“Will To Survive”
Writers: Ivan Cohen, Danny Lore
Artist: Luciano Vecchio
Color Artist: Enrica Eren Angiolini
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Review by Derek McNeil
In Multiversity: Teen Justice #3, Ivan Cohen and Danny Lore continue their tale of Earth-11’s team of young heroes. This parallel world is populated by characters who are generally, but not always, the opposite gender of their main DCU counterparts.
I continue to be intrigued by these characters and would love to learn more of their background history. It would be interesting to see how their origin stories compare to those of their more familiar counterparts.
Teen Justice’s Supergirl reminds me of another Pre-Flashpoint version, the future daughter of Superman and Lois Lane. This is understandable, as this Supergirl’s parents are Superwoman and Louis Lane. It seems that DC has mostly abandoned the character, so it’s nice to see that she lives on, sort of, in Laurel Kent. I also like that her name is a reference to an old Legion of Super-Heroes character created to fill the void left by Kara Zor-El.
We also get some more hints about this world’s Raven. As expected, his mother appears to be a female version of the demon Trigon. It hasn’t been revealed yet, but I wonder what her name is. It could easily still be Trigon, as it’s not a traditionally male or female name. Presumably, we will find out about her more in the upcoming issues.
I also wonder about Troy’s backstory. Presumably, he comes from an all-male group of Amazons. Attempting to show such a group could be a bit risky, as they could come off as extremely misogynistic if handled wrong, although a distrust of men could make sense in a world where matriarchy is the norm. I’d definitely be interested in seeing this explored in any future projects involving Earth-11.
The main plot of Multiversity: Teen Justice #3 sees the bulk of the team infiltrating the Church of Blood while Aquawoman encounters a mystery in space. All the Justice Guild have vanished from the Star Sapphire homeworld along with the capital city. This leaves Aquagirl stranded on the planet. Looking for water, she finds the body of Hal Ferris of the Green Lantern Patrol.
It seems strange that Hal and Carol have their last names switched from their counterparts, making them Hal Ferris and Carol Jordan. Given that most Earth-11 characters usually have the same last name as their counterparts. Also, Hal’s still male and Carol female. I wonder why there seem to be exceptions to how this world’s characters correspond to their main DCU counterparts.
Also, the story reveals that Troy is the captive of a number of Green Lanterns calling themselves he Green Lantern Core. Aquagirl previously mentioned the Green Lantern Patrol. Are these supposed to be the same group, or is Sinestra’s Core a faction within the Patrol, or possibly a splinter group? I do like “Green Lantern Core”, which plays on the fact that “core” is pronounced identically to “corps”.
There is also a Green Lantern who looks like he might be this world’s Kyle Rayner, as he’s wearing Kyle’s original mask and symbol. If that is Kyle, he seems to be another exception to the gender-swapping conceit that Earth-11 is based on. I wonder if there’s an underlying reason for these exceptions or if the writers mean for us to chalk it up to random chance.
Luciano Vecchio takes over the art for this issue in place of Marco Failla. I wonder if this change is just for one chapter or for the rest of the mini-series. Both are quite talented, so the title is good hands either way. Vecchio stays true to Failla’s depiction of the characters and their styles are similar enough so that many readers probably wouldn’t notice the difference unless they were comparing their artwork side-by-side. I don’t know if this is his usual style or if he’s deliberately keeping the art close to Failla’s style, but the art is gorgeous to look at in either case.
Conclusion
Multiversity: Teen Justice #3 continues Cohen and Lore’s exciting tale set on Earth-11. This parallel world is a particularly interesting reflection of the main DC Earth. I love seeing how the characters compare and contrast with the versions we’re more familiar with. I didn’t know what to expect from Multiversity: Teen Justice at first, but it’s proving to be one of the gems in DC’s current lineup.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
