"Hack and You Shall Find" by Art Baltazar, Franco, and Mike Norton.
It's Young Justice Friday!
by Shrine Correspondent Andy Luckett
After the Superboy-centric last two issues of Young Justice, we begin this issue (entitled "Hack and You Shall Find", written by Art Baltazar and Franco with art by Mike Norton) on Infinity Island, where The League of Shadows is meeting to discuss the planned assassination of Selena Gonzalez.
Perhaps not coincidentally, in Central City, Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash are having a meeting about Selena as well. It seems Robin has found intel that she is being targeted, and thinks protecting her would be an excellent training mission for the three of them (this issue takes place before the team has begun functioning as a complete unit). Robin suspects Cadmus may have hired the League of Shadows to take her out, since Gonzalez' company has ties to them (and she's the CEO).
The trio discuss the League of Shadows, and after some banter, decide to take the gig. Staking out her office, Kid Flash annoys Robin with his fidgeting, and Aquaman waits stoically as usual. Finally, Robin spots a villain climbing the side of the building and off they go. However, before Aqualad can follow, he's surprised by:
He and Hook fight it out, but Aqualad is ultimately knocked out. Meanwhile, Kid Flash and Robin take on the other villain, the Black Spider. Unfortunately, they have similar results to Aqualad, who Hook is using as a battering ram against them:
Down but not out, Robin and Kid Flash keep Selena away from the bad guys for a couple of minutes, but soon their inexperience gets the better of them and they are defeated as well. They wake up to find themselves tied upside down, with Selena in the clutches of Hook and Black Spider. Dun-dun-DUHHHHH!!!
Ok, well, this issue is a bit of a letdown. First of all, the timeline of this series is becoming a little hard to follow; the last two issues featured the new team of five (Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Superboy) formed together, but this issues finds Robin talking as if they have had no real interaction as a full team. Just a bit confusing.
Speaking of Aqualad, he is really not given any chance to shine this time. Not only is he behind on his information about the League of Shadows, but he gets taken down easily by Hook without landing a blow, then, to add insult to injury, Hook throws him into walls while he's unconscious until the last page of the issue. As powerful as Aqualad can be, it doesn't make sense to give him no heroic moments like the others and then to get taken down and abused so easily by some loser with a cybernetic hook.
Honestly, between Hook, who seems to be a normal human with an enhanced limb, and Black Spider, who is basically a Spider-Man clone whose powers are technology-based, we don't have great, threatening baddies for the new team to face. Yes, they overpower the trio, but that feels to me more like a necessity of the story than an organic occurrence. We'll see where it goes from here.
As always, Mike Norton does a nice job of capturing the visual style of the show on the page, and the writers also have a good ear for the speech patterns and personalities of the main characters. It's really only the plots that I have trouble with, so hopefully as they move along they'll pick up some much needed drama, peril, and menace.
It's Young Justice Friday!
by Shrine Correspondent Andy Luckett
After the Superboy-centric last two issues of Young Justice, we begin this issue (entitled "Hack and You Shall Find", written by Art Baltazar and Franco with art by Mike Norton) on Infinity Island, where The League of Shadows is meeting to discuss the planned assassination of Selena Gonzalez.
...to be continued!
Speaking of Aqualad, he is really not given any chance to shine this time. Not only is he behind on his information about the League of Shadows, but he gets taken down easily by Hook without landing a blow, then, to add insult to injury, Hook throws him into walls while he's unconscious until the last page of the issue. As powerful as Aqualad can be, it doesn't make sense to give him no heroic moments like the others and then to get taken down and abused so easily by some loser with a cybernetic hook.
Honestly, between Hook, who seems to be a normal human with an enhanced limb, and Black Spider, who is basically a Spider-Man clone whose powers are technology-based, we don't have great, threatening baddies for the new team to face. Yes, they overpower the trio, but that feels to me more like a necessity of the story than an organic occurrence. We'll see where it goes from here.
As always, Mike Norton does a nice job of capturing the visual style of the show on the page, and the writers also have a good ear for the speech patterns and personalities of the main characters. It's really only the plots that I have trouble with, so hopefully as they move along they'll pick up some much needed drama, peril, and menace.
1 comment:
This version of The Hook seems like he should be menacing Big Jim and the W.O.L.F. Pack.
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