Written by Ryan Browne
Drawn by Pete Woods
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
First, let’s be clear, this will contain some spoilers for the previous issue. Actually, that will probably be the case going forward as I continue to review the remaining issues in this miniseries. I’ll try not to reveal the biggest events of the current issue but I may refer to spoilers from the preceding issue or others, so be forewarned.
Okay, so the big cliffhanger in the first issue was that Tim shot and killed Black Terror with Baron Von Physics’ disintegrating ray gun, in order to stop Black Terror from stealing their credit. Then Tim turns the gun on the subdued Baron, to remove any witnesses (or so they thought). And Tim convinces Sparky and Captain Battle Jr. to go along with the story that the villain killed Black Terror and then the boys killed the villain in self-defense.
The story works, as we open at the funeral for Black Terror, where the boys are hailed as heroes and the Mayor gives them the key to the series. The only one who appears to be suspicious of the story is Blue Beetle, who decides to do some investigating into the boys’ claims. Sparky and Captain Battle Jr. feel guilty about what happened, but Tim is determined to maintain the charade. And it first it seems to work out for them, as the boys enjoy their newfound fame. But they quickly learn that, in Libertyville, fame can be fleeting. The day is barely over before they see the mayor leading a parade for another local teen superhero, Rainbow Boy.
Deciding that they need to quickly stop another crime, to regain their status, they use a special machine to track down a corrupt businessman but when they go to arrest him, he’s already been subdued by another superhero, Blue Bolt. But once again, Tim is prepared to do anything to be seen as a hero. . .
This was another fun an action-packed issue. Ryan Browne’s characterization of the lead heroes done very well, as we see that Tim appears to be losing his sanity, while the other two are just reluctant accomplices. Sparky, in particular, is not cut out for this.
Strangely, I can’t help but notice that whenever Blue Beetle appears in this issue he’s only ever referred to as “Big Blue.” It’s unclear yet if that’s meant to be a nickname, or if his actual superhero name in this series. I know that there are later versions of Blue Beetle that are not in the public domain, and are owned by DC Comics, so I know that Dynamite would have to change his name if the wanted to use him as the lead in a series, such as when they renamed the original Daredevil as Death-Defying Devil, so as not to infringe on the Marvel Comics character, but I thought they would still be able to use his name within the pages of a comic?
Anyway, I’ll also once again praise Pete Wood’s clear artwork, which helps make the story easy to read and follow. This is shaping up to be quite an entertaining series!
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