Young Justice #7
DC Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Dan Hipp
After being unknowingly exiled by the Gemworld council at the end of the last issue, Young Justice is clumsily hurtling through DC’s many alternate realities as the series begins its second major story arc, appropriately titled “Lost in the Multiverse”. Issue #7 maintains the series’ high standards in art but its characteristic humor and lighthearted tone conflict with the themes that accompany the issue’s guest stars.
After first landing on an Earth guarded by infantile, miniaturized versions of the Justice League, and then the home reality of Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew (with amusing changes in visual style provided by guest artists Dan Hipp and David LaFuente), both of which delighted Bart, the team makes a longer stop on Earth-22, the setting of Mark Waid’s classic story, Kingdom Come. Young Justice is confronted by and eventually teams up with a group of Kingdom Come “heroes” (Superman, Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Alan Scott Green Lantern, and the original incarnation of Red Robin, Earth-22’s Dick Grayson) against a resistance group calling themselves the Sons and Daughters of the Bat.
Said team-up, unfortunately, is more than a little problematic. The comedic, whimsical tone of Young Justice simply doesn’t allow for an appropriate use of the morally-compromised characters of Kingdom Come. The issue makes a point to show that Young Justice is horrified by some of the actions of Earth-22 Superman (although strangely enough the specific event Teen Lantern finds footage of, Shazam/Captain Marvel’s death, wasn’t Superman’s fault) but still proceeds to fight alongside and bond with them. Sure, major heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman redeemed themselves (or tried to) at the end of Kingdom Come, but it still feels strange to depict them in such a heroic manner. Even stranger is the young protagonists’ admiration of the Earth-22 group. The Sons and Daughters of the Bat likely are extremists with no real ties to Batman, but seeing Tim Drake side against them without a second thought was bizarre. Worse is Conner Kent’s emotional response to gaining Earth-22 Superman’s respect. Regardless of what this Clark Kent has done to redeem himself for his extreme tactics throughout Kingdom Come, Conner has a well-established, very specific view and reverence for the Superman legacy. It would have been much more in-character for the Boy of Steel to condemn the alternate version of his mentor.
Not even the less-complicated character interactions come across right. Teen Lantern earning Alan Scott’s respect is a hollow moment because the issue’s depiction of the latter is off. Alan isn’t a grim character by any means and this is an alternate reality, but making him the class clown of the Earth-22 “Justice League”, making fun of Superman like Hal Jordan or a Flash would doesn’t allow him the authority that would give his compliment of Teen Lantern any weight.
While the story takes a dip in quality this issue, the art of Young Justice remains very impressive. Aside from the aforementioned guest pages, regular artist John Timms continues to be a strong successor to Patrick Gleason. The former’s style is similar to the latter’s but Timms stops short of plain imitation. The color palette no longer has the occasional shadowy neon effect of earlier issues, with a more plainly bright aesthetic, which is still quite fitting for the tone of the series. Timm also effectively alternates between large splash pages and tight close-ups that allow his characters to be very expressive.
Issue #7’s quality is defined by contradictions. The series is finally free of the boring Gemworld plotline, but the story now feels unfocused. Amethyst and Teen Lantern both deal with important developments but remain fairly undefined and lifeless as characters. And, most of all, the issue’s many jokes land, but feel inappropriate given the setting. By the end of the issue, the team is cast onto another Earth, promoted as the “absolute worst one”. Whether or not that’s true, let’s hope it makes for a more fitting setting for the kind of story Bendis is trying to tell.
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Young Justice #7
Drawing from a much darker, morally complicated story results in Young Justice's first real misfire.
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