Young Justice #4

Seven Crises Part 4

Brian Michael Bendis Script
Patrick Gleason & John Timms Art
Alejandro Sanchez & Alex Sinclair Colors
Wes Abbott Letters
Gleason & Sanchez Cover
Dan Mora Variant Cover
Jessica Chen & Brittany Holzherr Associate Editors
Mike Cotton Editor
Brian Cunningham Group Editor
Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Our cover shows Young Justice trapped ... inside Lord Opal. It's a very strange symbolic representation of the current situation our heroes have found themselves in. I think it's a fine idea, but not executed well. A rare misstep by Gleason. Also, for whatever reason, my digital copy of this comic does not include the variant cover. But that doesn't have Impulse on it, so I won't worry about it.

Our story opens with a flashback of Amethyst being rejected by the council in her efforts eliminate Lord Opal. We then return to Superboy and Impulse, who has recovered from being electrocuted. Carnelian is confused by the arrival of Superboy's supposed wife and baby, but Impulse (calling him Skeletor) demands to ask the questions. But Conner ignores Bart's pestering and the concerned queries from his wife, choosing instead to politely ask Carnelian and his men to leave them in peace. But Conner makes a slight faux pas by referring to his property. Carnelian correctly identifies Superboy as a Kryptonian and says that if he was from here, he'd know that everything belongs to Lord Opal.

Impulse takes advantage of this new piece of information, and begins pointing to random objects on the horizon, asking Carnelian if they also belong to "Dark Opie." Conner says he's missed Bart, then gives his wife a meaningful look. She quickly runs inside, calling her baby Martha. Once she's gone, Superboy addresses Carnelian's men (much to Carnelian's displeasure), asking them to run away once he shows them why they should run away. He promises no one will know, but Bart points out that he will know. Conner patiently shushes his friend, then clarifies that no one outside of this will know, after he makes his demonstration on Carnelian.

Carnelian eagerly lunges forward, vowing to show what the power of Dark Opal can do. But Superboy takes him down with a single punch, shattering Carnelian's armor to reveal a normal human in his socks and underwear. Superboy tells Carnelian's men to take him and forget this place. They promptly take off, commenting that Superboy's actually nicer than Amethyst.

Bart says, "Dude! Dude! Dude!!" Conner asks if he's here by himself, but Bart says, "No, no, no, no, no, no ... You don't get to make the questions until you tell me where babies come from." Bart quickly rephrases, saying, "Very specifically ... where did that one come from?!" Conner's wife remerges at this point, and Bart immediately introduces himself as Conner's third-best friend. He says the Speed Force lets him run around so fast, and explains that he knew she was just about to ask him that. He wants to know everything about her and Conner, starting with their first meeting, which he hopes was cute.

Conner properly introduces Bart to Lophi, telling her that Bart is also from Earth. He then asks Bart again if he's alone, and Bart confesses he doesn't know. He briefly explains how Young Justice reformed to battle the "gem guys" in Metropolis, then "zappy, pappy, shamappy," Bart ended up here. Lophi is understandably confused by all this, and Conner can't really help her. He does, however, ask Bart exactly who was with him.

We then return to the rest of Young Justice, still trapped in their underground prison cells. A couple of the guards open up the trunk in Jinny Hex's truck and are promptly destroyed by gigantic tentacles and crab claws. Suddenly, Superboy and Impulse show up and free their friends. Robin says that maybe Bart was right. Superboy starts to say Young Justice, but Bart cuts him off, insisting that Robin should say it. But Robin is stammering and can't quite get to the words Bart's been longing to hear, instead settling on a heart-warming hug with three of his oldest friends.

The hug doesn't last nearly long enough for Bart's liking, as everybody has too many questions and not enough time to answer them. Nobody saw what happened to the guards, and Superboy and Amethyst begin pushing for the team to leave as quickly as possible. We then end with another Amethyst flashback, showing how she began to suspect the rest of the Houses are working with Opal, and how she first met Robin.




That was a beautiful hug, but it seriously needed to be a full splash page. It's been years — YEARS! — since the real versions of Impulse, Superboy, Robin and Wonder Girl were all together. It's such a glorious moment — I just wanted it to be played out as massively as Bart's reunion with Conner was. Beyond that, though, this was a really fun issue. Bart is funnier than ever, dropping some all-time classic lines. And, after four issues, we've finally got the whole team together. I'll admit the Amethyst stuff is a challenge for me. I've never been interested in her, and I keep find myself growing impatient with her story, since it's pulling away from Bart's story. Oh well. Let's check out the new ads.

Shazam! in theaters April 5 and various Shazam-related graphic novels. I'm so glad we didn't get an ad for this movie on the cover like DC used to always do for its movies and shows.

