A new threat makes itself known.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom Taylor
Art: Xermanico
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Superboy and Wonder Girl confront an intergalactic menace and Hal Jordan bids farewell to an old friend.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The battle for Oa has been a fun arc for the series since it allowed Tom Taylor to step away from Earth for a while and let things move there while we focus on different characters, settings, and character stories. Tom Taylor got to deal well with Hal Jordan and the choices he made on Earth but it also drove a lot of other things in engaging directions with fun characters. With this issue, Xermanico is back on the art duties with J. Nanjan coloring it and it again has a very good look as I love the designs for the characters and the power they represent while adoring the color work, notably once more for the reds and greens as they’re vibrant in all the right ways.
This installment plays a bit more like an epilogue to events in a way as it handles a few different things without what feels like a solid clear line through it. The retreat of Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns is nicely handled as Oa is hard to deal with at this point but they made some really solid attacks there that altered the Corps going forward that will be problematic for the Guardians. For Hal, he’s able to put Guy behind him though not without Guy throwing some harsh and true snark at him. But it doesn’t end well for Hal as he is still alone and has new losses in the mix with Lanterns lost and the uncertainty of where his path will lead him next. We do get the continuing threat of Starro that’s talked about here to focus on and a really great end page appearance or two that has me giddy for what’s next, but it’s more promise than anything firm at this point.
Where the bulk of this issue takes place us with Braniac who has arrived just as things go bad for Cassie and Conner. Bad in that the Red Lantern’s that they’re facing off against end up smashing their face masks, which is a bad enough situation since neither can breathe proper in space for long. Braniac’s interested in what Conner is, not so much with Cassie, as he was looking to acquire a city on Oa that’s now been scuttled. With a Kryptonian city in his possession, the reveal of Conner has him curious as to the reality of what he is here since there are whispers of what Superman is. Of course, he’s quick to figure out that Conner isn’t really Kryptonian and that means he holds little value but it does set up more potential for what future problems Earth may face down the line in terms of opposition that will divide.
In Summary:
Injustice 2 has a good issue here with what it does and that end page sudden appearance is one that has me hopeful to see my favorite group within the DC universe to get some quality time once again. There’s a lot of fun little moments here with character interactions and stage setting as we close out the current round of events but it’s not too big on action or moving anything forward in a significant way. But the scale of threats that can be used is interesting with Brainiac in the picture and whatever this other threat may be as well. Taylor keeps things moving quickly and in a fun way while Xermanico again delivers some great designs and layouts with how it all comes together. This continue to be one of the big delights of my reading week.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 3rd, 2018
MSRP: $0.99
