Peter David Writer
Pop Mhan Pencils
Norman Lee Inks
Guy Major Colors
Clem Robins Letters
David Nestelle Designer
Philip Simon & Tom Palmer, Jr. Assistant Editors
Phil Amara & Eddie Berganza Editors
Pop Mhan Cover Art
Special thanks to Neela Weber at DC Comics
The front of our cover showcases the leading women in SpyBoy and Young Justice — Bombshell and Wonder Girl. On the back, we have Empress, SpyBoy's dad and some old guy in a wheelchair, who wasn't in last issue. Lagoon Boy is also here for absolutely no reason. He never was officially a member of Young Justice and he does not appear in this three-part story. The best part of the cover, though, is the double image of Impulse, helping fight these random mimes, who also are not in this story. These covers aren't bad, but I wish they provided a better sense of what the story is.
We pick up where we left off last time, with SpyBoy, Bombshell and SpyGirl breaking into Young Justice's headquarters at the Catskill resort. Bombshell starts things off by throwing a smoke bomb, which Impulse tries to catch, but it suddenly swerves in midair. The surprised Impulse is unable to prevent the bomb from going off, which knocks out Impulse, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Empress. Secret, however, is immune to the smoke, and Robin managed to get on his gas mask fast enough.
SpyBoy takes on Robin, but is unable to hit him with his gun. Robin mocks him for shooting like a Star Wars stormtrooper, and SpyBoy admits he's only trying to shoot to wound. Secret, meanwhile, takes on the two girls, who, through trial and error, eventually discover her weakness to electricity. SpyBoy also manages to get the upper hand on Robin, knocking him down and aiming his gun at his head at point blank range. SpyBoy says he never misses when he shoots to kill.
But before he can pull the trigger, Arrowette shots an arrow into the barrel of his gun. She tells SpyBoy she never misses and her next arrow is aimed at his heart. Arrowette orders SpyBoy to hold still, but he calls her bluff and calmly walks toward her. Eventually, the string on Arrowette's bow snaps, but before SpyBoy can attack her, Impulse zooms in between them. He explains that he managed to disperse the gas at super speed to minimize its effects, so he, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Empress are all back on their feet and have SpyBoy surrounded.
The fight is suddenly put to an end when Red Tornado shows up with SpyBoy's dad, who says they've just found out that someone is attempting to create evil duplicates of world leaders drawn from their minds. Red Tornado says if none of them care about that, then they're free to continue their pointless slugfest. They ask who wants to keep fighting, and Impulse immediately raises his hand. Bart then sheepishly puts it down, grumbling that everyone tells him to think, but they always hate what he comes up with.
We then cut to the Sea of Japan, where our villains, Annie Mae and REMbrandt are hiding in their shark-shaped submarine. Annie Mae is angry at REMbrandt for sending the "SDs" of Young Justice and SpyBoy out on a mission without her knowledge. She starts to threaten her partner in crime, but he responds with some threats of his own.
Back at the Catskills resort, everyone is sitting down in the dinning room, while Impulse quickly whips up some sandwiches. SpyBoy's dad explains that the intruders at the A.P.E.S. and S.H.I.R.T.S. headquarters scrambled the security systems, but now those organizations have finally managed to restore the computers enough to get a clear picture of the intruders. SpyGirl recognizes the diminutive creatures as SuperDeformeds, or SDs for short. She explains these "roundies" or "squishies" are popular in Japan. Impulse says he's seen them in Japanese comics, or manga — characters with huge eyes, weird hair and big feet. Bombshell asks Impulse if that applies to him as well. (Unfortunately, Pop Mhan drew Impulse with exceptionally small hair on this page, effectively killing the joke.)
Red Tornado reports that they've also finally discovered what these SDs stole — detailed psychological profiles on all the top world leaders. The SpyBoy team believes this to be the work of their archenemy, Annie Mae, but Robin wants to know how she was able to create SDs of Young Justice. Secret says they don't know anyone who can get into their hearts and souls and dreams. Superboy, Robin and Wonder Girl awkwardly stare at Secret after she says that, then try to play it cool when she asks why they're looking at her.
Getting the conversation back on track, Red Tornado says they have received a message from Annie Mae, or whoever, showing plans to use the SDs to attack the Zenith Meeting — a collection of the heads of 50 international conglomerates — in Tokyo. Everyone realizes this is a trap, but they decide they need to go there anyway. SpyBoy, however, doesn't want Arrowette to come along, saying her heart isn't in it. Arrowette angrily says she is coming, and when Impulse and Superboy cheer the return of their teammate, she elbows both of them in the chest for stealing her clothes. As Impulse jokes with Superboy, their evil counterparts are planning their attack.
The rest of the SDs are sneaking through the vents of the building, and the SpyBoy SD expresses concern for their mission. The Robin SD says the only way they'd be stopped was if their creator tipped off the heroes for some reason and if said heroes had a super fast transport to get from New York to Japan. Turns out, that's exactly what happened. Secret sneaks up on the SDs in the vents and attacks them with one of Bombshell's bombs.
Annie Mae learns that SpyBoy and Young Justice have begun battling the minis, and she chews out REMbrandt for sending the SDs into a no-win scenario. But REMbrandt says he never intended for the SDs to win. He wants them to die for the noblest pursuit of all — to see the world go to hell. As he says this, he pulls off his cloak, revealing himself as ... Harm!
So there's Young Justice's main villain to help balance the story. Unfortunately, this story didn't hold my attention as well as last issue. After a very quick and underwhelming fight between heroes (always necessary for crossovers like this), we then spent the rest of the issue literally sitting around a table and talking. And what they talked about just didn't seem that interesting. It also didn't help that SpyBoy artist Pop Mhan took over the penciling duties this month. He can have some really good moments, but far too many of his panels and pages fall flat. But really the biggest problem is the story. It is just so darn strange. Setting aside the whole SD thing, what is Arrowette doing in this story? What was Peter David trying to prove with her standoff with SpyBoy? It's an unnecessary addition. Young Justice has enough members without her, and this crossover hardly feels like the time and place to rehash Arrowette's personal demons — a matter that I felt had already long been resolved.
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Not for justice. Not for honor. For vengeance. Batman Huntress: Cry for Blood.
You've never see bounty hunters like these ... Jango Fett and Zam Wesell.
Horsepower talks about Lone Wolf 2100.
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Next time, we'll return to the main series with Impulse #82.
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