Injustice 2 #31 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Daniel Sampere, Penciller; Juan Albarran, Inker; John Kalisz, Rex Lokus, Colorists
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Tom Taylor continues to deliver one of the most exciting books in the DC stable in Injustice 2 #31. The age of Emperor Superman is over, but the crises haven’t slowed down at all, and now a ragtag team of the Teen Titans and Green Lantern Corps are battling against the Red Lanterns and the all-powerful conqueror Starro – now in the thrall of the Reds. As the issue opens, the Guardian Sayd has been taken by Starro, and proceeds to use her power to incinerate a whole field of Green Lanterns (including the heroic squirrel Bd’g, sadface). Although Bleez seems to be having a brief attack of conscience, Atrocitus has no issue with unleashing this carnage upon his enemies. Even Lobo has no real chance against Atrocitus, losing his bike and his legs in brutal fashion. Taylor has some fun with this, as having the lower half of his body casually ripped off doesn’t really slow Lobo down for long (although he is more than a little pissed about some missing parts).
When the Teen Titans arrive on Oa, the focus shifts to the resistance. The young heroes try to rally the Lanterns to turn the tide, but the Corps seem to be demoralized, convinced they don’t have the manpower to fight back anymore. Things only get worse when Starro fires a blast at the central battery, aiming to cut off the source of the Lanterns’ powers forever. With Ganthet using all his power to hold the power in, Hal makes a desperate pitch to rally the Lanterns again. Although Ganthet is skeptical about letting him into the Corps again (even to sacrifice himself against Starro), he eventually agrees. A harder sell is letting Sinestro out of his Sciencell and back into the Corps, although his love for Soranik Natu makes it seem like this latest face-turn may be for real. And he may not even be the most unstable Lantern in the field, as by the end of the issue Lobo has one on his finger as well. At times, this comic does feel a bit like a video game, with no shortage of crazy twists at any given moment, but it’s always fun and smart enough to hold my interests.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
