Dark Knights of Steel 2 #1 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Otto Schmidt, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist</h2?
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: It’s been a long time since Tom Taylor’s epic tale of DC meets Game of Thrones ended its first act, and what at first seemed like a dark tale of sibling rivalry and conquest turned out to be something entirely different. The evil actions taken on by Superman and Supergirl over the course of the story actually turned out – along with many other out-of-character moments – to be the work of White Martians infiltrating a medieval Earth and trying to set the three kingdoms at war. But now, thanks to the heroic sacrifice of the last Green Martian (disguised as Alfred Pennyworth), the kingdoms of the Els, the Amazons, and the Pierces are at peace, and a historic day looms – the union of the two kingdoms, as Princess Diana marries Zara Jor-El. A canon queer Supergirl is one of many cool things about this series, although I have a feeling that corporate higher-ups made sure only a non-Kara Zor-El Supergirl could fit the bill.
That means that for the first time, men will be allowed on Themyscira as the royal families arrive on the island. There’s a hilarious segment involving Kal-El and John Constantine, but behind the scenes, dark clouds are brewing. A twisted flashback segment introduces us to what I think is this world’s version of Victor Zsasz, and the wedding is interrupted by an attacking Kraken – only for Aquaman to show up and try to prevent the monster from being killed. This world is obviously massive in scale and has a ton of interesting dangling subplots, but the most ominous is the fact that Zala seems to be getting weaker – something that shouldn’t be happening to a Kryptonian. And as the issue ends, our mystery narrator is revealed, introducing us to a new version of an iconic DC hero who many will be happy to see represented. Taylor and new artist Otto Schmidt had a lot to catch us up on, and so far, they’re off to a strong start.
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