They have a mission. But don't tell the Justice League. Batman and the Outsiders.

DC Nation interview with Shazam! director David F. Sandberg. Shazam! was only a modest success at the box office, but I think it was probably the best movie of the DCEU.

Next: The seventh crisis!

Young Justice #3

Seven Crises Part 3

Brian Michael Bendis Script
Patrick Gleason & Viktor Bogdanovic Art
Jonathan Glapion Inks (pgs. 12, 14-15, 18)
Alejandro Sanchez (pgs. 1-5), Chris Sotomayor (pgs. 6-16) & Hi-Fi Colors
Carlos M. Mangual & Josh Reed Letters
Gleason & Sanchez Cover
Evan "Doc" Shaner Variant Cover
Jessica Chen Associate Editor
Mike Cotton Editor
Brian Cunningham Group Editor
Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

This cover was originally solicited as the cover of issue #1, back when they had Impulse in an orange-and-white uniform. Oddly enough, they changed the color back to red for the other covers and all the inside pages, but forgot to change this one. But I have to say, I really don't mind the orange. It reminds me of Impulse's scouts of old and the Impulse of DC One Million. Anyway, this is a really nice cover. I love the white background and the three boys look great. Their name labels are also fairly revealing. Robin's no longer the Boy Wonder, Superboy knows half his DNA comes from Lex Luthor, and Impulse remembers being the Flash. I also absolutely love how their names are stylized in the logos from their old solo series. That is showing respect for the past.

Our variant cover is a gorgeous portrait of the whole team, leaning heavily into the "main color" idea for each character. Once again, Impulse is orange, which works perfectly in something like this. The team is a rainbow, both literally and figuratively. And Shaner is one of my favorite artists. He just has a wholesome, pleasing style. He definitely needs to draw more Young Justice.

Our story picks up where issue #1 left off, with Bart and Conner's exciting and tender reunion. After excitedly repeating each other's names for a bit, and confirming that they really are who they think they are, Bart gives Conner the biggest, sweetest hug you'll ever see in comics. Conner tries to pull away to get a better look at Bart, but Impulse refuses, insisting he's busy.

Eventually, the hug does end and the questions begin. Conner wants to know how Bart got here, and Bart wants to know how Conner got here, plus where here is. Conner's a bit surprised Bart doesn't know where he is, but Bart points out that he's spent quite a while not knowing when he is. He teases Conner for his new jacket, but Superboy stays focused. He tells Bart they're on Gemworld, which he says is "pretty great" and that he loves it "top to bottom." Bart is then shocked to realize that Conner is living as a farmer on this planet, but Conner casually says that half of him has always been a farmer. The two boys are then interrupted, and Bart angrily says they weren't done with their "big moment."

The interrupters turn out to be three of the invaders from issue #1. Their leader identifies himself as Carnelian of the royal Court of Opal, and he addresses Bart as "child of Earth," ordering him to step away from the gem farmer (Superboy). Bart confidently tell Carnelian this isn't the boss level, even though he clearly thinks it is. He tells Conner that these guys are "like, Intergang easy." Superboy appreciates Bart's reference, but he doesn't seem too keen to jump into a fight. Bart, however, is too distracted with his trash talking to pick up on that.

Carnelian tells Impulse he's trespassing and is under arrest by command of the Great Dark Lord Opal. Bart points out that Carnelian literally just invaded Earth, so Bart proclaims himself King of Earth and places Carnelian under arrest. One of Carnelian's companions calls Bart "Sparkle Boy" and accuses him of sabotaging their Court's holy mission. Bart counters by saying they sabotaged him getting his "holy butt kicked by the O.G. Superman." Bart tells Conner that Superman's doing great, even though he hasn't had any direct contact with him (that we've seen) since escaping the Speed Force.

Carnelian angrily explains that they went to Earth to confront the planet's greatest warrior and make him pay for Earth causing so much pain and suffering to Gemworld. Bart gets really excited at this part, and, ignoring Conner's protests, he begins to talk up Superboy as a legitimate, Superman-level challenge. And he sure has a lot of fun with this, winking at Conner as he says, "Oh, anonymous farmer person, I see you're wearing a Superman T-shirt. You must be a big fan!" But instead of picking up on Bart's cue to start the fight, Conner kneels down and puts his hands behind his head.

Bart is so shocked by this, he leaves himself open to an attack, and Carnelian electrocutes him with his staff. As Bart falls to the ground, writhing in pain, Carnelian proudly says they have something to bring back to Lord Opal. His companion, Topaz, points out this isn't Superman, but Carnelian believes he can dress Impulse up.

