Dark Crisis #2 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Daniel Sampere, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Dark Crisis is still keeping its larger plot at arm’s length, with Pariah lurking in the background and building his dark army—as he subtly influences figures on Earth. That’s a little surprising two issues in—but the story of those left behind is more than compelling enough that you don’t miss his presence at all. The heroes have barely gotten the chance to mourn the Justice League when Deathstroke attempts to create a lot more grief, waging a full-on assault on Titans Tower with the seeming intent of massacring everyone inside. Much like the end of Shadow War, this seems to be a shot across the bow that Deathstroke is a full-on villain from here on out—putting a bullet in Beast Boy’s head and challenging Nightwing to a one-on-one fight that seems designed to make him sacrifice himself for his students. And it may just work—until an unexpected arrival from a new ally.
The partnership between Nightwing and Jon Kent’s Superman has been one of the best parts of this series so far, and it’s great to see them fight side by side. The arrival of a particularly deadly villain of Jon’s father indicates that Deathstroke’s plot is much more ambitious than it seemed at first. These two make a great anchor for the new DCU, although they have to compete for that role with Black Adam—who seems to believe he should be the new leader of the Justice League. This issue starts fast and never slows down, with brilliant action scenes and great character moments. There are a few continuity glitches, both with the Teen Titans and with the Green Lanterns, that may reflect that some time has passed for the heroes. Overall, this second issue is just as strong as the first, although I’m still waiting for it to hit that next gear and equal the scale of the top-tier Crisis events that have come before it.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
