emotions, giving it far more impact than seeing minor characters brutally murdered. I only wish the rest of the book had half this much heart. Regardless of what Heroes in Crisis could have been, it’s now closer to an ending that can’t come soon enough.