We're then treated to a flashback of how Superboy got to Gemworld. Long story short, he just happened across a random monster in the desert. S.T.A.R. Labs was on the scene, acting super shady, so Conner busted open their lab and discovered a bunch of enormous gems seemingly creating a massive pillar of crackling energy. For some reason, Superboy got too close and was transported to Gemworld.

Back in the present time, Carnelian asks Conner why that "confused, sparkling Earth boy" thought he was about to be a concern. Conner says Bart was confused by his shirt, which he claims to have bought at Opal Pavilion. But Carnelian says he was originally from Earth, and he identifies the shirt as a polyester cotton blend, which means that Conner is lying. Carnelian continues to interrogate Conner, asking if he's an "Earthen" or a Kryptonian and what he's doing here. Suddenly, a young woman holding a baby boy steps forward, asking if everything is OK. Conner introduces everyone to his wife, and Bart wakes up just enough to say, "First the beard, now this!"

Our issue ends with us finding out the rest of our heroes have been captured and imprisoned by Lord Opal. Cassie blames herself for instigating the confrontation, but Tim tells her it's no one's fault. Amethyst, however, does blame Wonder Girl, saying reality is falling apart, and she's the only one who knows or can do anything about it.




Ah. This is what I've been waiting for. I couldn't think of a more touching, heart-warming or surprising reunion. Impulse and Superboy have been through a lot together, and they certainly deserved this big, glorious moment. However, that shocking ending almost completely eclipses this joyous display of friendship and playful banter. Superboy has a wife?! And she has a baby boy with black hair and a spit curl?! We'll just have to wait to get to the bottom of that mystery.

This story is still a lot of fun, but it's really hasn't gotten around to answering many questions yet — only raising more. But the characters are delightful and the art is solid — even with the frustratingly large and rotating cast of creators on this book. I know it's going to take quite a while for us to learn more about Impulse, but in the meantime, I'll be enjoying this wild ride. But first, the new ads:

Teen Titans/Deathstroke: The Terminus Agenda. A 6-part crossover event.

Beware my power! The Green Lantern by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp.

An interview with Super Sons: The Polarshield Project author Ridley Pearson.

Next: Amethyst: Prisoner of Gemworld!

Young Justice #2

Seven Crises Part 2

Brian Michael Bendis Script
Patrick Gleason & Emanuela Lupacchino Art
Ray McCarthy Inks (pp 9-18)
Alejandro Sanchez Colors
Josh Reed Letters
Gleason & Sanchez Cover
Sanford Green Variant Cover
Jessica Chen Associate Editor
Mike Cotton Editor
Brian Cunningham Group Editor
Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Sadly, Impulse doesn't appear in this issue — only on this variant cover. It's a bright, happy image of the whole team, even though they haven't officially come together yet. For the most part, I like this cover, but some of our heroes' faces are a little weird. Superboy looks rather smarmy, Bart's new buck teeth are a little too prominent for my liking, and since when did Jinny Hex start wearing lipstick?

This issue shows us what happened to the rest of Young Justice when they arrived on Gemworld. Robin was able to quickly convince Amethyst that he's a good guy, and she even let him ride her winged unicorn (or alicorn, if you prefer). Jinny, Teen Lantern and Wonder Girl all ended up in the same place, and we're treated to a flashback of Cassie beating up Despero (either Cassie's a lot stronger now, or Despero's a lot weaker).

Anyway, Cassie starts flying Jinny's truck around to try to get a sense of where they are, when they suddenly bump into Robin and Amethyst — literally. Teen Lantern cushions their crash with a bunch of pillows, but they landed right at the feet of the villainous Lord Opal.




This story is still very fun and engaging, but it's already run into the weakness of too many characters. Impulse's emotional reunion with Superboy got put on hold so we could catch up with everybody else and start to learn about Wonder Girl's backstory. And the problem is, we're going to need backstories on each of these characters, which will slow down this fast-paced story. Not that it's a bad thing to have some breathing room — I just want my Impulse, and I'm a little sad he has to share the screen with so many people.

Next: Whatever happened to Conner Kent?

The Flash Annual #2

Too Many Speedsters

Joshua Williamson – Writer
Scott Kolins – Artist
Luis Guerrero – Colorist
Wes Abbott – Letterer
Kolins & Guerrero – Cover
Andrew Marino – Assistant Editor
Paul Kaminski – Editor
Marie Javins – Group Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family.

Our cover shows Barry Allen battling Godspeed, while Impulse looks down from the top of a statue of Wally West. While it's true that Impulse is a guest star of this issue, he doesn't actually see his grandpa. It's a splashy, but sadly sloppy cover. I've never been a big fan of Kolins, but this one is downright messy. Barry's face is grotesque. And why are staring up Wally's big, ugly nostrils?

