“Child of the Gods”
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom Taylor
Art: Bengal
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Wes Abbot
What They Say:
The arrival of the Els by spaceship 19 years earlier was a pivotal moment for the kingdom, and a prophecy was born! But what were those early years like for the Els, and how did they come to be monarchs of the kingdom? And what catastrophic event triggered everything that was to follow?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Non-continuity DC books continue to be where I’m at and the further I get into this series the more that I’m falling for it. Which is no surprise as it’s just a delight in how it plays with familiar characters. Tom Taylor is showing a really solid understanding of characters and how to place them in new situations, retain what makes them who they are, but really challenge them in how they react. Just being able to make a real impact on characters with events goes a long way toward hitting a sweet spot for me. Yasmine Putri handled the artwork for the first three issues but this one is largely flashback and Bengal was brought in to handle the artwork. It largely mirrors what Putri had done with their own little twist and take on it so it continues to look great. Seeing the characters presented in this setting and exploring the way things can be adapted and reworked from familiar things.
This installment with its flashback focus is solid as we get Bruce and Alfred on the road and Alfred looking to fill Bruce in on some of the past because he’s still lamenting the way things played out between the Wayne’s and the El’s. Honestly, it’s one of those situations where it’s behind closed doors and can never be understood because those involved were in their own moment. Yes, similarities abound, but the whole one-night mistake thing between Marth and Jor-El is simple enough but it evolved for good reason beyond that as the two families bonded, the Wayne’s got a successor – of sorts – and Martha’s dying wish resulted in the El’s working to ensure that Bruce could take over someday while protecting the legacy. It’s easy to imagine it all as nefarious but it was far more intimate than that in the end.
What we do see is more of the time the lead up to that with how the El’s set up home nearby the kingdom and began to absorb the local culture. But their fear was raised when a nearby mountain revealed itself to be a volcano and that was triggering for them after Krypton, which had them trying to help. The problem is that the Wayne’s advisor for it was Luthor and he hid all of this from his king and queen, resulting in a near-destruction of the kingdom if not for the El’s stepping in to help. It’s a really neat journey to see things rearranged like this, and for Luthor to be cast out only to find some Kryptonite ejected from the volcano that began to twist him into the Green Man, a medieval kind of Joker composite of sorts. While the focus is mostly on the adults and their relationship dynamic to get Bruce to understand who has loved him, the extra bits really work well to expand the larger mythology.
In Summary:
While I wasn’t expecting an artist change – and I dislike them mid-series – having Bengal come in for this one to deal with a flashback piece works well enough. I really liked getting the extra focus on the Wayne’s and El’s here to see more of what went on back then as well as how the El’s handled settling into things before getting drawn into humanity and all that they were dealing with at the time. It’s a solid piece that also clears up the origins of the Green Man and reinforces why so many others are fearful, or at least very wary, of what the El’s represent in the world.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 1st, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
