The smallest leap in history!
Creative Staff:
Story: Steve Orlando
Art: Felipe Watanabe, Ruy Rose
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
“CRISIS IN THE MICROVERSE” part four! Special guest artist TK TK joins the fray to tell the two-part story of how Ray Palmer, the original Atom, first discovered the microverse! Witness this untold chapter in the DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH mythology, and learn how Palmer came to find himself betrayed and marooned within the dying microverse.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Microverse story has been a bit of a mess in a way because it’s felt like it’s been a whole lot of stuff thrown at the reader with some potentially great creativity without being able to exploit it. Steve Orlando has a good cast of characters to use but it felt like all we got was a lot of fighting and uncertainty when we wanted answers. Answers aren’t quite forthcoming in this issue but they are closer and we do get a far more focused issue. With Felipe Watanabe and Ruy Rose on the art duties this time it also has an even stronger look to it overall, a more cohesive piece even amid all the chaos, that Marcel Maiolo really delivers on with the color quality. Vibrancy is key here and I imagine it must look even better here digitally than it does in print.
With the last issue ending with Ray Palmer finally being found, a welcome moment indeed, this issue takes us back to the beginning of things, mostly in relation to when he met Ryan and began the greater experimenting while also touching on his longer past in a very light way. The discovery of something deeper and smaller in the universe, the Microverse, has Ray trying to make contact because of what he discovered there and ends up with Dr. Aron Aut, who we’ve seen traveling around with Ryan and the others in the Microverse. This issue details the journey from when Ray met him and their attempts at finding the Ignition Point and what’s really at the heart of all this destruction that’s wiping out some fascinating worlds that Watanabe and Rose bring to life here. I really wish we had the time and sprawl to explore it because they could do some very fun things here.
The journey itself is definitely worth the trip, even as compressed as it is, because the summary showcases a lot of neat things as Ray and Aut work their journey together all while knowing there’s something darker going on with Aut that he slowly teases but doesn’t fully reveal. What adds to all of this is the teleporter with Preon as we see how she’s drawn into it and the way she and Ray end up drawn together as well. It’s a quick and forced romance overall that we only see in the lightest of touches but it’s good to see Ray finding this kind of hope amid all the destruction. The trio is engaging to watch even amid all the technobabble that we get as Ray finds new ways to survive even as things are being obliterated around them. It’s easy to kind of tune out the details and just take in the concept and a lot of that is because of the artwork that the team puts in here. It’s just a delight to watch unfold.
In Summary:
While we don’t get a true answer here, and I really wish we do so I could grade this higher, the journey is certainly worthwhile to see what Ray Palmer has been up to. I’ve always liked the character and getting a look at him here with what he’s doing while waiting for the twist that has him view Aut as a betrayer is pretty exciting. Sadly, the payoff isn’t there in this issue and that makes it feel like a huge tease when I really wanted something with a bit more meat to it. It’s definitely a solid read and a whole potential new playground to explore (elsewhere) and for fans of the character of the original Atom it’s good to see that he’s been very involved in his classic tried and true beliefs. It leaves me wanting more, which is a good thing, but also just a bit frustrated.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: September 27th, 2017
MSRP: $2.99
