Multiversity: Teen Justice #2 review

In this second issue of Multiversity: Teen Justice the gang splits up in order to find out more about the Church of Blood. Even though I really wasn’t a fan of the ending of the first issue there was still a lot that Multiversity: Teen Justice had to offer. I was really enjoying the character dynamics of the whole team and I’m glad to see that we get to pick up on certain tensions that were brought up before. I’m not entirely satisfied with how it’s being addressed but it’s a great place to start for this review so let’s see what worked for me and what didn’t. The first thing I want to bring up is how lighthearted a lot of these scenes are and how often I chuckled while reading this second issue because even though these characters are powerful beyond human understanding, I can still perfectly understand their motivations and emotions.

I love how these characters talk and interact with each other and I am already assuming things like how Robin made it to the Church of Blood’s island because I’ve seen that she’s a lone wolf who likes to follow her leads alone. Looking back in preparation for this issue, I was genuinely surprised by how bad the New Year’s Eve introduction was, how that intro just crammed a bunch of info into a handful of pages and am so glad that the actual Multiversity: Teen Justice takes the time to have our characters breathe a little in between fights. Whether it’s a game of field hockey or sparring by the water, it’s also interesting to see how much of this group exists because of Aquagirl which, well…

On the opposite side of well-defined characters we have Aquagirl who seems a bit divided between what she wants and the way that she acts. The fact that she wants to be the leader of the Teen Justice league while also constantly distancing herself to be more involved with the Guild seems like two very conflicting goals. If the idea behind this is that Aquagirl just wants to be successful wherever she is or that she wants to be seen as a top tier superhero no matter what group she’s in then this kind of works. It would make sense then that Aquagirl would take the leading role of Teen Justice, seeing herself above them, but she would also want to be a part of the guild because they are seen as the best of the best. However I still think that Aquagirl would speak about these teams in a different way, she would be devoted intensely to both teams, making them reflections of her high status. But the way it’s presented it just looks like she’s in over her head and she ends up giving these wishy-washy retorts to whatever her two teams throw at her.

I’m also super disappointed with Gigi’s character in this issue as well because she’s lost the part of her that made her more than just a pawn. Unlike with Aquagirl who feels torn between her words and her actions, Gigi just doesn’t really get to have either. Her character could have been replaced by some random fanatic and it would’ve worked just as well which is a big shame. There’s an effort to make Gigi seem like a volunteer that goes above and beyond the others which segues into the organizers giving her a more important role within the Church of Blood but we aren’t given any chance to see how Gigi has proven herself to be the best.

Ok, ok, enough about the characters, what’s actually going on with the plot and is it worth anything? Yes, actually, it’s absolutely worth your time! Not only does the mystery start to unravel at a pretty steady pace but the revelations our characters have are pretty intense. One last rant about the ending of the previous issue though because the second issue, the one I’m reviewing right now, would’ve had a way better reveal if we weren’t already spoiled with information (and two characters that don’t even appear in this issue!) in the previous cliffhanger. The detective elements work great on their own and they reveal a pretty dark scene happening back in the island of Zandia. A scene that, if you look closely at the first issue of Multiversity: Teen Justice, is already hinted at by Aquagirl saying that “energy transfer” isn’t completely out of the ordinary for H.I.V.E..

The other mystery that was hinted at in the first issue starts to come a tiny bit more into light. While Raven was weary of getting too close to Teen Justice before, now we see Klarienne say ominous things about Raven’s powers. Too vague for me to be honest. I’m really not a fan of how this information is shared by saying literally everything but the actual meat of the story. It’s a really clunky way to keep the mystery alive and if Danny Lore and Ivan Cohen wanted to make it as subtle as it was in the first issue then they shouldn’t have written two back to back one on one conversations that brings up this topic in such an annoying way.

What really makes me confident in recommending this mini-series though is the art because it perfectly encapsulates this lighthearted tone without compromising the comic’s ability to have darker elements, drama and space exploration. The comic goes all over the place but each destination is incrementally expanding the scope of the scenery to make the transition from one spot to the next feel pretty seamless. We start off in a very down to earth kitchen space and then get zipped past a waterfront property and then an entire island and finally an intergalactic space station. This expansion of space also makes this mini-series actually feel like a universe of its own, taking our sense of comfort in recognizing certain aspects of their world to make us connect more with the characters and the situations they’re in.

The artist Marco Failla added so many tiny little details to panels that often contain these adorable sight gags or sometimes just actions that ground the background characters and make the space they’re in feel more lived in. My personal favorite is the cartoonish imprint of Aquagirl that comes into view once Kid Quick has brought over delicious looking doughnuts. But you can also find Klarienne’s cat doing a bunch of fun cat things or see people just eat food or mess around in the kitchen. It’s super endearing.

Even the action elements of this issue have the same light hearted feel where all the characters barely ever look like they’re in mortal danger. The only character that does seem in genuine distress is actually impossible to see when this happens so we’re just left to guess on that one. The rest of the action and displays of superpowers serve a more comedic and slice of life purpose which absolutely works for me. Thunder and Lightning appear once again and they aren’t even fighting anymore but just dropped by to deliver some groceries. The colors by Enrica Eren Angilioni are a wonderful addition to the art’s light hearted tone because she always makes Teen Justice have these bright vibrant colors that pleases the eye even when those characters are in dire or depressing situations. Not only do these bright colors come to life within the art of this issue but you have, for example, varying hues of the ocean literally becoming lighter as they get closer to Teen Justice or the electric yellow that fiercely flashes the red traces of Kid Quick. So many panels feel like the colors are displaying their entire gradient as they melt between the lines leaving the entire issue dripping with this somehow grounded larger than life story.

To finish off this review I’d just want to give a quick shout out to the lettering done by Carlos M. Manguini who absolutely kills it with comic book sounds that look gorgeous and even sometimes directly reflect the aesthetic of the character that is responsible for these sounds appearing in the first place. Some characters are also given their own distinct lettering here and there and it really stands out to the point that I wished each character had their own distinct lettering!

Recommended if…

• You want a light hearted read that still manages to juggle a lot of different not-so light hearted topics and spaces
• Detective work that uncovers a lot but still leaves you wanting makes your brain teeming with possibilities
• You were already intrigued by most of the characters and are more than happy to find out more about them!

Overall

Even though the writing in this issue started showing some of the cracks of the previous one, Multiversity: Teen Justice offers us a great cast of characters that have the ability to take us to some incredible scenery all while doing really cool superhero stuff. Teen Justice never lets your eye rest and keeps your fingers glued to the corner of each page, ready to flip it and spend more time with each of its members. I would highly recommend this mini-series to someone looking for a light hearted read but I also see plot points that could have me starting hour long conversations about the ramifications of energy displacement. If I could get one wish granted though it would be for Gigi to start acting like a real character again or just giving her more panels so her personality actually gets to be fleshed out like it is for everyone else!

Score: 6/10

Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.

COMMENTS