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Dark Crisis: Young Justice #1

Scheduled to arrive in stores: June 21, 2021
Cover date: August 2022

"Dark Crisis: Young Justice"

Writer: Meghan Fitzmartin
Artist: Laura Braga
Cover: Max Dunbar & Luis Guerrero
Variant Covers: Todd Nauck & Matt Herms

Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer
Click to enlarge


Cassie (Wonder Girl) is attending the memorial for the Justice League, afterwards she meets up with Connor, Tim, and Bart. They reminisce about old times, and the difficulty of their struggles when the three guys disappear. Cassie and Arrowette are stunned to see them gone. Tim wakes up to Alfred calling him. Connor wakes up to Dubbilex in Hawaii. Bart wakes up training with Wally, he notices something is wrong and runs around the country before joining Tim and Connor at Happy Harbor. The three answer a distress call to fight Young Justice villain "The Mighty Endowed". [I had to look up this villain because I had never heard of her. What a character.] Meanwhile Cassie is searching all over for them to no avail, she is rejected in her requests for help. However, in the alternate universe a younger version of Cassie saves the three boys from the Mighty Endowed and the story ends.

5Story - 5: This was one fun comic to read. I am a huge fan of the "Young Justice" show, but have barely read any "Young Justice" comics, only the tie ins for the "Superman: Worlds at War" event. This comic makes me want to track down the "Young Justice" run by Peter David and Todd Nauck to read more about these characters. We get some very raw emotional reactions from these characters as narrated by Cass. Bart, Tim, and Connor's interactions at the funeral is so harsh. As Bart pontificates about how their deaths will be treated, Connor points out that they didn't get any sort of treatment when they each died previously….I like where these traumatic events are referenced in later comics, it doesn't always work, but I felt it worked here. I also loved Cassie's acknowledgement of the awkward position the core Young Justice members are in. They are kind of like the forgotten characters of the legacy heroes. DC doesn't quite know what to do with them now that there are so many younger heroes running around. I mean we just got a new Wondergirl, currently Superman is Clark's actual son, Bart can't seem to break away from the shadow of Wally, and there are hundreds of Robins and Batchildren. So what do you do with this lost generation.

The crux of this story arc is that the Connor, Tim, and Bart are all trapped in a world and time more in sync with their original Young Justice adventures. Cassie is left behind and must track them down. Cassie's efforts to enlist help from the superhero community highlights how forgotten this group is, no one will take time off to join the search. It all sets up for an adventure that really intrigues me, much more than the main "Dark Crisis" story does.

5Art - 5: Vibrant colors, great action and layout. The art here has a very fun cartoon quality to it which perfectly supplements the style of story being told. Its also nice to see the throw backs to Young Justice's earlier costumes.

5Cover Art - 5: The cover sets up the main concern of the issue. Centering Cassie on the cover and surrounding her with the boys each with MIA written across their image worked well.

5Variant Cover - 5: I also really liked Todd Nauck's work on this cover. Showcasing the team and the various stories and villains they have faced in the past. Awesome.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2022

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.
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