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Monday, April 23, 2012

Young Justice #15 - June 2012

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"...Here There Be Monsters" by Kevin Hopps, Greg Weisman, and Christopher Jones.

It's Young Justice Monday!

Hey there again, everyone, Shrine Correspondent Andy Luckett here with a review of issue 15 of the Young Justice comic series, entitled "...Here There Be Monsters." Last issue ended with Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian traveling to Atlantis and finding Ocean Master leading a group of prejudiced citizens targeting those they called "impure". In a major act of contempt, Ocean Master burst into Mera's bedroom and attacked her using the mystic energy of his trident. As we pick up this month, the three young heroes are settling into sleep in Atlantean pods when Aqualad is alarmed by a telepathic projection from Mera. They rush to her chambers to find her in Ocean Master's clutches:
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Aqualad awakes to see Prince Orm standing over him. The group plans to split into two teams and attack each of two possible strongholds for Ocean Master and his followers. Aqualad and his teammates follow the way to one hideout, but they fall into a trap from Ocean Master's disciples. As they are pinned down, the cavalry arrives:
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Unfortunately, in the middle of the battle, Ocean Master unleashes a mystic attack that weakens the "impure" heroes of Atlantis, and Aqualad and the others begin to lose energy. King Shark is nearly killed, but Topo comes to his rescue thanks to his ink defense. In the ensuing confusion, Superboy is able to defeat the remainder of Ocean Master's forces. One of the attackers makes a beeline back to Ocean Master's hideout, with Miss Martian following him.

She relays the location to Aqualad and he and his allies attack. Just in time, too, since in the meantime, Ocean Master has been using his trident to steal Mera's mystical/life energy. One of his followers, Ronal, arrives to hear him ranting to Mera about using her (and her unborn child's) death to cause Atlantis to tumble into chaos and war, leaving him the rightful ruler of the oceans. Ronal has heard enough, and attacks:
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So, Ocean Master is defeated but uncaptured, and life returns to normal in Atlantis. Aquaman pardons Ronal for his part in the conspiracy, and Prince Orm promises to root out the parties behind the plot (yeah, sure).
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Okay, well I have to say, this issue was a decent ending to the storyline, but it seemed to read very fast. Lots of action, but nothing that seemed to have a lasting effect. Ocean Master shows his ruthlessness by caring nothing for Mera or her child, but is overwhelmed by the heroes and thus retreats, leaving them with a relatively easy victory. Of course he will be back very soon, both as a solo villain and as a member of the Light. I'll be curious to see when Ocean Master's true identity as Prince Orm will be revealed, but when it is, I hope it will be part of a larger story involving Aquaman.

Aqualad gets a lot to do, using his waterbearers to make a variety of blades, maces, and clubs. And of course it's great to see the writers using so many of Aquaman's supporting cast, including obscure characters such as Ronal and Lori Lemaris. So in conclusion, this storyline was a nice second look at Young Justice's Atlantis, but nothing about it blew me away. It felt like a spirited skirmish rather than a high-stakes battle. I'm not complaining, though, it still reads as a good companion piece to the "Downtime" episode of earlier this season.

3 comments:

Laurie S. Sutton said...

I really like the color work in this issue. It evoked a genuine underwater feel.

Orin's dad said...

This comic was a fun read. Thanks for the recap Andy! Well done!

Russell said...

I have to pick this up!!