Our story opens with Impulse excitedly running through the streets to reunite with his family. We know this takes place before Young Justice #1, but it's unclear how much time has passed since Flash #50. One would think Bart would have ran straight to his family, but he obviously has stopped at least long enough to change his costume (except for the gloves). Perhaps it just took Bart a few days or weeks to figure out when and where he was.

In any case, Bart realizes it's been such a long time, he's worried that his family might not recognize him anymore. He also reveals that he remembers being Kid Flash and the Flash (the Fastest Man Alive). This is quite the significant development, since we have never fully known how much Bart remembers of his "previous life." Anyway, Bart reminds himself to heed the advice of Max Mercury, then runs through a house (unclear whose), but is unable to find his grandparents or Wally.

Barry, meanwhile, is caught in the middle of Heroes in Crisis and a fight with Godspeed. So we'll skip ahead to Bart's next move. He visits Max's house (hopefully still in good, ol' Manchester, Alabama), Mount Justice and Titans Tower. But he is still unable to find Max, Conner, Tim, Cassie, Jay or Jesse. Bart is so frustrated, he even uses the 30th century curse word, "sprock."

Finally, Bart does find someone — Godspeed. Bart overheard August Heart speaking to his boss, saying there are no more speedsters left for him to "collect" from. Naturally, that's suspicious enough for Bart to treat him as an enemy. He immediately begins beating up Godspeed, demanding to know who he is, and venting his frustration that he isn't Wally or the Flash. August is shocked to see that Barry has yet another sidekick (he had just barely beat up Wallace and Avery — as the story says, there are too many speedsters). August decides to "collect" from Impulse like he did the others, but Bart easily dodges his initial attack.

Suddenly, Godspeed's unseen boss tells him he's not ready for this speedster, and orders him to enter the Speed Force now. August obediently takes off, leaving a perplexed Bart behind to wonder who he was talking to. But Bart doesn't seem too bothered by that, as he doesn't attempt to chase after Godspeed. Instead, he chooses to go find some answers.

First Epilogue.

Bart figured the best place to find the answers he seeks is the Flash Museum. He realizes this world isn't like the one he left behind, as it's missing something. He stares at the giant gold statues of Wally and Barry in front of the building, saying Wally's new costume is "super cool." (Bart's completely wrong, but we won't hold that against him.) He laments not being able to talk to Wally right now, recounting the long time they spent trapped in the Speed Force together. Although it was scary, Bart was able to feel hope, knowing Wally was with him. But when Wally left during Rebirth, Bart was left alone, like he is now. And now he wants to talk to someone about what happened to the two of them.

Bart looks at Barry's statue and admits that they were never really that close, since he grandpa was so cold. But Wally wasn't like that, which is why Bart wants to talk to him. Bart then quickly checks out the inside of the museum, seeing how much has changed. But these changes can't simply be prescribed to time passing or people missing — it's something bigger than that. So Bart continues his run, telling himself that his family would never give up hope. He knows he'll eventually see Wally again, but for now, he hopes he can find his friends. Which he did, in Young Justice #1.




One interesting aspect of Joshua Williamson's run on The Flash is how often he portrays Barry Allen as basically the worst ever. It's almost as if Williamson always wanted to write Wally and can't contain his disdain for Barry, which is slightly unfortunate since Barry is the main character of his series. Granted, this issue sort of deified Wally, since at this point in Heroes in Crisis, everyone thought he was dead. Bart' relationship with Wally was downright awful in the early days, I don't think it ever reached the level of adoration he's now talking about. Unless we're to surmise that Bart and Wally grew a lot closer while they were stranded in the Speed Force between Flashpoint and Rebirth. Although I'm now wondering why Max, Jay and the others weren't in the Speed Force as well.

Anyway, this was actually a heartbreaking issue for Bart. He's finally free of the Speed Force, but he has no one to talk to. One idiotic villain to briefly fight, but that's it. On one hand, it's wonderful to see that he remembers everyone; on the other hand, it's incredibly tragic that he's being tormented with these memories. All in all, I'll say Bart was remarkably composed in light of all this. Which leads me to believe he's essentially an adult in a teenager's body. If he remembers the year he spent as a 20-year-old, including who knows how long he was in the Speed Force, then he's actually quite mature for his apparent age. Yeah, he's still fun-loving and impulsive, but deep down, he's kind of an old soul. I think. We'll see how this slowly plays out in Young Justice. Hopefully Williamson didn't say anything that caught Brian Michael Bendis off guard.

Let's check out the ads:

The collected edition of Mister Miracle, which won Eisners for best writer and best artist.

The future of the Fourth World is female. Female Furies.

DC Nation interview with Wonder Twins writer Mark Russell.

Next time, we'll return to the Young Justice series. Impulse technically didn't appear in issue #2, but I'll still give it a quick look.