‘Action Detectives – Part 2’
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Artist: Carlo Barberi, Art Thibert, Protobunker
Things aren’t looking good for the crowned princes of justice. After the last action packed issue, we saw the adverse effects of gold kryptonite start to take effect. Our heroes are staring down tiny versions of memorable super villains and things seem quite dire.
We get real insight into who these tiny super villains are in this issue. The term ‘fanboy’ really comes to mind. There’s something a little scary about seeing alien kids enjoying a stream of earth media. I know our planet is fascinating, but it’s worrying. If alien children can see that kind of content from earth, then who else is watching?
Going back to those sinister fanboys, watching earthly events on comic book sized tablets; I think Tomasi did a great job creating these terrible tikes as the villains for our action detectives. Great name for a story Mr. Tomasi, the clipped together titles of the first comics their dads, and the kings of DC, appeared in.
Anyway; each character in the series, in their own way, is a little guilty of hero worship, except Damian. The latest Robin is powerfully independent. Superboy takes great effort to thank his dad for the suit; only the morals of Superman would be good enough. As for these tiny super villains, they’re a bad example of hero worship. Every little kid is guilty of liking a few villains like the Joker or Lex Luthor, but almost none of the kids I know would actually travel to another planet and become those villains.
As Robin tries to undo some of the mess Rex the tiny Lex Luthor made, thanks to the help of a most unlikely source, things take an unexpected turn. We’re left with an even bigger mystery as to what could happen next than the last yawning cliffhanger, and I do like a sudden but inevitably open ending to lure me back in.
Conclusion
Despite really enjoying this issue, it was good, it didn’t really advance the story aside from showing the sinister kids’ plan and them realising it. Even so, the stakes don’t feel high yet. Compared to the previous installment it’s mostly just setup and exposition leading from the heroes’ capture to the surprise twist at the end, which leads into the next chapter.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
